What does hefeweizen taste like?
Hefeweizen tastes like banana bread and clove in a glass: soft, bready and fizzy, with almost no bitterness and a cloudy, creamy body from wheat and yeast.
Hefeweizen
banana, clove, soft and bready
Hefeweizen is the classic German wheat beer. Hefe means yeast and weizen means wheat, and both matter. The yeast throws off banana and clove flavors all on its own (nobody adds fruit or spices), and the wheat makes it hazy, soft and pillowy, with a tall foamy head. It tastes a little like banana bread with a hint of bubblegum, but stays dry and refreshing. Bitterness is barely there. It's usually around 5%, served in a tall curvy glass, sometimes with a lemon wedge that purists will tell you to skip.
Where you’ll see it
At German beer halls, on craft menus and as a summer draft, sometimes called weissbier or just hefe. It's a natural next to pretzels, sausages and brunch.
Order it if you find IPAs too bitter and want something soft, fruity and easy to drink.
Quick questions
- Does hefeweizen have banana in it?
- No. The banana and clove flavors come from the special yeast it's fermented with. There's no fruit or spice added.
- Is hefeweizen the same as witbier?
- No. Witbier is the Belgian wheat style, brewed with orange peel and coriander. Hefeweizen gets its banana and clove from yeast alone, with nothing added.