BOTD: Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen

After a short vacation the wheat beers are back. This time we have a sampling from the world’s oldest brewery, Weihenstephaner, which was founded in 1040. No, that’s not a misprint; it was founded in the damn early middle ages. 26 years before William the Bastard sent forth to stake a claim on the English crown, 55 years before the First Crusade and 879 years before the Prohibition. They are a 965 year old brewery and as of now I fully plan on attending their 1,000th anniversary, sure I’ll be 68 but no way I’m missing the party.


After nearly 10 centuries they seem to have the bugs worked out.
Now for the beer. Their hefeweizen is a proper bottle conditioned wheat with all the ensuing cloudiness and yeast residue one would expect. This is a beer that must breath a little before drinking and should never be had right from the bottle. The nose and taste is a perfect balance of hops, citrus and spice. This is the standard by which all other weizens are measured, and fail to reach.

Brewery: Weihenstephaner
Year: 1040
Origin: Holy Roman Empire (Modern day Germany)
Style: Hefeweizen
Content: 5.4%
Rating: Proof of God’s existence.
Recommendation: If you don’t like it there’s something wrong with you.