Day 16. Paulaner Hefe-Weizen (Hefe-Weißbier)

Ok so I have had this beer before, but I haven't had it in a really long time, so I thought it would be OK to put it in the mix. Paulaner Hefe-Weizen. It's sort of strange how they translate the name in english just because of the ß or something. Weißbier is Weißbier, I'm not really sure if there is a difference between Hefewizen and Weißbier, they're pretty much the same thing. There are many things to love about Weißbier, and I am so down to try any one that I can. Directly translated in German “Hefe” means yeast and “Weizen” means wheat. Hefeweizen is a unfiltered, top fermented, bottle conditioned German wheat beer with noticeable yeast sediment and a hazy appearance. 

If you're going to drink a Weißbier, I really recommend you drink it out of the proper style of glass. It looks better, and it tastes better. You have to drink it out of a Wiezen glass. AND NO FRUIT! No Lemon, no orange, nothing! It will ruin the head! and the flavor! Here, I'm using a Franziskaner Weißbier glass that I permanently borrowed from my favorite bar in Salzburg. People break these all the time so they don't mind that I kept one as a souvenir. :) But I'll admit, I wish I was drinking the Franziskaner beer. Paulaner just isn't the same. It has a good look to it, and a decent taste. Perfect head too of course. So, who here knows how to actually pour a Weißbier? Even if you drink Bud Light Golden Wheat, you'll notice there are some floaters in there. Well thats the unfiltered stuff. The good stuff. It's what makes a beer a meal! You should notice that you can't see through this type of Weißbier. It is only the filtered ones known as Kristallweiß that are clear like a regular lager. 

And of course, a real German Weißbier like this is served as .5 Litres. Yes, they translate it for you Americans as 1 pint 9 ounces and call it an ale, but seriously...this just shows Americans how stupid the Germans know so many people are. I'm pretty sure that 5.5% abv is normal for a Weißbier, but I've had stronger. These are usually meant more as summer beers, but today is our first cold day of winter in Arizona and I'm drinking it anyways. Wow, December 16th in Arizona and it's under 75 degrees for once. Well, I guess it's technically still fall, but I mean WTF, how am I supposed to keep my beers cold like these people?

Best fridge in the world!!!! That will totally keep your beers cold, and your tequila too. I don't know, whatever you do Canada, I'm sure you do it to keep you warm, right? Well I guess I should be reviewing this beer a little more. It sort of leaves a dry taste in your mouth, but there is still a lot of flavor. It's not the best Weißbier, but it's decent. I do have a Franziskaner in the fridge, might have to crack that baby open...but no really, If I could go check out this brewery, I would, considering that it's one of the largest in Germany. Since 1634, pretty Impressive. But then there's Weihenstephaner that has been brewing beer and Weißbier since 1080. 600 years is quite the advantage on making something perfect...but Budweiser just started their Wheat Beer this year or something, so it's a total step ahead there. There commercials are pretty random, but that's led them to even having a spoof made, but you won't understand this unless you know German. Well yeah, find someone to translate this for you, then laugh. Bavarians...tschh. 

Anyways, I love Weißbier, Hefe-Weizen, whatever you want to call it. There's good, better, and best, and there is of course the bad ones, but I try not to buy bad beers (unless they came in that damn holiday pack...) but you buy these in a single bottle here, or whatever you want to mix it up with in Germany. I'll give this one a solid 8, but I think they can do some tweaks and make a special edition or something that has a little more flavor to it. If you've never had a weißbier, well now you know, so go try one! Oh and for those of you that are confused by the "ß" thing, its just two s's pretty much, so Weissbier, but it looks better with the ß :D (and no, its not a B, and not pronounced with a "B" noise. How many of you read through this to this point pronouncing it "Weib-beer"? haha I'd love to head about that in the comments...