Wheat Beers — Sometimes what we call a style of beer isn’t really a style at all.
Words by Brian Meyer
This article is taken from:
CraftPittsburgh Issue #30 by Craft Pittsburgh
Take, for example, wheat beers, these hazy, light-colored beers are all made from roughly 50-percent wheat grain, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Beyond these general guidelines beers made from wheat fit into a pretty diverse category, and, as such, many drinkers can be confused due to their love for one wheat beer, and utter hatred of another. Before we get into what a wheat beer is, let’s take a quick look at what a wheat beer is not so we can dispel a few myths before diving into this sundry collection of beers.
Wheat Beer Myths
The first, and probably most important myth about wheat beer to quell, is what grain is used in a wheat beer. On the surface, you would assume that a wheat beer is made entirely with, well, wheat. While this sounds true, the fact is that these beers typically use around 30- to 70-percent wheat, with the remainder of the malt bill being barley, which is the primary grain used in most beers.
This isn’t to say that there aren’t beers brewed with 100-percent wheat malt, but this is uncommon for not only flavor reasons, but for brewing science, as well. Without getting into the science behind it, just know that nearly every wheat beer you’ve seen has at least some barley malt in the grain bill with the wheat.
Another myth that I contributed to at the beginning of this article, and that’s the color of a wheat beer. Most wheat beers you find will be light and hazy in color, there are some that are dark and even fully opaque. This is just another example of not judging a beer by its color, or its style.
There are more myths surrounding wheat beers, but this isn’t meant to tell you what a wheat beer isn’t, so let’s look at what a wheat beer IS.
Wheat Beer Styles
The vague term “wheat beer” can basically be split up into four key subcategories. This may be over-simplifying things, but beer is meant to be fun so we’ll keep things relatively simple. By looking at wheat beers this way, you can start to see how they’re all connected and how they are all unique.
Weissbier
The first in this list of wheat-centric ales is the Weissbier, or more specifically Weißbier. This wheat beer comes to us by way of Bavaria and, like all beers in this group, relies heavily on malted wheat for its grain bill. While you may not be familiar with this beer’s true name, you’ve probably heard of a style of Weissbier that’s very common in the U.S.: the Hefeweizen. Hefeweizen beers are unfiltered, yeasty beers that often tout rich, foamy heads and straw-colored hazy bodies.
Hefe actually means “yeast” and refers to the leftover yeast in these beers, which give them their signature hazy appearance. Weissbiers often feature predominant banana, clove, and apple notes thanks to the strains of yeast used in their fermentation. The esters from fermentation give these flavors to the beer, and it’s these flavors that many of these German beers are most noted for. There are more than just Hefeweizens in this category however. Filtered Kristalweizen, Dunkelweizen, and Weizenbock are all in the Weissbier family.
Witbier
While the Weissbier originated in the Bavarian region, Witbiers hail from Belgium. While very much like Weissbiers, these are often hazy and unfiltered, but unlike their German counterpart, the Witbier commonly obtains its primary flavors from spices rather than solely grain and yeast.
In Belgium during the 14th-century the use of hops was outlawed, which as you can imagine was a major blow to the brewing culture found there. In their place, spices and botanicals were used to give a unique flavor to the beer being produced. The Witbier we know today is the result of this experimentation and while modern Witbiers do indeed have some level of hops in them, the spices and botanicals used in those days are still found in abundance.
Known as gruit, the mixture of coriander, orange, hops, and bitter orange became the go-to spice for wheat beers at the time. While the exact mixture found in gruit changed from brewery to brewery and across the span of history, this basic flavor profile remained, giving these beers a very low bitterness and a somewhat fruity profile. These are the beers often found in bars with slices of orange on the rim of the glass, and are incredibly easy to drink, making them perfect for those just starting to experiment with the world of craft beer.
Berliner Weisse
Heading back to Germany we find a very unique entry in the world of wheat beers. The Berliner Weisse is a sour beer that is often found at a low 3–4% ABV. While sour beers are somewhat popular today, this style was handsdown the most popular style of beer in Germany during the 19th century, with some 700 breweries in and around Berlin producing their own version.
Much like Oktoberfest beers, to be a true Berliner Weisse, the beer must be brewed in Berlin city borders, but also as with Oktoberfest-style beers, this rule is rarely followed in a strict manner, and only enforced within Germany, meaning it’s totally normal to find a Berliner Weisse brewed by a Pittsburgh brewery, which many of them have done.
Lambic
The last major type of wheat beer is one that is rarely included in a list of wheat beers, even though it’s a style that is growing in popularity. Lambic beers are a very unique type of wheat beer that are produced using something called spontaneous fermentation. This means that Lambics are brewed, then instead of adding a metered amount of yeast, they are left in something called a coolship to cool down, and to catch wild yeast that’s just floating through the air.
This gives Lambics a funky, wild flavor that can range from Belgian-esque to tart and sour. Lambics are often brewed with fruit, and much like their Berliner Weisse sibling, often come in at lower ABVs.
Overall, wheat beers are a complex and engrossing style of beer with a wide range of flavors and sub-styles included in its family tree. While most people think of Witbiers when they say they like wheat beer, the style goes so much deeper than this one type, and by exploring all the flavors and characteristics that wheat has to offer, it’s use as a key brewing malt is easy to recognize and appreciate.
