The background: Weihenstephaner bills itself as the world's oldest brewery and has been brewing since 1040. The brewery really goes back to brewing at a Benedictine monk abbey in 768, but wasn't licensed by the city until 1040. Technically since 1923 the brewery has been called Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan which means that its owned by the state of Bavaria, although their website mentions that they are a corporation regulated by the state. Bavaria is a state in southeastern Germany and this beer is brewed in the city of Freising (population just under 50,000) which is just north of Munich.
The bottle claims that this was brewed under the Purity Law of 1516. Basically, there was a law in Germany that said beer could only be made with three ingredients: water, barley, and hops. Note that yeast was not an original ingredient. That's because brewers would use some of the sediment from a previous batch to make the next one. Its not even the law any more, and that law would exclude this beer since its made with wheat so I'm not sure why they would argue it was brewed under that law.
Kristall Weissbier, Crystal Wheat Beer in English, is similar to a hefe but its filtered. Weihenstephaner claims it has a "secret" fermentation process for this beer. Its 5.4% ABV and is a light straw color, which is "crystal-clear" as the bottle says. When it is poured there is quite a bit of head. Its kind of like a light version of a German beer because the tastes are very light, there is not a whole lot of body, and the linger is short. Although at 230 calories its really not that light. This makes a good spring and summer beer. To me German beers taste a little sour and malty and this one is no exception.
Photo credit: the beautiful Kiki
