Choosing a Classic German Weisse Beer: Ayinger Brau-Weisse Authentic Bavarian Hefe-Weizen

When you think of beer, you have to think of Bavaria. Seriously, it's mandatory. Beautiful countryside with the snow capped Alps as a backdrop, pretzels, bratwurst, beer fest, but most importantly good beer! About half an hour south east of the Bavarian capitol of Munchen is a little town named Aying. There you will find a brewery that has been brewing real Bavarian beer for over 130 years!

One of the more than ten beers they produce is Brau-Weisse an authentic Bavarian hefe-weizen. If you aren't familiar with hefe-weizen, it's just wheat beer "Mit der heffe" or with yeast in the bottle. It's this Bavarian yeast that provides weisse beer with it's unique aromas and flavors. I was fortunate to live a couple miles from Ayinger brewery for several years. Yes, I have my own Ayinger Stein! Do you? Ha! ! I didn't think so! I sampled this beer many, many times to be sure that I liked it! Most of them were poured by Manny the bartender at the Bad Aibling club during football season or while throwing darts during the uber competitive Bad Aibling dart league! I was definitely the best shooter on the team...or at least it seemed that way after drinking the hefe-weizen! Anyhow, that's the way I choose to remember it! What I am saying is, I researched this beer thoroughly and extensively!

First the specifics: top fermented hefe-weizen, 5.1% abv, 500 ml bottle

Brewed in accordance to the Reinheitsgebot Purity law of 1516. That means no adjuncts, additives or preservatives only malted barley or wheat, hops, yeast, and water.

You get the first whiff of the pleasant aroma as soon as you pop the top. The aroma of banana, bread, cloves, and orange peel really hit you as you pour it into the weisse glass to breathe. It smells really good! If possible make sure you use a special weisse beer glass to accommodate the head a good weisse usually produces.

This beer does produce the classic weizen head that's foamy and white. It almost looks like marshmallow cream. Very good retention. The appearance is cloudy and somewhere between a pale and deep gold

Let's see what this baby taste like! As if I don't already know! First, it's creamy and medium bodied. The taste is balanced with hints of everything you get from the aroma. The banana and malty, yeasty bread taste are prevalent! The aftertaste is slightly sweet with more hint of the banana. I think I will have some more!

This is a very drinkable beer and an authentic Bavarian hefe-weizen. Serve it with a slice of lemon or orange. The price is right at $2.99 for a 500 ml bottle here in Ohio. Germans love beer, maybe even more than they love David Hasslehoff's song "Looking for Freedom"! Seriously, they played that song several times per night at every beer fest I attended! Saturday Night Live was not kidding people! "Germans love David Hasslehoff!" and Bavarians love Ayinger Brau-weisse! Give it a try if you like your beer "mit hefe"!