REVIEW 50: FRANZISKANER WEISSBIER

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  Germany

BREWERY:  Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu

STYLE:  Hefeweizen

ABV:  5.0%

PURCHASE:  Pint (draught), $6.00

SERVING:  Franziskaner-branded weizen glass. Tap produced the run-of-the-mill one-inch crown. Fluffy initially, then more like spongy after several seconds. Average to slightly better than average retention--maybe. 

APPEARANCE:  Cloudy golden-orange body with a bright white head. Translucent toward the bottom of the glass. Lacing is minuscule and inconsistent. 

BOUQUET:  Appealing blend of wheat, citrus zest (lemon and/or orange rind), coriander, and clove, for the most part. Hints of banana.

PALATE:  Somewhat of a Blue Moon-like taste profile. Medium body with carbonation that is initially complementary, but can snowball out of control if you're not careful. In other words, don't hold a sip of this in your mouth for too long! Front palate is lacking, but things get going just a beat later, with burrowing citrus and spice notes. A mellow undertone of banana emerges, and it seems to last the longest of any particular flavor except for perhaps the kick of coriander, clove, and pepper that emerges further and further back. Finish sees a significant increase in citrus and zest--namely lemon and orange rind--before yielding to the more-or-less "peppery orange-banana" aftertaste. Better and less harsh as it warms; too cold a glass seems to heighten the carbonation to a point where it is just too biting, resulting in a loss of balance. In fact, my first of these tonight almost came off like spiked orange soda for several sips, before I allowed it to sit, then opted not to change glasses on subsequent orders.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  Amiable and refreshing. But those are generic words. This is a German hefeweizen; generic won't do.

Carbonation is important to beer; after all, without it, beer would be flat. But there is such a thing as too much carbonation. And it's too much carbonation that makes this, ultimately, a good beer and not a great one. Everything else gels nicely. So nicely, in fact, that you're willing to look past even a major gaffe--like too much carbonation.




GRADE:  B