6. Weihenstephaner Festbier
Who makes it: Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan. Located in the Bavarian city of Freising in Germany. Founded in 1040, it’s the oldest existing brewery in the world.
What kind of beer is it: Festbier or Oktoberfestbier. A lager brewed in the spring to be consumed in the fall around fest time. Weighs in at 5.8% ABV.
What I thought of the beer: Even though I have a lot to learn, my appreciation for German beer is growing. I now know that this style isn’t necessarily amber or super malty or full-bodied to the point of slowing you down. Weihenstephaner’s version is golden, has a definite floral hoppiness and is an easy drinker. There’s plenty of malt and a bit of sweetness, but the flavor you get from the malt is very toasty/bready. I hate to douche it up, but there’s a “smooth, creamy mouthfeel” going on here that makes the beer rich without coming across as heavy. This is just a damn tasty beer.
Rating: ****
Because they’re so different, you can’t really compare this to the Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen I had last week, but forced to choose, I’d take the Weihenstephaner. It may not have the depth of malt flavor that Ayinger has, but there’s still a lot going on and it’s much more drinkable. One of my co-workers at Bottleworks told me that this batch of Festbier may be the freshest-tasting German bottled beer he’s ever had. I know I’ll be buying and drinking a few more of these while we still have them.
September 10, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Great review, I will have to visit my local bevmo and pick it up.
September 12, 2009 at 6:25 am
I don’t know much about German beers either and to me are either too light or too weird – like so many things German. But my wife had Weihenstephaner’s hefeweizen last weekend and enjoyed it. I tasted it and it was good. We like how it’s served in that monster German hefe glass.
September 14, 2009 at 6:07 am
Philippe, where are you gonna find this beer? I dare you to find it. Or, at least I will try to egg you on so that you will do the leg work for me. And if you don’t find it, I’ll call you lazy.
March 15, 2010 at 2:44 pm
I love this years festbier… I’m still buying up the reserve cases my local L shop has been putting out. I can’t get enough… They never let me buy more than a sixer each week!