Dry Dock
Ayinger
Franziskaner
Hofbrau
I stock up on Lagunitas, Tallgrass, and Bear Republic when I go to St. Louis.
I often find 6-packs of Schlafly that are a week old in grocery stores (stored cold!).
Indy is gaining, both in local breweries and new accounts. We lost DFH last year. That one hurt.
I would throw Dancing Man Wheat from New Glarus in the mix of my fav. 4. GREAT beer.
Schneider - This is by far the best in my opinion, if I’m going to drink this style, this is my go to.
Weihenstephaner
Ayinger
Paulaner
This is an old topic, but I was searching for hefeweizen recipes and this also came up, so I thought I would reply. I agree that the German heferweizens that you get over here in the states just don’t taste the same as what you get over in Germany on tap. Maybe its the pasturization or just being old. I don’t know. That being said, there are a few from the U.S. that are dang good. One of my favorites, Mothership Wit, from New Belgium is no longer in production, though.
- Sierra Nevada Kellerweis
- New Belgium Mothership Wit (RIP)
- Oak Creek Hefeweizen (Sedona, AZ)
- Schneider Weiss
- SanTan Hefeweizen (Chandler, AZ)
I had a Hefe from Urban Chestnut in St. Louis that was fantastic. Their distribution is super small, but if anyone passes through St. Louis, check them out.
+1000. This brewery is small but amazing. I love going to the brewery (they have a lot of German influence, even a beer garden), but recently their 4-packs and mix packs of pint bottles have been showing up in the Indianapolis market. I would make EVERY beer in that mixer a go-to (including the hef).
Wouldn’t Mothership Wit be… a Belgian Witbier? I never had it but I don’t think it was a Hefeweizen.
+1. I think Schneider is by far the most distinctive.
1. Schneider Weisse
2. Weihenstephaner
3. Ayinger
4. Franziskaner
Yeah, it was kind of a weird one. Typical wit spices, but with Hefe-type yeast character. The spices were pretty subtle, IIRC, so I can see how one might lump it in with Hefes.
Yeah, I loved their Zwickel. Cloudy Bavarian lager. Definitely unusual but delicious.
So it’s a tie between Paulaner and Ayinger for me. And as the Major implied the quality varies in the bottle across the board.
Right now I’m drinking Pedernales “Classic Hefe-weizen” from Fredricksburg and Boulevard “Unfiltered Wheat”
Schniklefritz (Urban Chestnut Brewing), Weinhenstephaner, Paulaner, and Franziskaner.
Urban Cheatnut also makes a great Bavarian Lager called “Zwikel.” Nice to have a craft brewer make solid German beer styles as year-around offerings. I can’t get UCBC beer in KC so I always make sure to stop by the beer store any time I’m in STL.
I know it’s not exactly to style, but my favorite is Schneider Brooklyn Hopfenweisse and my second favorite is the Brooklyn Schneider Hopfenweisse.