German Wheat Beer

Classic Beer Style Series #7

by Eric Warner

Warner taps years of personal experience to profile the history, tradition, and brewing techniques of this truly unique beer style.

Genres: Brewing, Beer, Nonfiction, Reference, Food

149 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Kaveh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A weak 4 stars.
Mainly due to the fact that some parts REALLY would need to be revised, since the book hasn't been updated in nearly 30 years.
While much of the techniques remain the same, the book refers to ongoing research that hasn't been finalized or the difficulties in acquiring south German weizen (or Berliner weizen) yeast, which is not hard these days.
So all in all, the book gives some really interesting point of view how German master brewers go about their brewing, which has had an impact on my personal hefe-weissen brewing, including some amusing anecdotes, but the author wouldn't have to spend more than a week of worktime to just give the book the update it deserves! Would buy a revised version instantly.

[Nurtan Meral · Rating 4 out of 5]

After 30 years,a new edition would be welcomed

[Christopher Murtagh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this little series of books, always a couple of good though old recipes in them, and a lot of background info. A lot of the german words on bottle labels now make some kind of sense to me. He's a decoction / step mash absolutist, I haven't done the necessary to confirm or deny if the effort is worth it, but if you don't think it is then don't do it. Probably not that necessary these days.

Nothing ground breaking in here ... except I did relearn about how to prime bottles by bottling away some wort or even run off from the mash and storing it in the fridge. I think I must have read this at some time a long time ago ... but I guess if you wanted to really follow the german way it might be an idea to try.

[Bryan Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

With it being written in 1992, the information directed toward home brewers in this book is outdated. That aside, this short volume is still very valuable for it's history on the style of beer, components and major producers in Germany. Eric Warner's style of writing is exceptionally easy to read, being more conversational and obviously writing from first hand experience.

[Paul Klammer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bit technical here and there, but all good. I learned a number of things I had not come across elsewhere about wheat use in recipes in general and Weissbiers specifically. Definitely a valuable reference to have on your shelf if you are making wheat beers. Picked up a few new German terms as well. Looking forward to making a proper Berlinerweisse with the help of this book.

[Geoff Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful if somewhat dry reference covering German wheat beers (primarily what most Americans call hefeweizen, but touching on other styles as well) and their history, sensory profiles, technical specifications and ingredients, brewing techniques and recipes, and food pairings.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightful read, conversational style. Fun little romp through the history and practice of Weissbier and its other Bavarian cousins.

[Dan Hellmuth]

L

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice book to have if you are an experienced homebrewer.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great information on wheat beer's history and how to make it. Also has a a basic introduction and guide to decoction mashing.

[Mitch Romig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite being way out of date in certain areas, this is still one of the better books in this series.