South German-Style Kristal Weizen
| Location: | German |
|---|---|
| Category: | Ale |
| BJCP Comparable Category: | 10A - Weissbier |
Beer Style Description
This is the description of how the South German-Style Kristal Weizen style of beer should taste, feel and look. However, there may be perfectly fine beers in this style that fall outside of these ranges and descriptions. This information is just to show the most commonly accepted ranges for the South German-Style Kristal Weizen beer style.
These beers are made with at least 50 percent malted wheat. They have no yeast flavor and they exhibit a cleaner, drier mouthfeel than counterparts served with yeast.
- Color: Straw to amber
- Body: Medium to full
- Malt Flavors & Aromas: Malt sweetness is very low to medium-low
- Hop Flavors & Aromas: Not present to very low
- IBUs/Bitterness: Very low
- Fermentation Characteristics: The aroma and flavor are very similar to Hefeweizen with the caveat that fruity and phenolic characters are not combined with the yeasty flavor and fuller-bodied mouthfeel of yeast. The phenolic characteristics are often described as clove-like or nutmeg-like and can be smoky or even vanilla-like. A Banana-like ester aroma and flavor is often present. Diacetyl should not be present. Kristal Weizens are well attenuated and very highly carbonated.
- Common Ingredients: By German brewing tradition, at least 50% of the grist must be malted wheat, although some versions use up to 70%; the remainder is typically Pilsner malt. A decoction mash is traditional, although modern brewers typically don’t follow this practice. Weizen ale yeast produces the typical spicy and fruity character, although high fermentation temperatures can affect the balance and produce off-flavors.
- Commercial Examples: Ayinger Bräu Weisse, Hacker-Pschorr Weisse, Paulaner Hefe-Weizen Naturtrüb, Schneider Weisse Unser Original, Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier
Brewing Properties of South German-Style Kristal Weizen
These are the functional brewing properties of South German-Style Kristal Weizen beers, as descided by the Brewers Association. These guidelines reflect, as accurately as possible, the historical significance, authenticity or a common profile in the current commercial beer market.
| ABV The alcohol by volume is shows the amount of alcohol this style of beer should have. |
4.9 - 5.6% |
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| Bitterness The International Bittering Units (IBU) scale is used to approximately quantify the actual (not perceived) bitterness of beer. |
10 - 15 IBUs | SRM SRM is a scale for measuring the color intensity of a beer. Low SRM grains impart a pale straw color while higher values mean it will add a darker color to the wort. Learn more » |
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3 - 9 SRM(6 - 18 EBC) |
| Original Gravity Original Gravity (OG) is a measure of the sugar content in the wort before alcoholic fermentation has started to produce the beer. |
1.047 - 1.056 |
| Final Gravity The Final Gravity (FG) is how much sugar is left over in the beer when fermentation is complete. |
1.008 - 1.016 |
If you see an error in our data, please let us know!
Based on Brewers Association 2020 Beer Style Guidelines with changes. Used with permission of Brewer's Association.