Comparing 4 popular German wheat beers (hefeweizen) 

In England, I drink a lot (and it's my go-to) wheat beer/weissbier is Franziskaner. It's just a very, very solid and enjoyable wheat beer. I'm of to open a bottle :-)

I agree. The Weihenstephaner is the best out of these. They are all good, but only one of them is the best.

I am very into this style of beer right now. It’s my favorite. So I typed in “German drinking Hefeweizen” and I got this. Exactly what I was looking for.

Great to see a new beerchannel on RU-vid, weissbier is one of my favorite beerstyles. My favorite is the Weihenstephaner and in second comes the Erdinger. Greetings from the Netherlands, cheers! 🍻

Thank you for this excellent review. I like your style!

Subscribed because of this video. Good, orderly reviews; clean, crisp presentation. Skol!

Great video, sir. Nicely cut down, entertaining and educational. Dropped you a sub. Cheers from England!

Great video! I've been drinking Franziskaner as my go-to hefeweizen for the past decade, but lately I have been more into Paulaner. I should try the other two; my local Wegmans has a great import beer section with all four of these weissbiers.

Hello Daniel, I'm German, though not Bavarian, and in the past my favorite Weizen has actually been Störtebeker Bernsteinweizen (amber wheat) from the Baltic coast town of Stralsund where it's somewhat of a tradition since Hanse trade guild times to brew wheat beers for export markets. If you can get it in Sweden I recommend you give it a try.

Love the intro! My favourite is Weihenstephaner great 👍 video subscribed cheers or Prost!

They’re all superior. My favorite is Weihenstaphaner and Franziskaner is a close 2nd. Schneider Weisse is also a favorite as are their respective dunkels.

Great review thanks. Unfortunately we can’t get Kronenburg Blanc in the Uk anymore but thankfully we can get these four in your review 😊

German Weissbier is one of my favourite styles as well. I would say that Paulaner is my favourite but I like Erdinger and Schneider weisse as well. But I also prefer a thicker head of foam on this style of beer in particular closer to your first pour than the other ones. I think it brings out some of that wonderfully creamy mouthfeel. Excellent review I enjoyed your video.

Great reviews cheers

Love your review!! So funny. Love Weihenstephaner too😂

Fun video. New subscriber here. Glad to see you went the extra step and put in the branded glasses...nice classy touch. Greetings from Ohio. Prost!

Cool video, never drink but would love to try this.

Augustiner makes also a great weissbier. Quite bold in style, bit more caramel malts as well. Excellent choice with the heavy food!

Having watched your videos over the last few weeks I went on a hunt to try various hefeweizens and fiestbiers. Weinstephaner was definitely the tastiest one I tried!

Thanks for giving Alagash a shout out.. It's my favorite when I'm in Maine

i've tasted all of them but in my opinion paulaner has the best flavor out of all of them

Really appreciate this kind of video. With a style, take a handful of available, well made beers and taste your way to your preferred beer. Heles. Pils. Kolsch. So many styles to explore.

Weihenstephaner is my go to wheat beer. Thanks for sharing.

Had the Maisel Weisse recently and enjoyed it!

Good to see a new beer channel come up here, so subscribed after seeing this very good review. I have to agree with you on your ratings. I find Erdinger+Franziskaner to be more toned down weissbeirs compared to weihenstephaner and paulaner but all 4 are great beers and extremely drinkable. Keep up the good work. 👍

*AUSTRALIAN* who lived in Coburg, Bavaria for five years. I couldn't believe they had a pub _inside_ the local gym where patrons would enjoy a tall bananaweizen (hefeweizen with banana syrup) after a workout. And the summers there were just magical. Warm, sunny days in the park enjoying great beer and friendly, relaxed vibes.

Have to say, I love all four of these beers and would be very pleased to drink any of them at any time!

I tried Weihenstephaner years ago. It was new to me who has been consuming sub par beer. Now, I don’t know if you guys consider the Weihenstephaner common but to me it was the best I’ve ever tried. Paulener is readily available in my country but it’s just not my type.

I've once bought all the hefeweizens I could get in my local supermarket. I didn't taste them side by side though. In the multiple day test Paulaner was the winner, weihesetephaner was close too. Didn't have a clear order for all the others. But those two stood out to me. Fun to see you got a similar result on your side by side.

Franziskaner has always been my favourite! It took me a while to get use to how cloudy it is! Also it is not as strong! Definitely they all have to be server very cold!

I'm out of the deepest bavarian forest and i never saw someone rolling the bear bottle over the table😂 I would advise you aside from that the "Schneider Weiße", it's one of the most liked

great video! I wonder if the test would have different results if you were able to sample draft beers rather than bottled. It would be an easy loss if one of these bottles were significantly older than the rest as flavors do degrade over time.

Excellent video! I did a similar tasting, but included Ayinger Urweisse. For me, the Ayinger ranked number one and then the rest just as you stated. Ayinger's Bräuweisse is also very good. Cheers! 🍻

When I was stationed in West Germany the Hefeweizen beers were so carbonated that you had to pour them at almost 180* angle. Then I went back to Nuremberg in 2018 and the beers wasn't as carbonated. When did this change? Even for a regular beer, you had to wait at least 5 minutes to get it off the tap. The beer that I had was Patrizier, the most popular in Nuremburg.

I have only had the Erdinger as in my part of Canada it is the only one readily available. I enjoyed it, so I definitely will try the others if I ever get the opportunity to try.

Just got back from a couple weeks in Germany with my wife. We both like Hefeweizen / Weisbier. They can be very regional or almost town specific there. While in Koblenz we had a Benediktiner weisbier which was excellent. Not sure I can find it in the US though. Great video, thanks.

I like all those weissbiers apart from Erdinger, try and get a bottle of Franziskaner Royal 🍺

Loving the videos, have you tried schneider weisse original, I find it less bitter and is a darker gold colour.

Huh interesting that you pick the one of the four I haven't tried. Going to have to pick that up next time I'm at the store. I really, REALLY love Franziskaner though as one of my top 10-20 beers probably.

I love German wheat beers. I haven't had the Eringer. Hacker Pschor has a very good wheat beer as well. I'd say Franziskaner is my favorite.PROST!🍻

I would be glad to see Schneider Weisse also. The best for me. Never did a side test, but vetwenn these I would go with Weihenstephaner or Fraziskaner.

I’ve had all four over the past week and there is something about the Erdinger that keeps calling my name. They are all great German beers but the Erdinger has something that’s very special going on. I’ve left ,came back , left again and for me the Erdinger is special.

Great comparison and review . Welcome to Youthube. Greetings from Scotland. I do think a weizen needs and benefits from a larger head

Before the brewery shut down in Erlangen, Kitzmann hefewizen was hands down the best weizen I ever had the pleasure to drink. Gutmann from Titing was a close second. Beer in Germany is on an absolute next level and food!!! The "German" beers they sell here the US are absolutely NOT the same. They carry the same name and labels, but just do not have the same flavor. Damn purity laws.

The banana/clove scent/flavour is mostly caused by fermentation temperature control. On the warm side, more banana. Fermenting cooler, you get more clove. I was fermenting some wheat beer, and it got too warm. The airlock hit the ceiling, 18 feet high. (Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan yeast.) steve

Franziskaner and Paulaner are my favorites, but I like all of them 😂 Great video! 🍻

Tucher in America is the here I was introduced to...which inspired to home brew. It's best made at home. We brewed witbier too....

The bitter note is latgely attributed to hops. Usually three or so hops are added to the cooking process. The first is the bitter hops, which are added early in the process. The fruity and more aromatic then towards the end so the aroma is not cooked out. The creaminess and banana flavoues comes with the choice of wheat over barley as carb source.

I can only get two of these here in the Alabama/Tennessee border area. Shame, I really want to try the other two. I can get the Paulaner & Erdinger, but that is all. Perhaps I will harrass my grocery store manager...Danke für das Video! Lasst uns noch mehr gutes Bier trinken!

Hefeweizen is the ultimate beer to enjoy during Summer months! I have tried all of these beers on tap in Germany and bottled varieties in the USA and they are all great! Just so you know, bottled Franziskaner sold in the USA is brewed and bottled in St. Louis, Missouri, but still tastes good. Overall these beers are the best but Augustiner is my top favorite and it is not available in the USA. I enjoyed it many times on tap under their trademark orange umbrellas, in Munich, right across from the Rathaus Glockenspiel.

I was in Melbourne last month and I really enjoyed the franziskaner beer in one of the German beer shop.

I've tried all of these, and enjoyed them all, though not equally. The Erdinger was good as a general beer, but I much prefer Weihenstephaner and Franziskaner in the hefeweizen style. Paulaner's hefe is also very good, but... I almost always get distracted by the Salvator right next door because I love a good doppelbock even more than I do a decent hefe, sometimes.

This stuff is awesome.

The first Weihenstephaner I tried changed the way I think about beer. It's near impossible to find where I currently live (stupid local craft brews dominate and none taste better than a crappy knockoff), so when I find it, it's a treat myself moment.

Stofferhoffer is my all time fav. Can't find it in the states though....I do like Pauline as well.

Weihenstephaner, Ayinger, Franziskaner. Honorary mention, Hacker Pschor Paulaner, Erdinger.

Remembering the days, when I still drank alcohol, I always prefered Weißbier with lots of foam, like you poured the first one. But that is more of a preference then anything I guess. Even though, according to the czech, more foam keeps the beer fresh for a longer time, as I learnt recently.😅 The Weizen I digged the most was Waldhaus actually, which comes from the Black Forrest area. You should try that one, if you get it somewhere ;)

Yank here who lived in Germany for 4+ years and Hefeweizen was my favorite beer 🍺. Had all four quite often but seem to remember Erdinger was my go to. Hmm… need to pick up some for the weekend..

paulaner weihenstephaner franziskaner are all amazing in my view Erdinger is a few leagues below. great video mate you have a fantastic personality looking forward to more vids cheers 🍻

You really hit it! That is exactly what I smell and taste when I have had those four! My Favorite is Paulaner, by far! Gut, Besser, Paulaner!

I remember trying this beer when I first got to Germany. It was very good but extremely thick and filling.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Weihenstephaner hefe/dunkel hefe, everything else is a close 2nd but my 1st close 2nd is Shofferhofer. ive never tried Franziskaner but i will be on the lookout for that now. Paulaner another fantastic wheat beer and erdinger i wouldn buy it again but i would still drink it if offered.

Amazing channel! Thanks! I pick Schneiderweisse! 😊

Before even watching the video, this is the best acording to me: 1. Andechs 2. Franziskaner 3. Schneider Weisse tap 4 4. Erdinger 5. Weihenstephaner The rest. I love German beer.

Excellent video, very hard to pick one.. Franziskaner was my favorite from 20 years ago but they dampened the flavor a few years back.. Paulaner and Weihenstephaner are also amazing.. very hard to pick a clear winner.. All 4 of these beers are still very very good and way better than almost any American beer.. tough call.. great video thanks

Even before seeing anything, i am happy to announce: this guys channel has the right vibe. asking the right questions about life ,and all that remains at the bottom of the bottle. PUT THE DAMN GLASS OVER THE BOTTLE.And then put like 60-70% in.let it rest. And then swirlingly put the rest in.Completly fine for some Nordic people to get only some parts wrong (wrong ,in not efficient,but not really wrong) .. The Mastery of Weizen, is to put the glass all the way on the flask,turn it 180° ,remove it at the right time.and then wait,its a two step process, that will take a minute or two ,to get a perfect Weizen.The most moment is when there is an equilibrium in the glass and the flask (remember the bottle is down in one hand and the the glass in the other) when you get to the more open parts of the glass to swirl like 500°/sec.Youll be left with some 0.070 Liters of Joy,and wait for the perfect moment to pour it down the bubbles. Get a closed flask and put a glass down on it,it is important.second step is to put the glass over the flask,and then turn it over 180° degreees. But at least,you spare me the heresy of some spanish people drinking hefeweizen from the bottle.Timing is everything to get 100% and not 90%,with your doings ... and drink it in 20 minutes

You earned my 👍 with the finger snapping.

Haven't tried Erdinger yet, but I agree with your ranking of the other three. I like Weihenstephaner's dunkel even better, but I'm a big fan of dunkel in general. Their Vitus weizenbock didn't seem any better or worse than the standard weissbier to me, but I didn't do a direct comparison, just drank them at different times, so I can't really say for sure.

Yes. They are all great and tasty beers.

The best that I've tried is Andechs Hefeweizen. But it's hard to get in the UK, and has to be bought from a specialist beers shop.

In Germany there are over 1500 breweries🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻. Of these, over 50% have white beer in the range. The four wheat beers are the best known, but not the best in quality. They come from the smaller family breweries from Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany🍻🍻🍻

My favorite hefeweizen is probably a Schneider. But my favorite wheat beer overall is Weihenstephaner Vitus (a weizenbock)

Paulaner is my favorite, with Weihenstephaner a close second. I love this style of beer.

You should name this video „Which is the best Hefeweizen of the big industrial breweries?“, since there is no of the very good midsize breweries like Schneider, Kuchlbauer, etc. in this competition. Maybe because they are not available at your location? But despite this I totally agree with your tasting results. 👍

I came to appreciate German weissbeer during lockdown. I'm enjoying an Erdinger right now :-) but I wouldn't quibble over any of them

Freshness is an important consideration for this style of beer. Here in the US these German imports sometimes are bland, and when you check the date it’s because they are old. Nowadays I only drink them on tap. For bottled /canned I look for domestic brews that are faithful to the German style. Gordon-Biersch (labeled as “JosephBrau” at Trader Joe’s) is my current favorite.

Always loved the Weihenstephaner. Paulaner has never done me wrong either.

You can try Ayinger as well

In England we get Weihenstephaner in Sainsbury’s and it’s currently going for £2.50. That is my go to hefeweizen. Otherwise it’s Franziskaner. The W. Vitus version is probably my favourite though but going for over £4 a bottle online.

I’ve had a bunch of Hefeweizen and it’s a toss up between Ayinger and Weihenstephaner for me

Finally, I have found my people and I have found my style of beer! Cheers from the US

I’ve had all 4 of these. Erdinger is my favorite.

Weihenstephaner is the only one I think I can easily get where I've been living for the past 9 years, and I can't remember if or when I've tasted the other three. I definitely love Weihenstephaner, but I'm not hearing anything that would deter me from drinking the other three, if I were at a bar where they were served. I also can get three styles of Tucher, here-Hefe Weizen, Dunkles Hefe Weizen, and Festbier-and I like all of them.

From left to right (for the viewer) is correct. Only thing you need to do is drop a bottle of Ayinger in here because it’s hands down the best!

try Unertl, Karg, Schöfferhofer all others allready mentioned are good, too

Weihenstephaner Vitus is my go to when i go out

I have tried all the above except Erdinger. The Paulaner to me is the clear favorite. I brew my own beer as well, and made a honey hefe that was really good. The natural sugar in the honey made it a bit sweeter, but also a LOT stronger in alcohol content. It was delicious.

Fanziskaner wins all day Bloody love that beer ...wow

Fraziskaner is my favorite I’m glad others enjoy it just as much

I have had all three but Weinstephaner only in Europe. In UK I can only find Edringer Franzikaner and Paulaner (my favourite)

I love the Erdinger. You can drink it good. It has not so much CO2.

And if I may: It's Weihenstephan. There is not "er" at the end. Nice experiment though. You should have included Schöfferhofer to your lineup. That's a distinctly different fruitiness towards citrucy, grapefruit flavours.

In Holland we got Grolsch Weizen ..it was best Weizener of the world in 2022..My German favorites are Weihenstephaner and Weihenstephaner Vitus , Ayinger and franziskaner

Can't go wrong with any of them!

Schneider Weisse is also excellent. Their hopfen weisse is nice too

I also found the Edinger to be very malty.Which is strange for a so called Wheat beer.Enjoyed the video will check out your oktoberfest vid now.

Cool!

Franziskaner is the BEST! I Love it.

Was sitting here thinking, this guy must be Swedish :D Those 4 beers are real good, I prefer Franziskaner and Erdinger

Had all of them and Weihenstephaner is my favourite. Actually, there is one I like even more and that's König Ludwig.