Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier

Prater is an institution in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg. A beer garden built in an old ampitheatre that could mistake you for being in the heart of Bavaria. This place is literally huge and has a low key social almost family like vibe about it, and its reputation as the place to be on a Sunday afternoon led me down there to enjoy a nice sampling of Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier (5.4% abv). This beer pours to an orange/tan color with a cloudy body and a large head of foam. The foam settles into place rather quickly, but it maintains a thin, white layer throughout the drinking experience. The nose of this beer is yeasty, with a little bit of fruit and hop spiciness/dryness. To be honest I am not really into wheat beers that much as I generally can't distinguish a lot between different brands and even different wheat beer styles. So lets keep it simple and just say that it was no better or worse than any others I have tried and went down rather nicely in the warmth of the sun whilst eating a Pretzal!

Weihenstephan Pilsner

The second beer I ordered at the Weinhenstephan Brauhaus was their Pilsner (5.1% abv). The beer is a typical bavarial style pilsner. Its a little plain an not as good as other pilsners from the region and was a little dissapointing, although it did remind me of my last trip to Munich 2 years ago. Its a clean tasting beer with both malt and hop character, but not as bitter as it probably should be. This leaves the beer a little unbalanced in my opinion. Website

Weihenstephan Tradition

Berlin has its fair share of beer halls and gardens, and in my walk around town I stumbled upon the Weinhenstephan Brauhaus. Weinhenstephan is a Bavarian brewery (which is actually owned by the state of Bavaria)which produces iconic wheat beer (especially their hefeweissen), a Pils and various other beers. I was hoping to grab some dinner here, but the menu was a little limited so I settled down for a krug of their Tradition (5.2% abv), a dark, malty, bock style lager. I am not sure that bock is the correct beer style, as the beer does have some leanings towards Dusseldorfer Alt biers and is similar in colour and malt profile. Needless to say the beer was a lot more tasty/tasteful that the East German (DDR)communist architecture! You can find more our at the official website here.