Picture modern beer, and you likely imagine a brew that’s beautifully bright and clear, shimmering in the sunshine through a pint glass. Then came the hazy IPA and hazy pale ale. Today, a sizeable percentage of craft beer is no longer see-through, with hazies continuing to dominate beer bar tap handles.
They’re joined, of course, by dark beers, porters, stouts, doppelbocks, and others that have remained impenetrably opaque, plus several styles of beer that are usually unfiltered, such as kellerbiers, gose, Belgian wits, saisons, and others. But they still represent a minority.
Historically, clear, filtered beers arrived on the scene around the time that transparent glassware rose to prominence. Though glass drinking vessels had beeen around since the Roman era, it wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution made glassware affordable for everyone. At the same time, advances in brewing technology created filtering systems and other methods to efficiently make beer crystal clear. This combination of innovations created the pilsner experience, which quickly became the most popular beer in the world after it debuted in 1842.
With Yeast: The Hefeweizen
One key exception to modern clear beer is the Hefeweizen. A style that originated in Germany, the word “hefe” means yeast, and so the hefeweizen is an unfiltered wheat (“weizen”) beer in which the yeast remains visible in the beer, giving it a cloudy appearance.
You may have heard about the Reinheitsgebot, a Bavarian law from 1516 that made it illegal to brew beer with anything other than water, barley and hops (they didn’t count yeast at that point). One reason for this law was to reserve wheat and rye for making bread and to keep loaves affordable. Eventually the law was relaxed, and brewers were free to include wheat, though usually no more than half. By the early 1870s, brewers like Schneider Weisse— still making wheat beers today — pioneered the first modern hefeweizens.
The wheat gives the beer a silky-smooth mouthfeel and makes it very easy-drinking, ideal for a hot August day, while the yeast gives the beer its distinctive notes of cloves and banana, often with a slight bubble gum undertone. Hefeweizens are also fairly complex, and many will impart hints of nutmeg, vanilla or a whiff of light smokiness. It’s a combination that doesn’t sound like it should taste good, but it really works.
Widmer Brothers’ Hefeweizen has less of a strong clove and banana nose compared to Bavarian hefeweizens, so it has a cleaner, less yeasty and more refreshingly neutral taste, according to beer columnist Jay R. Brooks. (Glen Martin/Denver Post)
So hefeweizens are wheat beers, but not all wheat beers are hefeweizens. And it’s that banana and clove character that makes them so unique. Germans also make a clear, filtered version of a hefeweizen, known as a kristallweizen, though they’re often hard to find. Filtering out the yeast to make the beer clear also strips the beer of a lot of its flavor, so most people seem to prefer the original hazy version.
Another feature of hefeweizens is their big, pillowy heads, often accentuated by being served in a very tall Weizen glass, which is narrow at the bottom and wider at the top to promote generous froth.
Hefeweizens also pair with a variety of lighter dishes, like salads and seafood, but also stand up to spicier food well, too. They’re also great with goat cheese, chicken or pork, and even pretzels.
American Hefeweizen
Naturally, early American craft brewers came up with their own version of hefeweizens. To differentiate themselves, brothers Rob and Kurt Widmer decided to make German-style beers since almost everybody else in 1984 was focusing on English ales. Their first beer was another obscure German beer called Alt (and older local beer lovers may remember the popular St. Stan’s Amber Alt), but it was their third beer that put them on the map. Since they only had one kind of yeast in the brewery, they used that to create their Widmer Hefeweizen, and in the process created the American hefeweizen as a separate style. It’s cloudy, like its German cousin, but does not have the signature clove and banana notes. So it remains as refreshing as a typical hefeweizen with a more neutral palate. That’s also why it’s often served with a slice of lemon, to add some additional flavor complexity.
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Many craft breweries brew a hefeweizen these days, often as their lightest offering, in both the Bavarian or American style. It’s an excellent choice if you’re looking for something easy-drinking and thirst-quenching. They’re also full-flavored without being too full-bodied. That makes them the original hazy and the perfect beer to enjoy over the summer.