Brewery: Spaten-Franziskaner-Brau, Munich, Germany

Brewery Description: “Deep golden color. Natural cloudiness, with yeast. Crispy, refreshing, spicy and fruity.”

Brew Style: German Hefeweissen, 5.0% ABV

Recommended Glassware: Weizen

The Ugly Truth: Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse is a solid hefeweissen, though a bit on the darker and heavier side. The color is a few shades darker than most hefeweissens out there, and the taste is heavier as well. While I typically find most hefeweissens out there to be light and crisp tasting, Franziskaner tastes dense and very full-bodied. There almost seems to be two categories of hefeweissen out there, light and dense. While I do enjoy the lighter ones, the dense hefeweissens are enjoyable as well. This type doesn’t really need a lemon in it like the lighter ones do, and you tend to get a rather full feeling after drinking a pint 9 bottle of it. It also has a strong yeast flavor to it that mixes well with the dense taste. Overall, I’m coming to like the denser hefeweissens better. I recommend giving it a try compared to the lighter ones out there, like Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen.

Verdict: “Quick Igor, give it 7 out of 10 bottlecaps”…”Dr. Franziskaner…it’s alive…IT”S ALIVE”