Style family
Wheat beer
Beers with a large proportion of wheat, giving soft body, lasting head and — in the German line — striking yeast character.
What unites this family
A grist with a substantial proportion of wheat, malted or raw, which contributes protein for body and head retention and a soft, bready base. What sits on top of that base differs completely by tradition: banana and clove in Bavaria, coriander and orange peel in Belgium, near-neutral in America.
Top-fermented (ale). Fermented warm with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which collects at the surface. Warmer fermentation produces more esters and phenols, so ales tend to carry more fruit and spice from the yeast itself.
7 styles in this family
- Weissbier
Bavarian wheat beer defined by its yeast: pronounced banana and clove over a soft, cloudy, highly carbonated body.
- Kristallweizen
A filtered Weissbier: the same banana-and-clove character in a brilliantly clear beer with a lighter, crisper body.
- Dunkelweizen
A dark Bavarian wheat beer where banana and clove meet bread crust and light caramel from Munich malt.
- Weizenbock
A strong wheat beer combining Weissbier yeast character with bock malt depth — banana and clove over dark fruit and bread.
- American wheat beer
A wheat beer fermented with clean American yeast: soft body and lasting head, without the banana and clove.
- Roggenbier
A German rye beer, spicy and full-bodied, fermented with Weissbier yeast for banana and clove alongside rye’s pepper.
- Witbier
A Belgian wheat beer brewed with unmalted wheat, coriander and orange peel — soft, hazy, citrusy and lightly spiced.