Wheat Beer - Varieties

Varieties

Two common varieties of wheat beer are witbier (Dutch – "white beer") based on the Belgian tradition of using flavourings such as coriander and orange peel which was revived by Pierre Celis at the Hoegaarden Brewery, and the Celis Brewery in Austin Texas and weissbier (German – "white beer") based on the German tradition of mixing at least 50% wheat to barley malt to make a light coloured top-fermenting beer. Both the Belgian witbier and the German weissbier were termed "white beers" because "wheat" has the same etymological root as "white". Belgian white beers are often made with raw unmalted wheat, as opposed to the malted wheat used in other varieties.

German wheat beers are called "Weizen" (wheat) in the western (Baden-Württemberg) and northern regions, and "Weißbier" or "Weiße" (white beer or white) in Bavaria. Hefeweizen (the prefix "Hefe" is German for yeast) is the name for unfiltered wheat beers, while Kristallweizen ("Kristall" being German for crystal) is the same beer filtered.

Breweries in other countries, particularly the U.S. and Canada, will brew wheat beers based on these two main traditions using special wheat beer yeasts.

Sour beers such as Berliner Weisse, gose, and lambic are made with a significant proportion of wheat.

In Britain, wheat beer is not considered traditional, but several brewers produce cask-conditioned varieties, such as Fuller's Discovery, Oakleaf Eichenblatt Bitte, Hoskins White Dolphin, Fyfe Weiss Squad and Oakham White Dwarf. British wheat beer tends to be a hybrid of the continental style with an English bitter, rather than an exact emulation.

Wheat beers are commonly marketed as spring or summer seasonal products.