Wheat Beers

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Consider the classic styles of wheat beers: They are often cloudy—the haze comes from the greater protein content in wheat (or from yeast left in unfiltered German wheat beers). The proteins make the long-lasting foam; bubble walls are protein constructs. Wheat beers are generally lighter in taste, which makes them an ideal blank canvas for fruit beers, or the coriander-curaçao orange-peel kick in witbiers like Hoegaarden and Blue Moon.

The cloudiness, foam, lightness, and tang all come together in American wheat beers like Widmer Hefeweizen, which lures mainstream drinkers with its intriguing look and rewards them with a refreshing, approachable drink that has a hint of something different. The look—cloudy with a fluffy head—is why Portland-based Widmer Brothers Brewing was able to stay draft-only for years before going to bottles.

Hefeweizen is the generic term that Germans apply to their unfiltered wheat beers; it means, literally, "yeast-wheat." Widmer's beer is unfiltered, but the yeast in a German hefeweizen is completely different, a happy mutation that whistles a wild array of aromas while it works—banana, clove, smoke, plum, and vanilla, a delicious match with cheese and fruit. They are popular morning beers in Germany, served in a tall, curvaceous glass tube, a Wonderbra for beer that pushes the wheat head up and out of the top.

These styles work best with wheat. I've had hefeweizen, American "wheat" beer, and witbier made without wheat as experiments, and they were clearly inferior—like turkey burgers. Conversely, I once had an all-wheat malt India Pale Ale, or IPA. It was difficult to brew—the extra protein in the wheat makes for a very sticky mash, the reason most wheat beers are no more than 60 percent wheat—and for no payoff. It tasted like a crisp, hoppy IPA, maybe on the lower side on body.

While I'm all for innovative brewing, knowing when to stop is important too. We know what works with wheat: So brew it, pour it in our glasses, and don't try to improve on perfection. Spring and the season of bock beers will soon draw to a close. Bring on summer's heat and a tall, cloudy glass of cool wheat beer.

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