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“They were organic when organic wasn’t cool.” That’s what I had to say about Münster’s Pinkus Muller brewery in my review of their Munster Alt, and of course it applies to Pinkus Muller Hefe-Weizen as well. Personally, I’m not all that sure that organic ingredients make much difference in your beer, beer being for the most part water and all. Still, this beer tastes wonderful, it’s a classic German hefeweizen and that’s the reason I’ve been drinking Pinkus Muller Hefe-Weizen since the 1980s, about 170 years after the brewery was founded in 1816.
Here’s what Pinkus Muller has to say about their Hefe-Weizen on their website:
Pinkus Hefeweizen ist ein erfrischender Biergenuss. Streng nach dem Deutschen Reinheitsgebot wird Pinkus Hefe Weizen aus 60% Bioland Weizenmalz und 40% Bioland Gerstenmalz, Hopfen und erstklassigem Brauwasser hergestellt. Es enthält keinerlei Eiweißstabilisierungsmittel. Vor dem Abfüllen wird dem Weizenbier aus Münster unvergorene Bierwürze zugesetzt, die das Bier in der Flasche noch nachgären lässt. Daher ist es ratsam, Pinkus Hefe Weizen stets gut gekühlt und mit etwas Gefühl einzuschenken. Sehr zum Wohle!
Wait what? You don’t speak German? Well OK then let me break out some of my college German and translate for you:
Pinkus Hefeweizenis a refreshing beer treat. Pinkus Hefe-Weizen is made strictly according to the German beer purity law with barley malt, hops and excellent brewing water, 60% organic wheat malt and 40% organic barley malt. It contains no preservatives. Before filling, unfermented beer wort is added, which makes the beer in the bottle continue to ferment. Therefore it is always advisable to serve Pinkus Muller well chilled and to serve with gusto! To your health!
OK, a rough translation, but my German is rusty. Hefeweizen, of course, is a classic Bavarian style of beer, the original wheat beer. Münster, however, is not located in Bavaria, but rather North Rhine-Westphalia. You couldn’t tell by the beer, though, as Pinkus Hefe-Weizen has that classic Bavarian yeasty profile. The brewery is still run today by the same family that founded it almost 200 years ago.
Pinkus Hefe-Weizen has an alcohol content of 5.1% by volume. It runs $3.99 for a half-liter bottle at Total Wine here in Georgia.
Pinkus Hefe-Weizen pours to a cloudy yellow color with a thick rocky head formation and a spicy banana and clove nose. I swirl the yeast and add to my glass, and you should to for extra flavor. Taking a sip, I get a wave of tart crackery wheat, so refreshing in its intensity and so drinkable I have to try really hard to stop pulling on it. The clove, banana and a hint of vanilla all shine through, too, and at the last the tartness intensifies and dries this one out to perfection.
A textbook German hefeweizen my friends, and a beer that I’m sure is drunk in the halls of Valhalla. As well as the streets of Münster, of course.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft