Posted by Greg Clow in beer, beverages on August 19, 2008 at 3:45 pm
As noted in my "Beer Styles 101" column on Hefeweizen in the latest issue of TAPS magazine (<plug>available now at Chapters, Indigo and other fine magazine retailers</plug>), one of the differentiating characteristics between this German wheat beer style and its Belgian cousin, Witbier, is the lack of spices. While Witbiers such as Hoegaarden are usually laced with coriander and orange peel to give them their distinct flavour, German brewing tradition allows for nothing but water, yeast, hops, barley and wheat to be used when crafting Hefeweizen.
Outside of the borders of Germany, however, brewers are less likely to abide by the restrictive rules of the Reinheitsgebot, a.k.a. the German Beer Purity Law of 1516. So while many foreign breweries choose to stick with tradition and brew their Weizens in the old school way, there are a few of them who play around with ingredients and recipes to create variations on the style.
One of these adventurous breweries is Austria's Hofbräu Kaltenhausen, located in Salzburg near the German border. First established in 1475, Kaltenhausen is one of the oldest breweries in Austria, and also one of the earliest breweries to make Weissbier (another name for Hefeweizen), pre-dating many of Germany's better known examples - although to be fair, they were also one of the many breweries who abandoned the style when it lost popularity, and only revived it in 1986 with the launch of the Edelweiss brand.
Starting with the traditional Edelweiss Hefetrüb Weissbier, the Edelweiss name now appears on an array of German-style wheat beers, including Weizen Bock, Dunkelweizen and Kristallweizen. The most recent addition to the line came along with 2007 when Edelweiss Snowfresh was launched as an export to the Czech Republic, followed by a roll-out to other European countries, and with the LCBO's Summer Beers promotion, it's now available here in Ontario (LCBO 73718, $2.05/330 mL).
Going back to the theme suggested in the introduction to this review, what differentiates Snowfresh from a standard Weissbier is the addition of herbs during the brewing process. Identified only as "Alpine herbs" on the label, it's anyone's guess what the additives might be, but mint has been identified in many of the reviews on RateBeer.com, along with guesses of lavender, coriander and anise.
Personally, I found it difficult to find any specific herb flavour in the mix, there's just a subtle herbal/medicinal note sitting alongside the expected Weissbier notes of banana and clove, as well as a bit of lemon. Maybe it's just the influence of the Alpine imagery, but it sort of reminded me of Ricola cough drops, which might not sound that appealing, but it actually makes for a very refreshing flavour profile. It's also quite light bodied, with a less prominent yeast character than is typical of Hefeweizens.
There's no denying that traditional and unadultrated Hefeweizen is one of the classics of the beer world. Give me a fresh glass of Denison's or a bottle of Schneider Weisse and I'm a happy man. But rules are also meant to be broken, especially when the results are as enjoyable as this Austrian delight.
