Beer Man: Vitus weizenbock maintains strong tradition
Beer Man is a weekly profile of beers from across the country and around the world.
This week: Weihenstephaner Vitus
Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany
Can you imagine the party that will be held when the Weihenstephan brewery celebrates its 1,000th year in 2040?
You read that right — we live in a country where a big deal is made of breweries that celebrate 25 years of existence. Weihenstephan has existed through the Dark Ages, the Medieval period, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Black Plague, the Industrial Revolution and hundreds of regional and world wars.
Most American breweries have seen the invention of the iPod.
Weihenstephan has mostly concentrated on making wheat-based beers (although it also makes a fine lager) and its Vitus continues that tradition. Vitus is a weizenbock that combines the best aspects of a bock beer with the qualities of a weiss.
What you get is a golden-colored beer with orange highlights and a healthy white head. The aromas of fresh grain, baking bread, caramel, vanilla and honey arose from the glass, providing an enticing preview of the pleasures ahead.
The ale was soft and creamy on the tongue, yet still had adequate carbonation. The weiss characteristics included the flavors of slightly sweet wheat malt and some banana-clove background that is typical from the yeast used for weiss beers.
The latter was not as pronounced as with a weiss beer, however, because the caramel malt from the bock side occupied a middle ground. There also was some vanilla, apricot and an overall breadiness.
The finish was a delight, also — there was a slight dryness that allowed the flavors to linger a bit before they trailed off. The higher alcohol content (7.7% ABV) provided an immediate warmth, but did not affect the flavor at all. Hop flavor and bitterness were minimal.
Vitus is as fine a weizenbock as you will find anywhere in the world, as are Weihenstephan's other weiss ale and lager offerings — my favorites are its dunkel weiss and Korbinian doppelbock. Its beers are generally available at larger liquor stores around the country. A product locator is on the importer’s site here.
Many beers are available only regionally. Check the brewer's website, which often contains information on product availability by mail. Contact Todd Haefer at beerman@postcrescent.com. To read previous Beer Man columns, click here.