Paulaner is a legit German brewery, located in the the beer-guzzling capital of the world, Munich. Light beer is a bit of an anomaly in Munich and brewing a lackluster light beer within the city limits leaves one open to public humiliation, excommunication, and in rare cases, execution. Okay, that last one may be a bit of an exaggeration; but you get the point. Paulaner has pulled it off...sort of. The light version of their renowned Hefeweissen sacrifices almost nothing to it's bigger brother when it comes to taste, but they did strip it of quite a bit of alcohol -- which can be a drawback -- depending on what your motivation is for drinking. It only packs 3.2 percent alcohol, similar to what you'd find in a typical American light lager. Nonetheless, it's one of the only "hefe" beers in the world with under 100 calories (99 to be exact), which is quite an accomplishment for a robust wheat beer. Here's what I thought...
Calories: **** Don't tell Paul (I have to assume that the dude who brews this beer is named Paul) that hefe has to have at least 150 calories.
Antioxidants: ** Hefe gets most of it's flavor from wheat, which doesn't pack as many antioxidants as it's floral counterpart (hops).
Refreshment: *** I find hefeweissens to be among the most refreshing beers in the world. This is a light hefe, so you don't need citrus to cut it (i.e., a lemon wedge).
Taste: *** Amazing for a sub-100-calorie hefe.
1 comment:
Brad - having lived for three years in that particular area of the world (proof there actually is a divine being, and that being is particularly kind to 19-year-olds) in the early 1980s I can say you are nearly dead-on, even with the 'execution' part. Germans aren't the type to do a 'light' beer. Oh, the brewery was started by monks of St. Francis of Paola, 'Paulaner' (Paulists) in the German.
Looking forward to your next beer review.
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