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From: rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn)
Newsgroups: net.wines
Subject: Re: White beer?
Message-ID: <359@opus.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 13-Apr-84 01:36:49 EST
Article-I.D.: opus.359
Posted: Fri Apr 13 01:36:49 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 15-Apr-84 01:23:13 EST
References: <212@ihu1e.UUCP> <299@opus.UUCP> <1876@ut-sally.UUCP>
Organization: NBI, Boulder
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<>
>Funny that no one has mentioned the biggest distinguishing characteristic
>of a Weissbier: it is made with yeast...

There's a right idea behind this, but let's explain...ALL beer is made with
yeast.  That's what makes it ferment to give the carbonation and alcohol.
Most beer that you see in America, including all large-brewery beer, is
highly filtered to remove the yeast - partly because it makes the beer a
lot more stable under the duress of shipping.  Large brewers let beer
ferment out (flat) but capture the carbon dioxide, then lager the beer,
filter it, and carbonate it under pressure when they fill it.  A few small
breweries bottle beer with yeast still in it, allowing the beer to finish
its fermentation in the bottle and carbonate itself `naturally' (no flames
on that please).  This latter technique is called "bottle-conditioning".
The analogous process for kegs or casks - until recently, common in England
and (hopefully) on the comeback - is "cask conditioning".

Most German beer is quite carefully filtered and very clear.  Weiss is an
exception, sometimes.  The phrase to look for on the label is "mit Hefe",
which means simply "with yeast."  I've seen Weissbier without the "mit
Hefe" that has a little yeast sediment, but the type that proclaims it on
the label has a good healthy dose.
-- 
"A friend of the devil is a friend of mine."		Dick Dunn
{hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd				(303) 444-5710 x3086