The second oldest of Munich’s breweries, Hacker-Pschorr brews four wheat beers: a hefeweisse (wheat beer with yeast), a dunkle (dark wheat beer), a leichte (light wheat beer), and the Sternweisse
, meaning “Wheat Star”. It is an unfiltered amber, brewed just a little stronger and drier than the other beers.
The star pours a cloudy sandy brown, with hints of russet. The head is just-off-white, creamy, and lasts. The nose is quite strong of fresh bananas, with notes of cloves and spices and a hint of caramel.
As the beer pours towards your tongue you feel a rush of banana and caramel, and when it hits are notes of biscuits and malt. There is a light sweetness, accented by the fact that this is not nearly as effervescent as most German hefeweisse beers. Playful, fruity, and quite drinkable. This would be a great summer beer. Too bad it’s cold and wet out now.
By the way, I love this label.
Hacker-Pschorr Sternweisse
RateBeer: 3.6 (4-6-8-4-14)
Tags: Hacker-Pschorr, Hacker-Pschorr Sternweisse, hefeweisse, hefeweizen, Sternweisse, Wheat Beer
they do produce good beer, I recently try their munchner Dunkel….good stuff, season from September to december….cheers
Stern-weisse is probably one of the best beers in the world! That’s I always get a kick out of american rating systems. The US is used to ale microbrews or cheap german imports, so how are they supposed to properly rate the world’s best beers. Maisel’s Weisse is also one of the best beers ever.
Recently Whole Foods started carrying these beers this year. The price tag is horrendous. ~$5 in the US compared to 80 cents in Germany. Of course the american distributors excise a massive profit off them, so Whole Foods isn’t to entirely blame.
Stern-Weisse and Maisel’s Weisse rate at least 4.5 out of 5. a statement that’s not even up for argument.
You raise a good point, that imports are priced high in the U.S. compared with their local prices. However, it is unfair to blame it all on the importer: can you get any beer in the U.S. for 80 cents per half liter? Perhaps the Beast. The real reason for high beer prices in the U.S. (not just imports) is more systemic. Everybody gets their piece of the pie, and the consumer ends up paying for it. The federal government, through the TTB, charges thousands in licensing and bonds as well as $18 per barrel in excise tax. Each state has their own licenses, taxes, and fees, some of which are unreasonably high. In addition, under the three-tier system of the U.S., it is illegal for a brewer or importer to sell directly to retailers, requiring them to go through an intermediate distributor. Each party takes their 30% markup, meaning the price point in the end is over twice the cost of production.
Sternweisse is certainly a very good beer: flavorful, clean, and sessionable. However I respectfully disagree that any beer should rate as highly as you suggest without discussion. The world’s best beers feature intensity and complexity side by side with flavor and levity. While I am a big fan of German-style wheat beers (they’re one of my favorite types) I find it hard to believe that one could approach the character of a chewy imperial stout, sprightly Flanders red ale, or delicate IPA. The banana/clove/bread flavor profile is just too simple.
I am intrigued by your statement that “[t]he US is used to ale microbrews or cheap german imports” thus they cannot “properly rate the world’s best beers”. What do you consider to be the world’s best beers, and why are some American microbrews not among them? I would point out that almost all beer is along the lines of “cheap german imports” regardless of the country in which it is brewed or consumed. One could say “England is used to cheap Belgian imports” or “Germany is used to cheap Northern German exports”, but that doesn’t mean in those areas there aren’t decent beer aficionados.