what makes a hefe bavarian?

I used wlp300 yeast to make my hefe, which I think qualifies it as a german style hefe. But can I label it Bavarian? What's the difference?

Thanks.

Only German ingredients would be allowed in the beer. And it possibly needs to be made in Bavaria, Europe has laws about these things. For example, any sparkling white wine NOT made in the Champagne province of France cannot be called champagne.

The German Purity Law or "Reinheitsgebot" was in effect until 1993, before replaced with the Provisional German Beer Law (Vorläufiges Deutsches Biergesetz)

Under Reinheitsgebot only Water, Barley, and Hops were allowed in beer. (Yeast was later added when it was understood)

Vorläufiges Deutsches Biergesetz allows constituent components prohibited in the Reinheitsgebot, such as wheat malt and cane sugar.

So, my next question is, Was a Heffeweizen or Witbier legal in Germany before 1993?

and fyi: Hefe = Yeast when translated to english, so you do need to be more spacific.

All Hefe Weizens ARE Bavarian by nature...why do you think you can't use the word "Bavarian"?

Use "-style" after it and you're good.

Yep- in order for a beer to be Bavarian it needs to be brewed in Bayern. You will me making a bavarian style hefeweizenbier.

Arkador said:

So, my next question is, Was a Heffeweizen or Witbier legal in Germany before 1993?

and fyi: Hefe = Yeast when translated to english, so you do need to be more spacific.

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Technically a Bavarian Hefe (which is a pretty common abbreviation) would be a Weiss as opposed to a Weizen, but that is just regional semantics.

However, the style itself originates in Bavaria. So unless you are brewing a Berliner Weissbier, which would be the sour version brewed with Lactobacillus around the Berlin area, you should be good to go. As long as your finished beer has the full fruity banana and clove flavors associated with Hefeweissbiers or Hefeweizens it would be pretty accurate calling it a "Bavarian Hefe".

Check out the BJCP style guidelines. This has all of the info. on what a German wheat beer should be like. The American style is under the Light Hybrid Beer category.

Gremlyn1 said:

Only German ingredients would be allowed in the beer. And it possibly needs to be made in Bavaria, Europe has laws about these things. For example, any sparkling white wine NOT made in the Champagne province of France cannot be called champagne.

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Except in the US, where we can legally call sparkling wine "Champagne", since the US is not party to the agreement with France. We didn't agree because alcohol was illegal in the US due to Prohibition when the agreement was signed.

jpc said:

Except in the US, where we can legally call sparkling wine "Champagne", since the US is not party to the agreement with France. We didn't agree because alcohol was illegal in the US due to Prohibition when the agreement was signed.

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It's probably more just laziness, kind of like all medical adhesive strips are Band Aids and all seltzer water is called Budweiser.

Pretty sure that only whisky made in KY can be called Bourbon. Otherwise, it's whisky.

Whiskey said:

It's probably more just laziness, kind of like all medical adhesive strips are Band Aids and all seltzer water is called Budweiser.

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No; American sparkling wine makers can legally use the term "Champagne" on their bottles. However, since a number of California wineries that make sparkling wine are controlled and/or otherwise affiliated with French wineries, they typically say "Methode Champagnoise" [sp] or some such.