Paulaner Weissbier 0.0%

Paulaner Brewery is another Bavarian Brewery most famous for it’s production of wheat beer. Founded by a mendicant order of monks in Munich back in 1634, their name comes from the Italian friar Francis of Paola. The monks’ surplus beer was initially sold in their own pub, and this continued for many years until their cloister was closed in 1799. The brewing business was purchased by Franz Xaver Zacherl, who was already an established brewer in his own right. Nowadays the brewery is in the hands of Brau Holding International AG, which means it is 49.9% owned by Heineken.

Paulaner are also one of the six breweries that officially supply beer for the Oktoberfest. The beer they supply is known as Märzenbier and is a pretty dark lager with a fuller body. However the beer we’re looking at here is a weissbier, though I’m sure there are enough of those doing the rounds at Oktoberfest too. According to their official website, Paulaner claim to have produced the first alcohol-free wheat beer in the world, back in 1987 with their ‘Waitzinger Weissbier’ offering. This has evolved into their ‘Hefe-Weissbier Non-Alcoholic’ product, and they also offer a number of other AF beers in their range. The wheat beer we’re reviewing here is simply ‘Weissbier 0.0%’ and is relatively new to their catalogue. So lets get to it and get stuck in!

Pouring from the bottle we get a hazy light amber coloured liquid with a huge creamy head and a good level of carbonation. Really, this this is huge! Thankfully it does recede with time and lets you get your nose in there soon enough. The aroma is very malty and bready, with an almost Horlicks smell to it. None of the notes of banana or clove you’d expect from a Bavarian wheat beer.

Sweet malt continues into the tasting, with a bready taste dominating though with a slight bitterness. The mouthfeel is rather creamy and this in turn brings out a taste of buttered wholemeal bread to the drink. The body is fine with good carbonation, and we get a sweet, very slightly bitter finish.

Apart from the great look of the beer upon pouring, we’re unfortunately not getting any of the classic wheat beer staples here. The aromas and tastes are severely lacking, and we’re left with a sweet bready drink that really is nothing like it’s alcoholic big brother. Stick to Erdinger Alkoholfrei for your AF wheat beer fix!

Nutritional Information (per 100ml)

0.0% alcohol by volume
24 calories energy
0g fat
5.3g carbohydrates
3.6g sugar
0.7g protein

(taken from the side of the bottle)

Ingredients

Water, Malted Wheat, Malted Barley, Carbon Dioxide from Fermentation, Yeast, Hops