We had tried normal weißbier, dunkel weißbier, and even Kristallweißbier, but the Naturtrüb and Hefetrüb weißbiers were something we'd never heard of before. Another mystery to investigate in the Beer Tournament...
What we learned was that, in most cases, the Naturtrüb or Hefetrüb names just denote normal weißbiers, translating to mean "unfiltered" or "naturally cloudy". With the exception of the Kristallklar weißbiers, most are unfiltered. "Naturtrüb" is a term you also often encounter when buying cider or natural apple juice. While clear used to denote clean and safe drinking, in the past years, it has come to be seen as fake and overprocessed. Here, natural is seen as better and people can be suspicious of perfectly clear juices. Bio is better, or so I keep hearing....
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So, after learning what these beers were, we continued on with the tastings. First up were Paulaner's and Andechs' Weißbiers. Paulaner offers a dark, a filtered (Kristallklar), this unfiltered Hefe-Weißbier Naturtrüb, as well as a Light and an Alcohol-free version. Andechs offers this Weissbier Hefetrüb and a Weissbier Dunkel.
This first competition was very close to a tie - both tasted extremely similar, with only a single taste note distinguishing them. And with that, Andechs advanced to the 2nd round for having a slightly more pleasing taste. Paulaner again came through with a good beer, though.
Next up were Franziskaner's Weissbier Naturtrüb and Hacker-Pschorr's Sternweisse. Franziskaner offers the same 5 weißbier types as Paulaner, with Naturtrüb being their main (and world-renowned) weißbier. Hacker-Pschorr, on the other hand, offers a Dunkel Weisse, a Hefe Weisse, a Lite, and this Sternweisse ("White Star") weißbier. The Sternweisse was popular in the 1920s and offers a slightly less carbonate and lighter tasting unfiltered weißbier. It also has a slightly darker amber color. However, it's a bit boring. It's really drinkable, but not interesting. The scent is promising, with smells of cloves and bananas and other great weißbier scents - but the actual taste is much lighter. As Franziskaner was a much more interesting and tasteful beer, it advanced to compete in the 2nd round against the Andechs.
In the Andechs vs Franziskaner contest, the victory went to Andechs. Though we've always known Andechs to have great beers, we had expected Franziskaner would win. Again, we were wrong.. The Andechs was slightly lighter and a little sweeter, serving as a perfect example of how a weißbier should taste!
