Franziskaner Club-Weisse is a beer that brings back memories. At least for me it does, and considering the fact that the Franziskaner brewery of Munich, Germany, can trace its roots back to 1363, I would consider it a safe assumption that this is a beer that probably has the same effect on more than a few others. So lets crack open a bottle, reminisce a little, and enjoy ourselves, shall we?

Today, Franziskaner is part of Munich’s huge Spaten brewing concern, and Spaten uses the label to produce its wheat beers: a light (in color) Hefeweizen, a dunkel (dark) Hefeweizen, and Club-Weisse, a filtered wheat beer that the Germans call Kristal-Weizen. All three of these are sold in half-liter bottles for about $1.99, a great bargain indeed. They’re wonderful beers to be enjoyed as a delicious, quenching beverage year-round, but many people find them especially refreshing in hot summer weather.

Franziskaner Club-Weisse is widely distributed and has been available here in America for quite some time. I recall first seeing it decades ago in Haxton’s Liquors back in Rhode Island; this is probably the first wheat beer I ever drank. “Club-Weisse, what is it?” we wondered at the time. Seeing it was a German beer and thinking the Germans could do no wrong as far as brewing beer was concerned, I bought a bottle. “What a strange taste, “ I thought. But it was a good taste, a wonderful taste, a seductive taste. And on that day I fell in love with wheat beers.

My love affair with wheat beers continues to this day, as you’ve no doubt gathered by now. Increasingly, the style is becoming more and more visible in America, and several domestic craft brewers have even concocted a variation on Hefeweizen all their own. There are many microbreweries and brewpubs making authentic, German style versions too.

With all these wheat beers to choose from, though, I still find myself returning to my first love: Franziskaner Club-Weisse. As mentioned earlier, Club-Weisse is filtered before bottling. This is a departure from Hefeweizen and Dunkel Hefeweizen, each of which are bottled with yeast. I think Kristal-Weizens like Club-Weisse have less character because of this, but they still generally retain some of the appetizing clove and banana flavors unique to German style wheat beers.

To some, who prefer the taste of wheat beer without the yeast, this is a plus. And there is certainly no denying that Kristal-Weizens are extremely welcome and refreshing in hot weather. The addition of a slice of lemon can make them even more quenching.

Franziskaner Club-Weisse pours to a rather pale yellow-gold color with a huge towering head formation of meringue-like foam and a yeasty nose that hints at clove. The palate is crisp with notes of crackery wheat, clove, and a suggestion of banana. The finish is crisp and tart, the tartness giving Club-Weisse its quenching, refreshing character. This is a beer best enjoyed in a tall Bavarian wheat beer glass; you’ll need it to hold all of that foam.

A great beer indeed, Franziskaner Club-Weisse is one you should try even if you ordinarily eschew craft beer in favor of a Bud or Coors. Indeed, the tart rather than bitter finish is one many should find agreeable. And who knows? You may just fall in love too.



Home