Die Weisse, Salzburg Austria - A lesson with wheat beer take care of what you order

Salzburg, Austria - A good bottled Weissbier

Established in the early 1900s  Die Weisse  is a wheat beer (Weissbier) brewery pub in Salzburg, Austria worth visiting.  But beer drinkers beware – Know thy beer standards.

    Pleasantly tucked away at 10 Rupertgasse just outside the central area of Salzburg Die Weisse presents an inviting ambience.  It’s gleaming small copper kettle brewery, biergarten and full length glass windows provide comfort for the thirsty.

    My wife Sandra is an expert in assessing German style Hefeweizen/Weissbier (wheat beer).  She ordered her draft (vom fass) of wheat and I sampled a Märzenbier.

    Whoaaahohhh.  We were both disappointed.  A subtle hint of butterscotch (a flavor compound known as diacetyl – pronounced “dye-ass-it-el”) emerged from my Marzenbier and an overwhelming scent of the same pounced upon our senses from the wheat beer.   That telltale aroma and the taste of lactic acid provided the basis of my suspicion.    

    We invited our server back to our table and politely pointed out that we suspected a problem with the beer.   She wouldn’t hear of any such thing.   I ordered a bottle of the same.  She replied, “But it is the exact same beer.  There is not difference.”

    We persisted and ordered a bottle in the name of research.   A healthy “pop” sounded off the ceramic closure as we flip it open.   We poured and assessed.  It’s as if we had just traveled to another brewery.  The bottled Weissbier was free of diacetyl and as good as a good wheat beer could be.  Fresh aroma, yeasty, banana, slight hint of clove, lively and of good balance.  

    We note the difference to our server.  She is a bit indignant and then to her credit calms down and confides to us that “I only sell the beer, I don’t make the beer [so I don’t know of what you speak of].”

    We enjoy the bottle of Die Weisse beer, noting that most of the beer drinking regulars sitting around us are drinking the bottled version.  There are very few drinking “vom fass.” 

    These situations are not unique nor exclusive to Austria.  In all parts of the world the people who present beer to you don’t have a clue when the beer is not in good condition.   Yes, even in the United States.   Thank goodness someone like Ray Daniels has initiated his  Cicerone  program ( previously discussed in this column  ) that helps educate servers and sellers of beer.  Austria,  could do with a Cicerone program of its own, based on this experience.