Austrian Breweries
styles - history - beers


Introduction
In this page, I detail everything you'll ever need to know about Austrian breweries and Austrian beer.

The Austrian brewing Industry - what, where, how much, when., by whom: I describe it all. You lucky gits. And I don't even charge you for it.

Austria is Germany's shy younger brother (in brewing terms) no more. If it ever was. By my calculation, Austria is the most densely-breweried country in the world.


Index
Austrian brewing industry
Austrian beer statistics
Austrian beer styles
Austrian Breweries
Austrian Breweries (Part 2)

Who has most breweries?
country breweries in 1910 population in 1910 inhabitants per brewery breweries in 2006 population (2004) inhabitants per brewery
Austria 1,170a 28,200,000a 24,102 170 8,174,800 48,087
Luxembourg 12 260,000 21,666 7 462,700 66,100
Germany 13,801b 64,900,000b 4,702 1,259 82,424,600 66,468
Denmark 344 2,740,000 7,965 76 5,413,400 71,229
Switzerland 177 3,700,000 20,903 92 7,450,900 80,988
Belgium 3,349 7,400,000 2,209 125 10,348,300 82,786
Wales - - - 33i 2,958,600 89,654
UK 4,370g 41,000,000g 9,382 632i 60,270,700 95,363
Czech Republic 666c 13,000,000c 19,519 96 10,246,200 106,731
USA 1,620 101,115,187 62,416 1,409 299,860,531 212,818
Ireland 28h 4,400,000h 157,142 18 3,969,600 220,533
France 3,263d 39,500,000 12,105 225 60,424,200 268,552
Sweden 900 5,522,000 6,135 33 8,986,400 272,315
Norway 40 2,392,000 59,800 16 4,574,600 285,913
Netherlands 462 5,900,000 12,770 54 16,318,200 302,189
Italy 90 34,400,000 377,777 168 58,057,500 345,580
Poland 312e 26,800,000f 85,897 67 38,626,300 576,512
Spain 40 19,800,000 495,000 22 40,280,800 1,830,950
Sources:
1910: "Jahrbuch der Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei in Berlin, 1911", p.602-603
2006: my calculation, Deutsche Brauer Bund
c Ceský svaz pivovaru a sladoven
Populations in 1910: Historical Atlas except USA US Census Bureau
i Steve Thomas

Notes:
a all of the Austrian part of the Asutro-Hungarian empire
b includes Alsace Lorraine (60 breweries) and parts of what are now Poland
c Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia
d excludes Alsace Lorraine (60 breweries)
e Based on the territory, at that time ruled by the German, Russian and Austrian empires, which formed the independant Polish state after WW1.
f the population of Poland in 1920
g excluding all of Ireland
h all of Ireland


The Austrian brewing industry
It would be easy to assume that Austria shares a common beer culture as well as a language with its larger neighbour. Yet in many ways Austrian beer is distinclty different from that of Germany. The old cultural ties of the Habsburg empire which link it with the Czech Republic are just as important.

There is one obvious and important difference between Austrian and German brewing: Austria (thankfully) does not have a Reinheitsgebot. It can be no coincidence that in Austria new breweries have been much more willing to take on a wide range of styles, including some, such as pale ale, not indigenous to central Europe. It should be noted, however, that some of the longer-established lager breweries do make a point of sticking to the Reinheitsgebot.

As is the case now in most smaller European countries, a single large company dominates the beer market. Brau-Union AG, which owns the Gösser, Zipfer, Schwechater, Wieselburger and Puntigamer breweries accounts for 56% of beer sales. It was fromed in the late 1990's by a merger of Austria's two largest brewery groups, Steirerbrau and Brau-AG.

The company appeared intent on becoming a major European player during the 1990's. It embarked on an aggressive strategy of acquisition in countries of the former Soviet Block, such as Poland, Romania and Hungary. I always had my doubts about whether they really had the finances or resolve to tackle the likes of Interbrew and Heineken head on. As it turned out, they didn't. In 2002 the company announced that it was looking for an international partner. In effect, they were waving a white flag and saying "please take us over, nice Mr. Multinational". Heineken duly obliged.

Brau-Union still runs a large number of, by international standards, small plants in Austria. It's unlikely that the majority of them will survive long under globalist control.

All of Brau-Union's competitors brew on a much smaller scale. It is only the Brau-Union beers which are widely available on a national level. Neverthless, the top five companies account for 83% of the market between them.

There are currently 170 breweries (plus three who get their beer brewed elsewhere) operating in Austria. This is a rough breakdown of the structure of the Austrian brewing industry:
Brewery No. Details
Brau-Union 8 Gösser, Zipfer, Schwechater, Wieselburger and Puntigamer breweries accounts for 56% of beer sales
Large regional breweries 2 Stiegl and Ottakringer - producing in excess of 500,000 hl and with some national availability.
Mid-size regional companies 9 Vereinigte Kärntner Brauereien, Privatbrauerei Fritz Egger, Brauerei Fohrenburg, Brauerei Zwettl, Mohrenbrauerei August Huber, Schloss Eggenberg, Murauer, Brauerei Hirt and Josef Sigl - producing 100,000 - 500,000 hl.
Local breweries 28 Long-established independent breweries, producing 10,000 - 100,000 hl.
Microbreweries 26 Newly-established breweries, producing under 10,000 hl. Unlike in Germany, where new breweries are mostly linked to a pub, there have been a significant number of new microbreweries in Austria.
Brewpubs 97 In the last decade brewpubs have become very popular in Austria.
Contract brewers 3 Companies who have their beers brewed by a third party. Not that common in Austria.

Beer Trade

Beer exports and imports just about match each other, amounting to around 5% of consumption.

When eastern European markets began to open up in the 1990's, exports doubled, hitting a peak of 1 million hectolitres in 1994. They have now dropped back down to the 1980's level.

Imports have been creeping up since the 1980's. The overwhelming majority comes from just two sources, Germany (60%) and the Czech Republic (22%).

Beer Organisations

Verband der Brauereien Österreichs
The Austrian brewers' organisation.


Verband der Haus- und Kleinbrauereien Österreichs
c/o Salzburger Weißbierbrauerei
Rupertgasse 10,
5020 Salzburg.
Email: seitz@bier-kompetenz.at
http://www.kleinbrauereien.at

The organisation for small brewers. It currently has 28 members.


BierIG
Pötzelsbergstraße 5b,
5162 Obertrum.
Email: info@bierig.org
Homepage: www.bierig.org

Austrian beer consumers' organisation, a member of the EBCU.


Kampagne für gutes Bier (KGBier)
Email: info@kgbier.at
Homepage: www.kgbier.at

Another Austrian beer consumers' organisation.

Where to buy Austrian beer in the UK

Austrian Beer
www.austrianbeer.co.uk




Austrian Breweries
Statistics

Here are few important statistics relating to the Austrian brewing industry.



Beer production and consumption:
Year Consumption (in hl) Change (previous year = 100) Consumption per head (in liters)
1980 7,651,000 98.1 101.9
1985 8,431,400 103.7 111.6
1990 9,360,600 102.9 121.3
1991 9,660,600 103.2 123.9
1992 9,672,500 100.1 122.2
1993 9,326,400 96.4 116.7
1994 9,364,100 100.4 116.6
1995 9,300,400 99.3 115.6
1996 9,185,000 98.8 114,0
1997 9,145,000 99.6 113.3
1998 8,735,600 95.5 108.1
1999 8,809,600 100.8 108.9
2000 8,737,000 99.2 107.7
2001 8,625,500 98.7 107.4
2002 8,734,000 101.3 108.5
2003 8,891,500 101.8 110
Source: Verband der Brauereien Österreichs


Beer production by state (%age)
Year Kärnten Oberöster. Salzburg Steiermark Tirol Vorarlberg Wien/NÖ/Bgld
1980 6,0 22.3 10.3 23.8 6.7 4.5 26.4
1985 6.4 16.3 9.9 25.2 6.7 4.7 30.8
1990 5.9 16.6 10.1 25.4 5.8 4.9 31.3
1999 5.0 16.1 12.4 26.2 4.9 5.0 30.4
2000 5.1 15.7 12.6 25.4 4.9 5.1 31.2
2001 5.1 15.7 12.9 26.0 4.7 5.2 30.4
2002 5.0 15.3 13.2 26.6 4.8 4.9 30.2
2003 5.1 15.3 13.6 26.2 3.5 4.9 31.4
Source: Verband der Brauereien Österreichs


Austrian Beer Exports (1,000 hl)
Year Italy Hungary Switzerland Rumania Germany USSR/Russia Total EU Total
1980 138 58 22 - 0.3 0.2 140 246
1985 221 136 31 2 - - - 427
1990 134 133 31 14 3.5 6 142 482
1991 130 216 38 - 5 34 141 807
1992 140 202 47 - 5 55* 159 729
1993 117 200 46 - 7 197* 143 775
1994 111 213 52 - 5 236* 127 1005
1995 122 96 26 123 11 97* 148 665
1996 128 46 32 - 84 153* 240 710
1997 146 55 31 - 44 116* 221 621
1998 142 42 27 - 41 29* 252 508
1999 153 63 28 - 25 3* 217 483
2000 198 81 30 4 28 12* 246 474
2001 135 57 31 4 67 7* 214 415
2002 99 82 30 1 162 11* 266 480
2003               461#
Source: Verband der Brauereien Österreichs

Notes:
* before 1990 the USSR
# provisional figures


Austrian Beer Imports (1,000 hl)
Year 1980 1985 1990 1995 1999 2000 2001 2002
Germany 216 198 200 241 254 271 270  
Czech Rep. 28 29 45 57 82 88 99  
Netherlands 1 0.3 1 6 16 17 25  
Ireland - - - 2 0.1 0.1 5  
Total 313 274 266 321 403 425 456
Source: Verband der Brauereien Österreichs


Market share by Package type (%):
Year
draught 0.5l bottles 0.33l bottles other bottles cans bottles & cans
1981 29.5 66.2 2.7 0.4 1.2 70.5
1985 33.2 62.0 2.3 0.5 2.0 66.8
1990 32.8 56.4 2.3 0.4 8.1 67.2
1995 32.6 55.4 2.4 0.2 9.4 67.4
1996 32.0 53.7 2.9 0.2 11.2 68.0
1997 32.0 53.8 2.6 0.2 11.4 68.0
1998 31.6 53.4 2.4 0.2 12.3 68.4
1999 31.7 52.2 2.6 0.2 13.3 68.3
2000 31.7 50.7 2.5 0.3 14.8 68.3
2001 31.5 49.5 2.7 0.5 15.8 68.5
2002 31.2 48.9 2.7 0.5 16.7 68.8
2003 30.5 48 2.9 0.5 18.1 69.5
Source: Verband der Brauereien Österreichs

Sales of draught and bottled beer are falling and those of canned beer rising.


Beer production by type:
1990 2000 2001 2002 2003
Beer type Output in 1000 hl Change in % Share in % Output in 1000 hl Change in % Share in % Output in 1000 hl Change in % Share in % Output in 1000 hl Change in % Share in % Output in 1000 hl Change in % Share in %
Leichtbier max. 3.7% alc. 130.8 -1.1 1.4 58.4 -11.9 0.7 42.0 -28.1 0.5 36.1 -14 0.4 40.5 +12.1 0.5
Schankbier 9-11º 404.4 +8.7 4.2 467.2 -5.1 5.3 459.2 -1.7 5.3 423.7 -7.7 4.9 540.7 +27.6 6.1
Lager/Märzenbier min. 11º 5,141.8 +3.5 53.6 4,848.5 0 55.4 4,790.8 -1.2 55.8 4,938.4 +3.1 56.6 5,008.6 +1.4 56.3
Pilsbier min 11º 591.9 +7.3 6.2 464.9 -2.8 5.3 460.8 -0.9 5.4 464.3 +0.7 5.3 456.5 -1.7 5.1
Weizenbier 108.3 +8.4 1.1 116.2 +3.4 1.3 116.2 +3.2 1.4 131.5 +9.6 1.5 139.9 +6.4 1.6
Spezialbier min 12.5º 1,096.4 -0.9 11.4 607.5 -9.5 7,0 564.1 -7.1 6.6 538.2 -4.6 6.2 513.8 -4.5 5.8
Vollbier min 11º 2,059.6 +9.0 21.5 1,982.7 -0.8 22.7 1,947.9 -1.8 22.7 1,985.6 +1.9 22.7 1,943.2 -2.1 21.8
Bockbier min16º 59.6 -3.4 0.6 36.3 +10.2 0.4 29.3 -19.3 0.3 28.3 -3.4 0.3 27.4 -3.2 0.3
Radler - - - 168.9 +0.6 1.9 174.3 +3.2 2.0 184.7 +6 2.1 220.9 +19.6 2.5
Total 9,592.8 +4.5 100 8,750.6 -1.3 100 8,750.6 -1.9 100 8,730.8 +1.7 100 8,891.5 +1.8 100
Source: Verband der Brauereien Österreichs


Beer produced by gravity in Austria
1891/92
° Plato Hl %age
6 2,453 0.01
7 54 0
8 192 0
9 354,319 2.16
10 8,816,335 53.79
11 1,954,951 11.93
12 2,974,243 18.15
13 1,876,343 11.45
14 318,148 1.94
15 82,171 0.5
16 5,059 0.03
17 2,842 0.02
18 882 0.01
19 1,450 0.01
20 7 0
21 25 0
22 1,081 0.01
  16,390,555 100
Average gravity (Plato) 10.91  
Source:
“Zeitschrift für das gesammte Brauwesen 1894", p. 212

Note:
Average gravity my calculation.


Number of breweries:
year number index
1980 59 100
1985 55 93.2
1990* 63 106.8
1995 74 125.4
1996 78 132.2
1997 87 147.5
1998 93 157.6
1999 99 167.8
2000 106 179.7
2001 115 194.9
2003 145  
* from this year includes pub breweries.
Source: Verband der Brauereien Österreichs


Number of breweries per state:
State 1980 1985 1990 2000 2001   2002   2004
  No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
Kärnten 4 6.8 4 7.3 4 6.4 6 5.7 6 5.2 6 4.7 7 4.8
Oberösterreich 23 39 19 34.5 20 31.7 28 26.4 31 27 34 26.8 36 25
Salzburg 7 11.9 6 10.9 7 11.1 8 7.5 10 8.7 10 7.9 16 11.1
Steiermark 4 6.8 4 7.3 6 9.5 17 16,0 20 17.4 25 19.6 27 18.8
Tirol 6 10.1 6 10.9 6 9.5 9 8.5 10 8.7 10 7.9 12 8.3
Vorarlberg 5 8.5 4 7.3 4 6.4 6 5.7 6 5.2 8 6.3 8 5.6
Wien/Niederösterreich 10 16.9 12 21.8 16 25.4 32 30.2 32 27.8 34 26.8 35 24.3
Burgenland - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 2.1
Österreich 59 100 55 100 63 100 106 100 115 100 127 100 144 100
Source: Verband der Brauereien Österreichs


Number of breweries by output (in 1,000 hl)
0 - 20 20 - 50 50 - 100 100 - 500 500-1,500 Total
number of breweries
1980 18 15 11 11 4 59
1985 15 11 15 9 5 55
1990 26 8 12 11 6 63
2000 74 8 8 9 7 106
2002 95 8 7 10 7 127
2003 113 9 6 10 7 145
%age of number of breweries            
1980 30.5 25.4 18.6 18.7 6.8 100
1985 27.3 20,0 27.3 16.3 9.1 100
1990 41.3 12.7 19,0 17.5 9.5 100
2000 69.8 7.5 7.5 8.5 6.6 100
2002 74.8 6.3 5.5 7.9 5.5 100
2003 77.9 6.2 4.2 6.9 4.8 100
%age of output
1980 2.0 7.0 9.8 37.7 43.5 100
1985 1.8 3.8 12.8 27.7 53.9 100
1990 1.9 2.8 8.9 28,0 58.4 100
2000 2.1 3.2 5.9 23.5 65.3 100
2002 2.0 3.0 4.4 25.3 65.3 100
2003 1.9 3.6 3.8 24.1 66.6 100
Source: Verband der Brauereien Österreichs


Largest brewing companies (2001):
  Annual production market share
Brau-Union (Heineken) 4,7000,000 hl 56%
Stiegl 775,000 hl 9.3%
Ottakringer 740,000 hl 9%
Vereinigte Kärntner Brauereien 380,000 hl 4.6%
Privatbrauerei Fritz Egger 360,000 hl 4.3%
Brauerei Fohrenburg 266,000 hl 3.2%
Brauerei Zwettl 200,000 hl 2.4%
Mohrenbrauerei August Huber 180,000 hl 2.2%
Schloss Eggenberg 160,000 hl 1.9%
Murauer 160,000 hl 1.9%
Brauerei Hirt 155,000 hl 1.9%
Josef Sigl 100,000 hl 1.2%
Total domesctic consumption 8,287,000 hl 100%
Source: My calculation.




Austrian Beer Styles
Anton Dreher introduced bottom-fermenting beer to Austria in 1840. In 1833/34 he had travelled to Britain in the company of Gabriel Sedlmayr (of the Spaten brewery in Munich) to study the brewing industry. On his return, he first attempted to brew a Burton-style pale ale, though without any great success. Inspired by what Sedlmayr had told him about the Bavarian way of brewing, he decided to give bottom fermentation a try. The result was the first Vienna-style amber lager.

Vienna lagers came in a variety of different strengths, the common thread being the Vienna amber malt from which they were brewed. At that time most lagers were brewed from a single type of malt: brown Münchner malt in Munich, pale pilnser malt in Pilsen. The subtypes were (in ascending order of strength) Abzug/Schenk (10-11º), Lagerbier (12-13º), Märzen (14º), Export (15º). (For more information on this topic, see my "19th Century Lager Styles" page. )

Today's Austrian lagers (now usually pilsner-coloured) fall into the approximate strength bands:

type º Plato
Leichtbier <9º
Schankbier 9-11º
Lagerbier/Märzen 11-12.5º
Spezial 12.5-14º
Bock 16º+
Source: Verband der Brauereien Österreichs

It should not be forgotten that at the time of the development of new lager beers in Pilsen and Ceské Budejovice (Budweis), both were under Austrian rule. So, in reality, Austria rather than Germany is the home of the modern style of pale lager beers. The beers brewed in Munich up until the end of the 19th century were all dark. Dreher took the first step in brewing a paler lager. You can see a progression of paler and paler beers: Munich - dark brown; Vienna - dark amber; Pilsen pale amber; Ceské Budejovice - yellow.

Sadly, one style of beer you won't find easily in Austria today is a true Vienna amber lager.

Bottom-fermenting beers
The great majority of beers brewed in Austria are pale lagers. That said, there are is a reasonable variety of different lager styles brewed in Austria.

Here's a quick overview of the bottom-fermenting styles.
Märzen (or Lagerbier): Not to be confused with the German style of the same name, an Austrian Märzen is a pale lager of 11º to 12.5º Plato and 5 - 5.2% alcohol. The densities have fallen a shade in the last ten years, with some beers dropping below 12º.

In Austria the term "Märzen" appears to refer to the realtive strength of the beer, rather than a specific type of amber lager. Vienna lagers were originally subdivided (in ascending order of strength) Abzug/Schenk (10-11º), Lagerbier (12-13º), Märzen (14º), Export (15º). When the switch was made from Vienna to Pilsner malt, the same classifications were used. Outside Austria, where they must have only ever seen the Märzen strength of Vienna lager, the name was interpreted as meaning an amber lager of 14º. A gradual erosion of beer strengths has left Austrian Märzens elbowing Lagerbier out of the 12º slot and into oblivion. The slot above, approximately13º, is now occupied by Spezial. For more information on this topic, see my "19th Century Lager Styles" page.

Much like a Bavarian Helles, it is a malt-accented beer with delicate hopping. It is the standard beer and has managed to retain its market share remarkably well. It still accounts for well over 50% of beer drunk in Austria. Every brewery produces a Märzen.

Pils: The Austrian version is pretty much to the international standard: highly-attenuated, very little malt character, heavily-hopped. They are 11-12 Plato and somewhere around 5% alcohol.

It's very much a foreign style - the first Austrian pils was only brewed in 1977. The Austrian examples are amongst the better beers of this type brewed in Europe.

It has failed to make much impact and has even lost market share since 1990. With just over 5% of sales it is very much a minority product. Austria is surely the European country that drinks the least pils.

Spezialbier: Very much like a Bavarian Spezial - a pale lager of at least 12.5º Plato and around 5.5% alcohol, full-bodied and quite hoppy.

Pretty well all the breweries produce a beer of this type. Even though sales have fallen considerably in the last 10 years (over 40%) it's still more popular than pils. The densities of these beers appear to have been falling. . Not long ago, around 13º would have been considered a minimum. The majority are now around 12.8º.

Dunkles: This term covers quite a wide variation in flavours, which all get lumped together as "dark" lagers. They vary in density between 12º and 14º Plato, but because of the high concentration of residual sugars are weaker - 4 % to 5.5% - than would be expected.

The majority are very sweet with dark malt flavours and only a very restrained hop character. (Such beers are often called Doppelmalz, a designation which in Germany means a dark, low-alcohol beer.) The high level of sweetness makes them quite different from a münchner or a Czech dark lager.

There has been a move towards beers in the drier Czech style, but these are still less common than the sweeter type. Dry dark lagers are easy to spot in the list below by a quick check of the degreee of attenuation.

A large number of breweries produce a dark lager, though it is very much a minority style in terms of sales.

Bockbier:
A strong lager of at least 16º Plato and around 6.5% alcohol. It is very full-bodied with a bittersweet taste. It can vary in colour between amber and dark brown.

They are usually seasonal beers - Christmas and Easter being the favourite times for releasing them. There are some excellent beeers brewed in this style. The majority of breweries produce one, though total sales have fallen by 50% in the last 10 years and this style's market share is less than 0.5%. Though this is slightly deceptive as most examples are only available for a few weeks a year.

There are a few beers in the Doppelbock style, of 17º Plato or more. Eggenberger Urbock 23°, at over 9% alcohol, is the strongest.

Zwicklbier: This isn't so much a style as a method of conditioning. A zwicklbier is any beer that is left unfiltered. Usually, it is a version of a brewery's biggest seller - in most cases, a Märzen. Zwettl brews a Zwickl Bock.

There are a few bottled variations, but much more commonly they are draught only beers. Such beers have become increasingly popular and are even made by the bigger breweries.

Vienna: A reddish-amber lager of 12º - 14º Plato and 5.2 to 5.8% alcohol. They have roasted malt flavours and some sweetness in the mouth, but with a balancing bitterness in the finish. The colour, which is very important in this style, is about half-way between a pils and a münchner - somewhere around the colour of an English bitter. They should be brewed from 100% Vienna malt. As mentioned above, they originally came in a variety of strengths.

The Bavarian märzen (or Oktoberfest) style is very similar, but is always at the top end of the strength range (around 14º) and a touch paler in colour.

This is the style brewed by Anton Dreher when he introduced bottom-fermenting to Austria in 1840. Once beers of this type were brewed to a great variety of gravities, though the Märzen-strength version was the most famous type. Today you'll just find the odd leftover or revival. Only the Siebenstern-Bräu brewpub in Vienna currently has an amber Märzen in its range.

Currently a couple of dozen amber lagers (excluding Bock) are brewed in Austria, split pretty evenly between 11-12.4º and 12.5-14º. The few that claim to be Märzen fall into both strength bands.

Helles: A very pale yellow beer of 11.5º - 12.5º Plato and 4.5 to 5.2% alcohol. A malty, sweetish beer that is quite lightly hopped.

This style is quite close to Märzen and the beers seem to overlap in terms of taste and strength. A Helles is generally a little paler, weaker and sweeter than a Märzen. The term is also much used by brewpubs, where, as in Germany, the standard beers are a pale and a dark lager. Such beers can diverge greatly from the flavour profile given above and may more closely resemble a pils.
Schankbier: A generic term given to anything in the 9-11º gravity range. Compared to Germany, where its sales are insignificant, the 5-6% of the market these beers have doesn't look that bad. Almost all are pale lagers

Leicht/Medium: Things under 9º in the range 2.8-3.3% ABV. Mostly pale lagers. It's grip on the market (it accounts for less than 1% of sales) isn't great.


Top-fermenting beers
Except in new brewpubs and microbreweries, the only top-fermented beers produced are Bavarian-style wheat beers. As the popularity of such beers has increased in the last 20 years, more and more regional breweries have started to produce them. However, they still form a tiny fraction - less than 2% - of all beer sold.

Let's take a closer look at the types of top-fermenting beer brewed in Austria.
Weizenbier Hell: A pale wheat beer with about 40% wheat in the mash. They are between 11º and 13º Plato, 4.5% - 5.5% alcohol.

The same special wheat beer yeast is used as in Bavaria. This imparts lots of spicy aromas, such as cloves and ginger. The hopping levels are very low. Most of theses beers are left unfiltered and have a secondary fermentation in the bottle (Hefeweizen). The filtered version is referred to as Kristall-Weizen.

Traditionally, weizen beers are only sold in bottled form, though ibn the last few years some draught versions have been appearing.
Weizenbier Dunkel: Much the same as the pale wheat beer, except darker in colour. They are between 11º and 13º Plato, 4.5% - 5.5% alcohol.

The wheat beer yeast in conjunction with darker malts tends to impart the finished beer with a distinctive banana aroma. The dark wheat beers are always - as far as I am aware - left unfiltered.
Weizenbock: A wheat version of bock, weighing in at a minimum 16.5º Plato and 6.5% alcohol. Always dark, it's pretty much a scaled up version of Weizenbier Dunkel.

There are only a few breweries which produce such a a beer. A good example is brewed by the Weißbierbrauerei in Salzburg.
Alt: There are a couple of breweries producing beers of this style. They are dark amber in colour and around 12º Plato and 5% alcohol.
Other styles: Some of the new small breweries produce beers in British ale styles - porter, stout and pale ale.






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