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Bavarian Beer Garden · Wheat Beer

Bayerisches Weissbier

Bayerisches Weissbier — street food from Bayern, Germany
Photo: Pansebert / Wikimedia Commons · CC0

For centuries, brewing wheat beer in Bavaria was a legal monopoly — first held by one noble family, then taken over outright by the royal Wittelsbachs when that family died out.

Weissbier (or Weizenbier) is a cloudy, fruity wheat beer served in a tall vase-shaped glass, often with a wedge of lemon on the side. It's the default order at Bavarian beer gardens and Oktoberfest tents alike.

Why it's made this way: Bavaria's centuries-old brewing laws and royal wheat-beer monopoly shaped the region's beer culture distinctly from the rest of Germany, and Weissbier remains most strongly associated with Bavaria specifically.
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Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries. Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below. Photo credits.