As my signature line indicates, I'm addicted to German wheat beer; specifically hefeweizen and dunkelweizen.

Only commercial dunkelweizen I have tried is from Weihenstaphaner. Love it.

For commercial hefeweizen, between Weihenstaphaner and Paulaner, I love both equally. I do drink more Paulaner than Weihenstaphaner simply due to Paulaner retailer being 1 mile away versus Weihenstaphaner retailer being 12 miles away. Convenience wins.

I would like to hear from other BNers that have tried these hefeweizen beers and their opinions of aforementioned beer.

Thanks!

Post script: The way I pour a hefweizen is to decant into a glass until two fingers of beer are left, then swirl and shake side to side vigorously for three seconds, finally dumping the remaining contents into the glass.

Paulaner's Hefe was good, I havent had Weihenstephaner Hefe. But my German Hefe(and really Dunkel for that matter) is Franziskaner. Not sure if you can fine it up there. I dont know specifically what is is I like so much about it, I guess its just the way the beer balances out, I've had other Hefe's that go too much in either direction, or just don't really express those flavors nearly as well.

both are excellent! if you want a real treat try the Weihenstephaner Krystalweizen. They are as good as it gets for the style. That being said, you can make a hefe every bit as good as these because you can have yours fresh. Keep your ferment temp at 62! Extract or all grain you can make a great hefe.

I don't drink Franziskaner any more. I bought a case a few years ago that 1/2 the bottles were infected.

Weihenstephaner...hands down when its fresh. My second choice is schneider edelweisse. Making a kick ass hef is the reason I got into homebrew. I feel I have a real handle on how to make a superior weissebier but there is a certain complexity to the yeast character of weihenstephaner hef(when its relatively fresh)that is hard to duplicate. Ayinger also makes a really good hef and it is widely available on draft in my area. Schneider Hopfenweisse is another great weissebier although untraditional. Try a smoked weissebier, you will be pleasantly suprised. I think paulaner is pretty good, never really cared for franziskaner(although I dont think I ever really gave it a fair shake).

I haven't tried Paulner yet, but what I remember, I enjoyed Weihenstepahner Hefeweizen.

I'll give Paulner a try in the future.

There's a wide range of commercial dunkelweizens. I find most of the american ones, including gordon biersche (who otherwise makes good german styles), are a bit heavy on the caramel/caramunich for me. Though the style allows for some sweetness, IMO, a dunkelweizen should never be particularly sweet. It should get most of its character from munich/mellanoidin/vienna/carafa malts. It is not a weizenbock, which is a strong beer that you don't typically drink a lot of in a session. Sweet wheat beers are cloying, and it makes the beer hard to drink by the liter. True dunkels are sessionable in flavor, if not alcohol strength. Remember this is a beer you should be able to down a liter of, then repeat, and maybe even do it a third time.

That said, many beers I think are too sweet have placed in competition because other people interpret the allowable sweetness differently than I do.

Paulaner is about 5.5% and I usually have 3-4 per night during the week and up to a 6 pack on the weekend. More time restraint than alcohol. I get done working at midnight, have a few beers and try to get in bed by 2am.

I've got a dunkelweizen homebrew in the fermenter that should get to 3.75-4% ABV, so it's a great session strength beer.

For me it all depends on the beer and my mood. Last night I had three Sam Adams Noble Pils and a local microbrewery's Blond Ale (5%). Tonight, I'm going to have a Paulaner hefeweizen followed by a Weihenstephaner dunkelweizen.