Beer Preview: Paulaner Salvator Double-Bock & Hefe-Weizen

Let’s open up another beer that’s been sent to me by the brewer, or their promo people.

I’ve had a couple of Paulaner beers from the American arm of this Bavarian brewer. It was founded as the Neudeck ob der Au monastery, and named after Francis of Paola, founder of the Minim religious order. The brothers made beer, like many orders, and would donate their excess to the poor, or sell it at their cloister pub. Civilian brewers complained about the completion to the Munich city council, in a letter dated February 24, 1634. That letter remains the earliest documented evidence of the monastery brewery, so it stands at the “official” founding date for Paulaner. I foind many different sources for the name “Salvator.” The most sources seem to follow that the brothers started to make their strong Lenten beer in 1651, named “Sankt-Vaters-Öl,” (oil of the sacred father), a name for their founder, Paola, or else a direct reference to the “Saviour” (Wikipedia, Tempest in a Tankard). In either 1751 or 1780, the brothers were officially permitted to sell Salvator publicly on Paola’s feast day (April 2), which they marked by offering the first pulls to the town council members.

The Neudeck cloister was abolished in 1799 and turned into a penitentiary. The building was purchased and modernized in 1806 by politician and brewer Franz Xaver Zacherl, who quickly reintroduced Salvator to the lineup.

Well, there’s a long trail of conflicting citations about specific dates and the actual origin of the name. Just don’t go referencing this article in Wikipedia, because I just typed stuff up from various sources, and gave up trying to verify.

What this leads to is that Salvator was the first of the big dopple-bocks (or “double-bocks”), and it tsrated the tradtion of other beers in the style using names with the “—ator” ending. It appears on shelves and taps toward January, and is ideally available throughout the Lenten season.

My bottle has a big grainy smell as I pour out this deep amber/brown beer. There’s a big eggshell head that fizzes away slowly.

The taste is slightly grainy as well, befitting a large malt bill. I find the alcohol is rather subdued, and while I don’t take note of obvious hops, they must be working there to keep the malt sweetness civilized.  A nice dry finish, even for a hearty beer.

Paulaner Hefe-Weizen

Update: July 18, 2021

So a month or so later, the Paulaner folks sent me a sample of their Hefe-Weizen. This is a German wheat beer, with the emphasis on flavors from the yeast. There’s usually yeast left in the package to continue conditioning, so it pours hazy, with yeast esters in the nose and taste. This taste comes in a .5 liter can. 5.5% abv.

I am tasting this while sitting at the grill, as often happens, grilling a pork loin with some wood chips on the fire and my famous “candy” pork rub.

This is a pretty common import in the US market, but they sent it to me and I’m always willing to try something that has been sent, even if I have tried it before. The last time was probably 2009 so this can be considered a newer experience. My only hefeweizen glass broke some time ago, so I’m using my backup Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat glass.

The beer kicks up a very big head with holes in the foam, like an angel food cake. As the foam resolves to show more beer, it’s slightly hazy, unlike, say, a hazy IPA.

The nose is a rather light “beer” smell. Just a slight hint of spiciness from the wheat malt, and very little of the esters that usually come with this style.

The first swigs bring a note of yeast, along with a slightly spicy beer profile. Some yeast might be expected to remain in the package, can or bottle, and I might have stirred it up as I was bringing it out to drink. The aftertaste finally shows a little bit of the banana Esther that sometimes comes with a hefeweizen. And then there is that slight note of clove spiciness. This does not wander into bubble gum territory, for which I can be thankful.

There is some more “thickness” in the mouthfeel, so I can see that this might be a little too hearty for a “lawnmower” beer. Fits more with summery meals than as a standalone thirst quencher.

There’s still more yeast at the bottom of the can that, per accepted beer drinking practice, you can save to swirl and pour out at the end of the glass to get a more intensified taste of spice and banana ester.