Weizenbock is so dangerously easy to drink, but the brewing process behind a great weizenbock is surprisingly complicated. It may be worth the trouble, since its potential for easygoing mass appeal remains largely untapped.

Based on detailed advice from Josef Lechner, brewmaster and technical director at G. Schneider & Sohn in Kelheim, Bavaria, here is a homebrew-scale recipe based on the legendary Schneider Aventinus.

The banana, clove, and vanilla aromas and flavors of a weizenbock give a boost to traditional banana bread.

When brewers ask Josh Weikert what their first “big” beer should be, it isn’t barleywine or Old Ale or double IPA: it’s Weizenbock. Here’s why . . . and how.

In the world of beer, and certainly German beer, weizenbocks are strange unexpected beers.

Michigan’s Old Nation didn’t set out to brew hazy IPA. Yet when they tackled the project, they did it with the analytical rigor one would expect from disciplined brewers trained to brew lagers.

Wheat beers, in the hands of skilled brewers, bring out the best of expressive yeasts. Here, five pros share their favorites, across styles.

Whole Foods’ first-ever in-store brewpub is now open for business and pouring pints.

A properly brewed weizenbock will have you experiencing intense malt and yeast flavors with enough alcohol to warm the body and soul.

There are choices you can make when it comes to picking the right wheat for your grain bill. But by going a little deeper and using artisanal varieties of wheat Nile Zacherle of Mad Fritz Brewing says you can really draw out new flavors in your beer.

Leave understatement to the lagers. These big, estery wheats celebrate the fine flavors of rich fermentation.

This big, complex crowd-pleaser winds up like a cross between a banana protein shake and Belgian dubbel. Ferment warm and buckle up.

“Heavy nutmeg and cinnamon character with rich toasted malt, cooked bananas, and a slightly sweet yet spicy alcohol finish. Some notes of simple sugar mixed with caramel, and a floral hop finish. Big dark-wheat malt with notes of banana bread.”

“Rich toffee, coffee, raisin notes with a peppery spiciness. Chewy, toasted malt with a lingering nutty quality. Great combination of spiciness, carbonation, and alcoholic heat on the finish. Rich, creamy, and complex without being cloying. Some might find the clove character a bit much, but it is certainly in the wheelhouse of the style.”

Bright yellow color with fleeting white foam. Bready and grainy wheat-like malt notes blend with some classic banana and clove-like esters in the nose. Spicy banana esters lift on this one. Banana bread and clove open up as the beer warms on the pallet. The sip is aligned with what the aroma promised with some nice spiced banana bread like notes within a grainy but lightly sweet malt body. There's a sweetness throughout that finishes with a gentle bitterness. Firm but restrained and pleasant floral hop bitterness and a nice spicy clove note help to temper the sweetness and create a nice balance and lightly bitter finish.

“Bread-crust and wheat notes provide a complex malt aroma, with just a hint of floral hops and banana esters. The flavor is big, with bread crust and honey-like notes, and just a hint of apricot and floral hop bitterness.”

“Complex malt-forward nose with hints of caramel, prune, raisin, chocolate, and roast complemented by light banana and clove. A touch of floral hop bitterness balances the caramel-like malt with light spicy phenols. Long bready finish closes with light dryness as a hint of chocolate and smoke lingers.”