Bavarian Wheat Beer Falls Out of Fashion

By 1872, Bavarian wheat beer had declined sharply from the dominant position it had once held. Drinkers increasingly preferred brown and other bottom-fermented beers, while improved brewing methods raised the quality and availability of Bavarian lager. The royal Hofbräuhaus in Munich was considering ending wheat-beer production and using the space for more popular beers. New refrigeration technology accelerated this shift by allowing bottom-fermented beer to be brewed more reliably during warmer seasons. Wheat beer survived through specialist producers such as the newly founded G. Schneider & Sohn, but its broader decline continued into the twentieth century. By the 1950s and early 1960s, Weissbier accounted for less than three percent of Bavarian beer production, and many breweries had stopped making it.