Wheat beer is a top-fermented beer which is brewed with a large proportion of wheat relative to the amount of malted barley. The two main varieties are German Weizenbier and Belgian witbier; other types include Lambic (made with wild yeast), Berliner Weisse (a cloudy, sour beer), and Gose (a sour, salty beer).

Weißbier (German for 'white beer') uses at least 52% wheat to barley malt to make a light-coloured top-fermenting beer. Witbier (Dutch for 'white beer') uses flavorings such as coriander and orange peel. Belgian white beers are often made with raw unmalted wheat.^{[citation needed]}

German Weißbier and Belgian witbier are termed 'white beers' because 'wheat' has the same etymological root as 'white' in most West Germanic languages (including English).

Other wheat beer styles, such as Berliner Weiße, Gose, and Lambic, are made with a significant proportion of wheat.^{[citation needed]}

Weizenbier (German: [ˈvaɪtsn̩ˌbiːɐ̯] ^ⓘ) or Hefeweizen, in the southern parts of Bavaria usually called Weißbier (German: [ˈvaɪsbiːɐ̯] ^ⓘ; literally 'white beer', referring to the pale air-dried malt, as opposed to 'brown beer' made from dark malt dried over a hot kiln), is a beer, traditionally from Bavaria, in which a significant proportion of malted barley is replaced with malted wheat. Wheat beer was introduced in Bavaria in the 15th century from neighbouring Bohemia. Because of reinheitsgebot (German beer purity law), only beer made from barley was allowed to be brewed in Bavaria up until 1548, when William IV, Duke of Bavaria, gave Baron Hans VI von Degenberg a special privilege to brew and sell wheat beer. By law, Weißbiere brewed in Germany must use a "top-fermenting" yeast. Specialized strains of yeast are used which produce overtones of banana and clove as by-products of fermentation. Historically, Bavarian Weißbier was either brewed with a large share of wheat malt (which was a ducal privilege in Bavaria) or from air-dried pale barley malt only (which was a common drink amongst poor people). It is well known throughout Germany, though better known as Weizen ('wheat') outside Bavaria. The terms Hefeweizen ('yeast wheat') or Hefeweißbier refer to wheat beer in its traditional, unfiltered form. The term Kristallweizen ('crystal wheat'), or Kristallweißbier ('crystal white beer'), refers to a wheat beer that is filtered to remove the yeast and wheat proteins which contribute to its cloudy appearance.

The Hefeweizen style is particularly noted for its low hop bitterness (about 15 IBUs) and relatively high carbonation (approaching four volumes), considered important to balance the beer's relatively malty sweetness. Another balancing flavor note unique to Hefeweizen beer is its phenolic character; its signature phenol is 4-vinyl guaiacol, a metabolite of ferulic acid, the result of fermentation by top-fermenting yeast appropriate for the style. Hefeweizen's phenolic character has been described as "clove" and "medicinal" ("Band-aid") but also smoky. Other more typical but less assertive flavour notes produced by Weißbier yeast include "banana" (amyl acetate), "bubble gum", and sometimes "vanilla" (vanillin). Both Hefeweizen and Kristallweizen typically have 4.9-5.6% alcohol by volume.

Weißbier is available in a number of other forms, including Dunkelweizen ('dark wheat') and Weizenbock ('wheat bock beer') or ('strong wheat beer'). The dark wheat varieties are made with darker, more highly kilned malts (both wheat and barley). Weizenbocks typically have a much higher alcohol content than their lighter cousins, ranging from 7.0%-9.5%.

The four largest brands in Germany are Erdinger, Paulaner, Franziskaner, and Maisel. Other renowned brands are Augustiner, Weihenstephaner, Schneider (a bronze-coloured specialty), and Andechser. Regional brands in Bavaria are Hopf, Unertl, Ayinger, Schweiger and Plank. Aventinus is an example of Weizen Doppelbock, stronger and darker version of Weizenbock, made by the G. Schneider & Sohn brewery in Kelheim.^{[citation needed]}