hefeweizen ale

New Beer Blog Widmer Brothers Hefe The Original American Hefeweizen

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In this beer blog, we are going to get into a classic beer.  This brew helped moved me into the craft beer scene along with Red Hook Brewery.  It is Widmer Brothers Hefe.  It is one of their first brews and it is the most popular American Hefeweizen.  If you read my earlier beer blog posts, you know the history of this Northwest Craft Brewery.  If you have not, please, read them to get to know Widmer Brothers.  Let us get into this German Style Hefeweizen.

This beer has a cloudy straw to golden color with a white head.  In the light, it has almost bright yellow to almost like dark white yellow color.  The aroma has yeasty to wheat notes with citrus notes.  It is almost like lemon.  The taste has wheat to citrus notes with a lemon notes to aftertaste.  It is pretty refreshing and easy drinking for any season.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

This naturally cloudy brew starts with the highest quality malted wheat. Its bold, clean flavor and pronounced citrus and floral aromas are what define American Hefeweizen. Prost! To the original.

Here is a description from their website (www.widmerbrothers.com):

Meet the beer that started it all. Our naturally cloudy flagship brew starts with the highest quality wheat. It’s bold, clean flavor and pronounced citrus and floral aromas are what define American-style Hefeweizen. So pour yourself a cool, cloudy glass, finish with a lemon and enjoy the original.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.widmerbrothers.com

Twitter:  @widmer_brothers

Closing, this is a classic craft beer and I will always find myself enjoying one Hefe during the spring and summer.  This is one of the best craft Hefeweizen on the market.  I have always recommend this beer if they are looking for something different from their normal craft beer drinking or a guy looking to switch from the mass-produced beers.  This is a great light to medium body beer with a nice refreshing taste notes.  If you are looking for a change-up or a nice summer like beer to enjoy in any season, this is your beer.  I highly recommend you trying this beer at least a few times.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcat.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Blot Samuel Adams Dunkelweizen

In this next beer blog, we are going to take another look at a beer from the Samuel Adams Fall Sampler Pack.  The beer is their Samuel Adams Dunkelweizen.  If you read my earlier blog on their beers, you know about this brewery.  Samuel Adams is pretty well know so you might already know them before reading this blog.  If you do not know this brewery, please, go back and read the first part of that blog.  Let us get into the beer.

Samuel Adams Dunkelweizen is only available in their Fall Sampler. It has an amber color without a head on the beer.  It has a malty and yeast smell. It has malty wheaty taste with a malty aftertaste. This Dunkelweizen is pretty drinkable beer.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

This unflitred dark wheat beer is brewed with a traditional Bavarian yeast that createsa wide spectrum of flavors and aromas from clove and nutmeg to tropical fruit and banana.  This is complemented by malted wheat for a crisp finish.  Cheers!  Jim Koch

Here is a description from their website (www.samueladams.com):

Samuel Adams® Dunkelweizen,literally translated as “dark wheat” beer, is a darker version of the traditional Bavarian wheat beers dating back to the 15th century.  Dark amber-brown in color, this brew is coarse filtered, leaving a notable haze and offering a dense, white rocky head.

Samuel Adams Dunkelweizen is brewed with authentic Bavarian wheat beer yeast, which imparts a wide spectrum of flavors and aromas from spicy clove and nutmeg to tropical fruit and banana. This traditional yeast is rarely used by American brewers so the flavors it creates are often unfamiliar, even to craft beer drinkers.  The yeast character is complemented by the taste of the malted wheat that adds a cereal note. The result is a beer that, although quite complex and flavorful, is medium in body, with a crisp finish.

Dunkelweizen is a variation on the “weizen” or wheat style that originated in Bavaria around the 15th century.  Both hefeweizens and dunkelweizens are often staples of Southern German breweries’ repertoires.  Dunkel simply refers to the darkness of the beer derived from the malt.  Often smooth and rich with complex malt flavors, dunkelweizens still carry the distinct flavors imparted from the yeast that are common in traditional southern German wheat beers.  This array of flavors ranges from clove and nutmeg to tropical fruit and banana.  The crisp cereal note of the wheat remains making it a flavorful and refreshing beer.

In creating Samuel Adams Dunkelweizen, we were inspired by the long history of this classic German style that’s difficult to find in the US today.  Our version of the style is authentic to the Bavarian tradition with its combination of slight tartness from the wheat and full flavor from its dark malts as well as the notable yeast character.  The traditional Bavarian yeast imparts a wide spectrum of flavors that make the beer unique.

Flavor: Caramel and toasted malt notes integrated with the traditional German weizen beer fermentation aromas of clove and banana.
Color: Dark amber brown, 20 SRM
Original Gravity: 12.6° Plato
Alcohol by Vol/Wt: 5.1%ABV – 4.0%ABW
Calories/12 oz.: 168
IBUs: 13
Malt Varieties:Samuel Adams two-row pale malt blend, malted wheat,  Carawheat® malt, and Carafa® malt
*Carafa® and Carawheat® are registered trademarks of Weyermann Malt, Bamburg, Germany
Hop Variety: Hallertau Mittelfrueh Noble hops
Yeast Strain: W-68 ale yeast
Availability: Seasonal (Aug. – Oct) in the Harvest Collection Variety Pack
First Brewed: 2009

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.samueladams.com

Twitter:  @samueladamsbeer

In closing, as you know I am not a huge fan of wheat beers but I love the German style.  I was looking forward to trying this beer since it was a Dunkelweizen.  I have to say I was kind of disappointed.  I am learning pretty quickly that American Craft Breweries can not make a good German Style Hefeweizen nor Dunkelweizen.  It is not a really bad beer but I just did not enjoy drinking it.  I am not going to love everything that Boston Beer Company, Dogfish Brewery or any other brewery.  If you love wheat beer, please, go try this beer.  I have a feeling if you love this style.  I believe you will love it.  Please, let me know.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Blog Lake Placid Craft Brewing Hefeweizen

In this blog, we are going to get into the second beer that I received from my Beer of the Month.  This brew is called Lake Placid Craft Brewing Hefeweizen Wheat Ale.  If you read my earlier blog on their Barkeater Amber Ale, you know a little bit of this brewery.  Let us get into this all year-long beer.

This beer ia a nice cloudy golden color with a little constant head to it.  You can smell lemon to citrus in the beer. The taste is a little citrus and a lot of banana clove in it. This beer is very drinkable and stays true to the German Beer Style.

Here is a description from the beer bottle:

Lake Placid Hefeweizen is brewed with German wheat and barley as well as authentic German yeast, resulting in tasty esters, a touch of clove spiciness, and a cloudy, golden appearance.  It’s a perfect complement to sunny, summer days and cool, Adirondack nights.  Here’s to summer!

Here is a description from their website (www.ubuale.com), which I believe this is the right beer:

5.0% ABV

High Peaks Hefewiezen is a German Style Wheat Beer. It is yellow/pale orange in color and is cloudy in appearance. It is a very unique beer that is fermented with an ale yeast from Weihenstephan, Germany (pronounced Vine-Schte-fawn). Hefewiezen (pronounced Hefay-vite-zen) actually means “wheat beer with yeast”, which is why we do not clarify this beer. The thick cloudiness is actually the yeast suspended in the beer. The yeast contributes a unique flavor with a strong banana and clove character.  It has a very spicy aroma with hints of banana and clove in the aroma as well. It is brewed with 50% malted wheat, in place of malted barley, and hopped with noble hop varieties originating in Germany. It is not a bitter beer style, therefore letting the wheat flavors and yeast flavors dominate.  Traditionally, this beer is often served with a lemon in it, however, we do not recommend it. This beer will be on tap throughout the summer until roughly mid September.

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.ubuale.com

Twitter:  @ubuman

In closing, just like their Barkeater Amber ale, this beer style is not my flavorite out in the market.  I HATE this beer style along with whites, and wheat ales.  I realize that “hate” is a very strong word to use but that is how I feel about this classic beer styles.  If you read any of my blogs, I am very honest about the beers but I will tell you if it is a good beer or not.  Plus, just because I say the beer is not good that does not mean you will not like it.  With that all said, this beer is pretty good but I canot see myself drinking this in my regular lineup.  They did a very good job keeping it to true to the German Beer Style with a little twist.  With the huge growth of Wheat Ale, I believe this beer should be doing very good right now. I know the ones in my market, which is Chicago, are doing very well.  I have to say this brew has to be one of the best one in the Craft Beer market.  Good job on this brew!  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser