Day #273 – Ayinger Bräu-Weisse

Well my week of Oktoberfest didn’t quite work out. I ran out of easily accessible Oktoberfest beers to review that I hadn’t already reviewed on this blog. I probably could have found 3 more but it would have required some searching and frankly I just didn’t have the time. I did however go to an Oktoberfest celebration and picked up a nice German Hefeweizen to review.

Ayinger Bräu-Weisse

Brauerei Aying is based in Aying, Germany which is just outside of Munich. I learned an interesting fact today that the only beer allowed to be served at the Munich Oktoberfest is beer that is brewed in Munich. So Ayinger, while being an authentic German beer is not served at the Munich celebration. It is a really good beer though and I’m glad I got to have it. After I answered this trivia question correctly, I was gifted this cool glass.

(Picture to follow shortly)

This beer pours a hazy golden orange color with yellow touches. Foamy white head that has a silky look.

Aroma is lots of banana, fruit, yeast and bread. Very fruity and bready on the nose.

The flavor matches this; yeast and bread, banana notes and some sweet flavors on the finish.

Cheers to my new glass!

Day #150 – Rahr & Sons Summertime Wheat

It’s a great day to be a Texan folks! Tonight the Dallas Mavericks begin their second trip to the finals, and it’s to battle the loathsome Miami Heat which beat us on our first trip to the finals back in 2006. It’s rematch time and this time we are thirsty for blood. I’ll be watching the game and cheering on my Mavs tonight with some buds (that’s friends, not Budweisers) but first I am dropping by my weekly bar to pick up the glass of the night. In yesterday’s post I gave a hint as to what this would be by serving the beer in a particular glass. This was an older glass that I have had for awhile, and I have heard that Rahr changed the label and design of the glass. I’m hoping for something cool! Anyways there’s just enough time for a beer before the game starts.

Rahr & Sons Summertime Wheat

Summertime Wheat is a German Hefeweizen at 5.5%. It is said to have just a bit of rye malt to give this beer a Texas-sized kick! Here we go…

I walked into the bar and immediately ran into the owners, Fritz and Erin Rahr. Greeted with a smile and a handshake, I was pleased to learn that the glass of the night was INDEED the tall Weizen glass! Very excited. Here’s a picture of Fritz giving a brewery tour last Saturday:

This beer pours a cloudy orange-yellow color with a tall foamy white head. The head is maintained for several minutes as it crests the rim and gently slopes down the outside of the glass. BTW I should mention it is really cool to look down the bar and see EVERYONE drinking the same thing. That never happens here.

The aroma is wheaty and grainy upfront with an immediate shift to a floral fruit-like nose. Large elements of lemon citrus and perhaps a bit of banana as well. That’s nice to see considering it was initially served without a lemon. (They left one on the side incase i wanted it.) This beer also sports a fair bit of spice, cloves or maybe a subtle coriander.

The first thing I taste is quite bready. Lots of wheats and grain characteristics. The sweet fruit flavors come towards the middle of the drink and last through the finish. Gentle spice as well. Very nice and refreshing. Adding the lemon slice adds an obvious boost of citrus and light tartness, but the fruit slice is unnecessary for this particular Hefeweizen.

Well I made it past my first sip before the person next to me lit up a cigarette. Glad I was able to enjoy one sip before all my senses went to hell. Boo on you.

To everyone else: Cheers!

Day #112 – Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweizen

Spent the day playing golf. First round of the season and I shot a 93. Not bad for shaking off the winter rust.

Yes that is the Cowboys Stadium in the background. Now I’m home and flipping between the Mavericks in playoffs and the Rangers game tonight. 3 Dallas/Arlington sports references means it’s time for a beer….or 2 or 3 or 4.

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweizen

Sierra Nevada is a BIG player in the US craft industry. Still 2nd behind Boston Beer Company but growing quickly. As far as I know the Kellerweis was first released in 2009 as a late spring seasonal. I haven’t tried it since 09. It’s a German Hefeweizen at 4.8%, and it seems like the right kind of day for a wheat beer.

The instructions on the label said for me to pour 2/3 of the bottle, swirl, then pour the rest. That’s what I did. I poured the first 2/3 and it was a very clear golden color. After I swirled the bottle and dumped the rest of it in, it turned a crazy yellow orange color that was very murky. Apparently this is bottle conditioned and they want you to dump all the yeast in. Well here we are. It also developed a tall white head that dissipated quickly.

The aroma is lots of banana. Lots of fruit and bready yeasty notes. Also a tart type of fruit like a grapefruit almost but not as intense. Some spice.

Flavor is of earthy clay, spicy bread, yeast and fruit. Bready and wheat dry finish. The clay follows through to the finish. Like a dry powdery feeling. Interesting.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s special LIVE ON THE ROAD REVIEW! It’ll be exciting.

Cheers!

Day #99 – Franconia Wheat

I decided to do 2 days dedicated to Franconia, as I don’t have access to their beer very often and it’s certainly a special occasion to go to the brewery itself!

Franconia Wheat

The owner of Franconia, Dennis, is a German immigrant and is a huge proponent of the German Purity Laws. He strictly follows the traditions of the brewers who came before him. The only ingredients he uses in the beer is malted barley, hops, water and yeast. That’s all, and that’s all that will ever be. They also do not filter their beer so as to keep all the flavor and goodies in it.

This beer is classified as a German Hefeweizen at 5% ABV. It was served by Dennis himself into my new Franconia shaker.

This beer pours a cloudy golden orange color. It has a nice frothy head. Very hazy which is due to being non-filtered.

Clove sweetness on the nose, wheat tones and gentle fruit. I would say this is banana aromas.

Banana flavor for sure, with light bread and fresh grain. Yeasty aroma and flavor as it warms. Tasty. I haven’t had the wheat in quite awhile but I am liking how it has changed over time.

Cheers!

Day #84 – Joseph James Weize Guy

Getting a late start on day 84.  I spent the afternoon at the Rahr & Sons Brewery and feel quite tired now.  I’ll push through in the sense of honor and journalism!

Joseph James Weize Guy

Joseph James Brewing Company has only very recently come into the craft beer scene.  They are based out of Henderson, Nevada.  This is classified as a German Hefeweizen and is very light as it comes in at 3.5% ABV.

The appearance of this beer is rather disgusting to be honest.  It is cloudy/murky golden orange with a brownish mix in the color.  There is a foamy white head that dissipates quickly, but the biggest component in the appearance are the large chunks of yeast floating in it.  Unfiltered for sure.

The aroma is very yeasty which is expected due to the large chunks of sediment in the pour.  Spicy yeast, grains and some lemony notes as well.

Flavor is spiced lemon and coriander, with a big grain flavor mixed with bread and yeast.  There is a punchy type flavor in the finish that stays with the drinker for awhile.  This is odd, and almost overdone with the spicy flavors.  Hmm, I’ll have to think on this one some more.

Cheers!

Day #56 – Live Oak Hefe Weizen

Decided to get out of the apartment today as the weather feels amazing out to. As soon as my friends get here, we’ve got a beer garden patio, dark dark beer and a cigar waiting for us. This will most certainly be an amazing day.

I decided to go with a Texas, draught only beer today that is also a new style for my blog. It’s from Live Oak Brewery based out of Austin and is classified as a German Hefeweizen. A Hefeweizen is basically just a foreign wheat beer. They are often times served with a slice of fruit (orange or lemon) that is used to accompany the already existent citrus elements and hide the dry nature of wheat on the finish.

Let’s see how this one pairs…

Live Oak Hefe Weizen

Generally when a beer is served with fruit, I recommend trying it without the slice first and then added after you have a good idea of what the base beer tastes/smells like.

It pours a very cloudy/hazy light gold color with a foamy white head. The slice of lemon accentuates this appearance.

The aroma is of dry grain, sweet fruit which is a mix of banana, citrus and lemon. There is a fair bit of yeast in this as well.

The flavor is also bready sweet with a big taste of banana and other fruit. There is a slight sense of spicyness like coriander but only in the slightest.

Adding the lemon provides a lovely citrus tart that is also balanced with the flavor of candy cigarettes. You know those kind you used to get from the ice cream man as a kid that blew smoke? And when you heard the ice cream truck coming you would tear through the house like a madman looking for a freaken dollar? I swear, wanna teach a kid a sense of urgency? Send the ice cream man by. But then you ended up puffing the candy cigarette, and you know they only have 1 good puff in them, so if your friends weren’t watching when you did it you flipped out? That gum wasn’t even that great either, but that never seemed to deter me. Yeah….this beer tastes like that. Holy crap what a tangent!

Good times, good times indeed. Cheers!