Beer temp. 48.0F – 8.9C. This beer has an IBU of 20 (from ask Michael) and ABV of 4.5%. In a pint glass I got an average 2 in. foamy off white head that dissipated quickly with fair head lacing. Body was a clear normal orange red, with a lively carbonation.

Aromas were caramel, cereal (think Grape Nuts), nutty, toasted, floral, nutmeg and cream. Tastes were caramel, lemon and cream. All the aromas and tastes were light with the exception of the cereal which was the most predominate. Initial flavors were a light to medium sweet and a light bitter. Finish flavors were a light sweet, light acidic and a moderate bitter. Finish duration was short, mouthfeel was oily and there was virtually no body lacing. The malts settle on the middle of the tongue and the hops work the back. On the malt to hop scale I gave it a 4 or one notch to the malt side of balanced. Bottom line got a yes to repeatable, drinkable, balance, and buy again. Harmony got a so so and no to memorable and wow factor.

I drank this in the summer and now that it’s cold I almost feel I could bump it up a number (which I have done after trying another one on a cold night ). As I reread this review I got really thirsty. From what I’ve read on the web this is supposed to be Irelands #1 Ale, I can see why. It had a surprisingly clean smell with quite a lot of subtle aromas and a nice mild taste without being overwhelmed with caramel. The fruitiness of the ale yeast makes its self known so would be a good conversion beer to lager drinkers. With the low ABV it is a good session beer and I know I could work my way through several. It ain’t top tier but it ain’t bad. Well worth a 6 pack as it’s a great value.

Beer temp. 44.0 F. I used a pint glass and got a large 3 in. foamy light brown head that dissipated slowly with virtually no head lacing. Color was a clear brown and had soft carbonation. Aromas were caramel, nutty, toasted, toffee, a slight citrus, yeast, brown sugar and maple syrup. Taste were caramel, nutty, toasted, light citrus, maple sugar and a kind of nonspecific fruitiness. The IBU’s are 20 and the ABV is 4.4% so this is a damn fine session beer which as I get older seems to be getting more important. The initial flavor was a light sweet and the finish flavors were a moderate sweet, light bitter and a light tart. The finish was short the mouthfeel was oily and it had a surprisingly good body lacing. On the malt to hop scale I gave it a 3 1/2 which is 1 1/2 clicks to the left of balanced on the malty side, right where I like it. I got a yes to repeatable, drinkable, balance, harmony and buy again. Memorable got a so-so and wow factor got a no.

Overall this is just a damn fine ale. The malts had a nice sweetness with lots of depth to the caramel and toast with a subtle nuttiness and maple syrup in the background. I didn’t find the caramel annoying which i sometimes experience. I think the nonspecific fruitiness must have come from the ale yeast. The hops, while light, did balance out the malts pretty well for me as I’m a malt guy not a hophead. I actually did my tasting on 6/9/08 and have just now gotten around to putting it out and after reading what I wrote I wonder why I didn’t rate it higher but since I’ve drunken them all up and it isn’t available locally I’ll just have to let it stand. If you can find it buy it and if you can’t finish it I’ll take care of that for you.

I served this up in a .5L Hofbrau dimpled mug I brought back from Munich. It had a 3 1/2 inch huge foamy white head. Bier temp. was 48.4F-9.7C and had 5.1% ABV. It had good head lacing and dissipated slowly. Carbonation was lively, the body was a clear sparkling yellow. Aromas were barley, hay, citrus, lemon and yeast. Tastes were only barley, lemon and yeast. Initial flavors were light sweet and light bitter and finish flavors were light to moderate sweet, light to moderate bitter and a light tartness. Finish was short, mouthfeel was watery and body lacing was good. On the malt to hop scale it came in at a 5 which is balanced. Yes to repeatable, drinkable, balanced, harmony and buy again. No to memorable and wow factor.

This may have been the quickest bier review I’ve done. Is this the best helles we found in Munich? No. But it’s a good example of the style. This is as smooth and beautiful as a female Lufthansa flight attendant offering you a free bier. At the Hofbrauhaus restaurant we both had a liter of their dunkel with lunch on our shopping day and loved it.

If you do make it to Oktoberfest here are a couple of hints we learned on the first day: the difference between 3 liters of bier and 2 liters and a liter of radler (half bier and half lemonade-actually Sprite) is the difference between a 4 hour nap and a 2 hour nap and after 2 liters pay a visit to the bathroom even if you don’t think you need to, trust me on this one.

Their seasonal lineup looks like this, starting in the spring: Sam Adams White Ale, Sam Adams Summer Ale, Sam Adams Octoberfest and Sam Adams Winter Lager. We’re making sure we hit all the Sam Adams seasonals over the coming months and this is stop two of four in our journey.

For this Thursday beer session we’re working on the Sam Adams Octoberfest, which is the fall seasonal in their collection and is usually available from August to November. Our 12 oz bottle sports a 5.4% ABV and we got a starting temperature of 44.1 F. Our initial pour gave us an average 2″ frothy off-white head that dissipated quickly and left virtually no head lacing. There was a medium amount of carbonation and a normal clear body that was amber/orange in color.

The aromas came across with caramel, toasted malts, toffee, brown sugar and spices. It’s got a really nice bouquet to it. The tastes came in with caramel, nutty, toasted malts, citrus and spices. It’s really a quite refreshing beer and though it’s not overly complex, there’s something to be said for it’s simplicity.

Our initial flavor notes came across as a moderate sweet and a very light bitter that evolve in the finish to a light to moderate sweet, light acidic, moderate bitter, light tart and a very light saltiness. There’s quite a bit to the finish on this one, despite the finish length being somewhat short. The mouthfeel is oily, the tongue hit is middle, and there was virtually no body lacing as we gulped it down.

On our patented malt to hop scale, it comes in one click to the left of balanced on the malty side. Very nice for a Sam Adams brew. For our bottom line notes we got a yes to drinkable, repeatable, balance, harmony, memorable and buy again. The only no is to wow factor.

Truth be told, Sam Adams Octoberfest is just a great everyday beer for the fall months. It’s absolutely perfect for the fall weather in the south and it’s got a lot of bold flavors for a lager. It drinks like an ale and this is a perfect example of what a Sam Adams seasonal beer can be. It’s completely worth a 12 pack and that might not last you 12 days. It goes heavier on the malts and lighter on the hops than a traditional Sam Adams, which is just what The BeerFathers ordered. We recommend making this a yearly purchase, nay, investment.

Tonight’s review is the Bell’s Two Hearted Ale. Don’t be fooled by this one – it may be from Bell’s Brewery (which in fact was not invented by Alexander Graham Bell), but it’s not a dark beer. Bell’s has a bit of a reputation as a dark beer company, at least in our minds (see one of our all-time favorites – the Bell’s Expedition Stout). This one is actually an IPA – an India Pale Ale. If you need a little background on what an IPA is check out our review of the Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA where we go into the origins of the style. To show you what a great beer company Bell’s is, this non dark Two Hearted Ale comes in at #79 on the RateBeer.com Top 100 Best Beers in the World. So, yeah, Bell’s knows a thing or two about beer in general, not just the dark stuff.

For this review we used an English pint glass. We got an initial temperature of 54.3 F and the 12 oz bottle comes in at 7% ABV. The initial pour gave us a huge 3 inch foamy white head that left a good amount of lacing as it dissipated slowly. There’s a lively carbonation to the clear, sparkling amber/orange body. A beautiful looking beer.

The first whiff gives us a good medley of aromas – straw, citrus (grapefruit, lemon and orange), floral, grass, mint, apple, pear and white wine. A nice complexity and a nice balance. The taste heavily echoes some of the hop aromas – citrus (mostly the grapefruit) and grass and also adds a note of resin. It also adds a light toasted malt flavor for some balance. An interesting taste that is completely and utterly dominated by hops. When we finished and took a look at the hop section of our review form it was slammed full – we had 8 hop notes circled in total for the aroma and taste.

The initial flavor comes in as a moderate sweet and a light to moderate bitter. The finish flavor evolves to a light to moderate sweet and a heavy bitter. The finish length is long – maybe the longest finish we’ve ever done. It’s the finish that won’t die – a sip of water didn’t make the bitterness in the finish go away at all. The mouthfeel is oily, the tongue hit covers the whole tongue completely – front, middle and back. There is a fair amount of body lacing and on the patented malt to hop scale it comes in 3 clicks to the right of balanced on the hoppy side – one click away from the hoppiest mark we could put.

For our bottom line notes we marked a yes for drinkable, balance and memorable. We marked a no for repeatable (one was plenty for us), no for harmony, no for wow factor and no for buy again.

Now you might be saying – what is our major malfunction that we wouldn’t want to buy it again? It’s rated the 79th best beer in the world after all! Well, It goes way too far over to the hop side for us. We’re not anti-IPA, but we much prefer the Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA because it had a much better balance to it.

See, if you’re going to slam a beer full of hops you need a lot of malts to balance it out. There’s just not a lot of that in the Two Hearted Ale. Whatever malt sweetness there is in the beginning, the hops march in and just pound the sweet out of your mouth like all those drums in the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in China. You definitely feel that hop burn on your tongue – it reminds us a bit of our fated Ipswich Original Ale review – where we noted a burnt taste that we thought may in fact be the hops killing our taste buds. So yeah, it would be our contention that the hop shock factor is high.

Now even with all that said we can appreciate this beer for what it is. The Bell’s Two Hearted Ale makes a big statement. We love most of the Bell’s beers and they don’t half ass anything they do – this beer included. It’s probably a good example of the IPA style, but this may frighten a craft beer newbie away from ever doing another IPA. It would probably be better with food (which might be the only thing that would kill the finish) and it would likely be a great beer for a hophead. Others may want to proceed with caution.

There’s your “I learned something new today” nugget. Enjoy! For our review we used an English pint glass, of course. We got a starting beer temperature of 55 F, which is just about perfect for these English beers. This one rocks an ABV of 4.8% and the bottle volume is 500 ml or 16.9 oz for those who can’t or won’t read metrics.

Our initial pour gave us a large 3″ foamy light brown head that left a good amount of head lacing as it dissipated slowly. Not a lot of carbonation to speak of and the color was an opaque ruby brown. It looks black when you look at it but when you get it up to the light you can see a bit more clearly the true colour.

The aromas come in with chocolate, coffee, roasted malts and some light alcohol. Not too complex but those are some powerful malt aromas and you’re probably not going to get a lot of other subtle notes coming through. They put 14 different malts in this bad boy! The taste is strong on the coffee – almost a burnt taste like a Starbucks bean gone too long (well, I guess that’s a normal Starbucks bean). So that ramps up the taste to essentially an espresso along with some burnt, dark chocolate and a very light smoke. Again not overly complex, but all the flavors jive together really well for a pretty enjoyable taste that we put away surprisingly fast.

The initial flavor notes are a light to moderate sweet that evolves in the finish to a light sweet and light to moderate bitter. The finish is quite long and the mouthfeel is creamy and velvety smooth. The tongue hit is smack in the back of the tongue and there’s a fair amount of body lacing as you drink it. On our malt to hop scale it comes in really malty – there’s 14 malts after all – 3 clicks to the left of balanced on the malt side.

For our bottom line notes we get a yes to drinkable, yes to repeatable, yes to balance and a yes to buy again. We get a no to harmony, no to memorable and no to wow factor.

This is a really interesting beer. It’s very smooth and it’s not too dry and it’s not too sweet – it’s really our first session porter. While it’s not overly complex it’s very good – it’s a malty celebration in a bottle. We think it may actually be a good transition beer for a craft beer newbie wanting an introduction to porters – it’s the perfect size, has a pretty low ABV and really hums along. It’s not a stunner of a beer, it’s just a good drinking beer and we definitely recommend it.

We picked up the Dogfish Head Aprihop at World Market for $1.89 a bottle. Dad and I used an American pint glass for the review and registered a temperature of 57 F, which may have been a little too warm (more on that below). This one weighs in at 7% ABV.

On our initial pour we got a large 2 1/2″ foamy off-white head that dissipated quickly and laced fairly well in the process. The carbonation is about medium on this one and the body is a clear sparkling amber/orange color.

The first whiff gives you a lot of fruits, malts and hops. For the aromas we got a mild caramel, some generic citrus, floral, a slight resin, peach, sherry and of course loads of apricots. This is an apricot beer after all. The taste is also big on apricots and hops. The flavors don’t stray too far from the aromas, continuing with the mild caramel, some orange on the initial taste, mild grapefruit, a dry sherry and again with the apricots, which remain the biggest part of the flavor.

The initial flavor notes are a moderate sweet and a light to moderate bitter that slides in the finish to a light sweet, moderate to heavy bitter, light saltiness and light tart. There’s a lot going on here in your mouth with this one. There’s not really much body lacing as you drink it. The finish is average to long in length, the mouthfeel is oily, the tongue hit is on the back of the tongue and on our patented malt to hop scale it comes in – guess what – somewhat hoppy. We marked it two clicks to the right of balanced on the hoppy side. You’d expect nothing less from an IPA after all.

For our bottom line notes – we say yes to drinkable and repeatable, yes to memorable and yes to buy again. We mark a no for balance (needs a few more malts to balance out the hop tastes), a no for harmony and a no for wow factor (that undefinable thing that makes us say “Hot Damn!”).

As with any fruited beers there’s always a fear it’s going to taste like a wine cooler, but fear not, this tastes like a beer. It’s good, it’s refreshing, it smells great and we think it’s a terrific summer beer. This is not a bad IPA at all. Our advice is to not treat this like a regular IPA though and do it a little bit cooler – somewhere in the mid to upper 40s would probably be a pretty good starting point and as it warms you can determine where you like it best.

It’s a great outdoor beer – I had one with dinner outside one night and it absolutely hits the spot with food. Of course I tend to prefer my hoppier beers with food to help tame some of that bitter finish (not being much of a hophead personally). The 7% ABV is a really good mark and should let you easily have two. If you are a hophead, you’ll love the twist on this. Is it worth a 6 pack? If you’ve got some hot summer days ahead of you we’d say go for it.

Beer temp. 53.0F-11.4C 5.3% ABV. The beer was ruby brown in color with a 2 inch foamy head which was light brown in color. The head dissipated slowly and laced fairly well. Carbonation was soft and the body clarity although dark was clear. Aromas were caramel, coffee, molasses, nutty, toasted, citrus and black licorice. Taste were nutty, mild black licorice, dark brown sugar, and smoke. Initial flavors were light sweet and light bitter. Finish was moderate sweet, moderate bitter and light salty. Finish duration was average, mouthfeel was oily and had fair body lacing. On the malt to hop scale I put it at a 4 or just to the malt side of balanced. 5 of the 7 aromas came from the malts. Repeatable yes, drinkable yes, balance yes, harmony yes, memorable no, wow factor no, buy again yes.

I liked the nice smoked taste and the mild anise. I found it uncommonly smooth. I wish I could find it here. This is just a great everyday porter. I also appreciate the low ABV. It is fairly complex but still has a simpleness to it and I mean that in a good way. Great balance. Would keep in the rotation if I could. It’s like a pair of shoes that we all have, not good enough to wear to a fancy outing but one step ahead of “Are you going to wear those ratty old things?” They just fit and are so comfortable. However I would only drink this on a day of the week that had a “Y” in it — isn’t that a lucky coincidence?

The ABV comes in at 8%, nice and solid for an imperial wheat. The beer temperature was 43 F and our pour into a weizen glass yielded an insanely huge 4″ foamy white head. The head dissipated slowly and gave us virtually no lacing. The carbonation was lively, the body clarity was hazy and the color was a beautiful gold to amber.

The initial aromas were biscuit, wheat, orange, yeast, banana and clove. The initial taste added in some alcohol and peach to the fray. The body lacing was fair as we drank it down. The initial flavor notes came off as moderately sweet and lightly sour. The finish flavor moved to a light sweet, moderate bitter and a light saltiness. The finish duration was long, mouthfeel was oily and it actually was almost perfectly balanced on our patented malt to hop scale. Though not repeatable (we really wouldn’t want to drink another one right after it), it was definitely drinkable (we wanted to finish the one we had), memorable and even had a wow factor for wheat beer. Would we buy it again? Absolutely.

Overall this is a good springtime beer. It was remarkably well balanced, though we’d have to say it’s probably the hoppiest weizen we’ve had to date (though the malts balanced it out well). Not bad for our first imperial weizen. Refreshing really isn’t the right word to describe it if you’re thinking of say a hefeweizen, but it is quite enjoyable. One glass is just about right.

This is our first memorial beer tasting, in the memory of our co-worker and friend Mike White. I found out after his passing that he was a big fan of the Dead Guy Ale, so on the way back from his funeral some fellow co-workers and I decided to stop at World Market and pick up a few 22 oz bottles. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Our HR Director mentioned before that Mike would occasionally joke around and tell her he had 6 Dead Guys in his kitchen. Classic.

It’s a relatively new beer in the market and the story goes that in the early 90s it was created as a private tap sticker to celebrate the Mayan Day of the Dead for a restaurant in Portland, Oregon. It stuck and turned into an actual bottled product a few years later. Style-wise it’s considered a Maibock, which is in fact a lager known to be a little bit hoppier and contain a little more alcohol than a traditional bock, and is usually served around the springtime (May Bock, the ideal time to start drinking beer outside). It’s almost like a light version of a double bock. Rogue makes it their own though and throws in their proprietary “PacMan” ale yeast, giving this lager the word ale in the title and confusing those of us who try to classify styles on our web sites as either a lager or an ale.

We used a standard American pint glass for the test. Beer temperature was 48.6 F and the ABV is a nice 6.6%. The initial pour from our 22 oz friend gave us a large 2 inch foamy off-white head that dissipated slowly and left virtually no head lacing. It was a cloudy, almost murky-like amber/orange color. Looks good!

The initial aromas gave us caramel, honey, roasted and toffee malts. We also got some citrus (mostly orange) and some alcohol to the smell. The initial taste gave us most of the same profile as the aromas but added more depth – we detected a nuttiness, coupled with brown sugar, ginger and sherry. It was a treat to find these taste notes and added complexity we weren’t able to pull out of the aroma. The alcohol was not present in the taste like it was the smell. The initial flavor was a moderate sweet with a light bitter and light saltiness to it. The finish duration was average in length and the finish flavor profile changed a little to a light sweet with a moderate bitter and a light to moderate saltiness. There’s a lot of malts in here and a good number of hops to balance it out.

The mouthfeel was dry and we got no noticeable body lacing. The malt to hop scale came in ultimately at balanced, but this was an average measurement. Initially the malt profile stood out and it leaned to the malty side, but through the finish we moved more to the hoppy side. Not too far either way, but enough to notice the slide. Almost like two beers in one!

Dad notes he had an original review of this on 7/19/2005 – close to 3 years ago when we first started getting into the craft brews:

“Catchy name forgettable taste – bad.” My how things change – would have been a 1 or 2 then. Did the beer change? No, I have and this proves it.

Repeatability and drinkability are both there – we would definitely do another. We felt like it had a good balance to it, but not that intangible harmony we find in the upper tier of beers. Though good – it was memorable for sentimental reasons – it didn’t have the “wow” factor that some beers do. We would definitely buy it again though and we love the 22 oz size, which should be mandatory for all beers. You really can’t go wrong with it – $4.99 for the 22 oz bottle is a little pricier than you may expect, but it’s money well spent. The beer evolves as it warms – we suggest you start with it cold and experience it mature as it gets warmer.

The bottle reads: “Gratefully dedicated to the Rogue in each of us” – and to you Mike.

The beer itself is a 5.2% ABV brew. The initial pour yields a 1/2″ off-white/light beige head that quickly dissipates though it has a healthy, active carbonation to it. The color is light amber with orange and brown hues. The aroma has a floral scent to it, as well as some citrus tones – possibly pineapple. It’s a deliciously fragrant beer. The taste is a mild caramel and floral combination that really works. It’s also got some notes of cereal (think Grape Nuts). It laces well on the glass as you drink it. The aftertaste doesn’t linger and it’s a very clean finish.

Overall it’s a really good beer. It’s very repeatable and very drinkable. The light hops work in harmony with the malts and it’s got a very good balance to it. It would go great with red meat – a hamburger or steak or any part of the cow you might want to pick from. Worth a six pack for sure.

First off, this is one of the all-time great beer bottles. It’s got Winston Churchill on the label and he stares you down as you drink with his cigar and derby hat. Dad picked this up on a recent trip to Missouri to visit Grandma Beer Love and our derby hats are off to the Arcadia Brewing Company for this one. We served this one up in a pint glass. It has a good medium brown head, about average in size (3/4″) and slightly fizzy. It dissipates rather quickly though it does leave a fair amount of lacing on the glass. The body is just about solid black and it’s got a soft carbonation to it. It’s bottle conditioned and the pour leaves some sediment in the bottom of the glass.

The aromas are intriguing – coffee, dark chocolate, roasted malts and perhaps a touch of molasses. There’s also an earthiness and nice smokiness to it, plus some possible black licorice and soy sauce. The initial flavor is heavy and a bit sweet. The chocolate overpowers the other flavors and really doesn’t let them come through. This really prevents a true balance resulting in a not overly complex tasting beer. The finish is bittersweet and long lasting, and as it warms tends to get very sweet. The mouthfeel is creamy and smooth.

We suspected this might be a great beer to have with some cheese and fruit – perhaps strawberries. We got out some sharp cheddar and put it to the test and it immediately worked. This is a wonderful companion beer – the cheese lessens some of the strong malty aftertaste and it really does work. Combine that with its 7.2% ABV and you’ve got something pretty good. On the strength of that we’d probably move it up to a 7, but stand alone we feel it’s a good solid 6.

It’s made by Blue Moon. Beer temp. 48.2 F (9.0 C). Pours clear medium gold with a nice white head. Orange and sweet honey aroma. The head faded pretty quickly. First taste gives a nice sweetness with a subtle orange note and very mild hops. The label says pale malt and malted white wheat, but I didn’t notice the distinctive wheat aroma I’m so fond of which may have been covered up by the honey and orange aromas. Since it’s clear and not cloudy it’s not bottle conditioned and filtered. I must admit I like the cloudy appearance of wheat beers. This was actually my third one so it’s not terribly new to me so I’m a little too critical but I feel it’s either a tad too sweet and a little short on hops to balance the sweet. It is still a good call for a summer beer especially for someone not looking for much depth, after all that’s what summer calls for. My lovely wife tried it and pronounced it good. It might even work with Q.

Repeatability? Darn right.

Note: a later taste on a late humid night after work was even better. I may have been a little too critical. Clean, crisp and smooth, great balance of orange and sweet isn’t quite as annoying as I thought before. Give it a try while it’s available, you won’t be sorry.

Beer temp. 48.0 F- 9.2 C. Pours light amber and clear with no head or lacing. Wheat-biscuit aroma with faint fruit and caramel undertones. First taste has definite raspberry flavor, slightly sweet and a light caramel taste with just a hint of bitterness from the hops. It has a really good balance of flavors, nothing overpowering but each element supporting the others. I was surprised it’s quite good. Somebody definitely got something right. After an aggressive pour had a small head but it faded away very quickly. Very light carbonation.

May be even better than Abita Purple Haze which is good, this has an actual ale taste with the other flavors. This is well worth a 6 pack. It’s clear so it’s filtered and not bottle conditioned so there is no charge at the bottom. Good job folks.

The pour is very nice – a large foamy slightly off white head that piles up in the glass. It hangs around for a little bit before dissipating quickly. The color is a nice solid brown with deep red tones. It’s a handsome looking brew. The smell is strong with roasted malts (either caramel or biscuit) and a faint aroma of floral hops.

The taste is very good, it’s a little sweet but not in-your-face about it. It’s also a little bitter but you hardly notice. The malts and the hops are almost in perfect harmony. The taste is also slightly nutty with some caramel and floral flavors as well. The mouthfeel is good with some carbonation to bubble it up a bit. The taste sets you up for what you think might be a bitter finish but the finish is incredibly smooth. This would be a great beer with food – hamburgers and fries would probably complement it nicely. I really wouldn’t mind if they went a little bolder on the taste – really give it some personality. Think Sam Adams – another great “food beer.”

All in all it really is very drinkable and should have no trouble making it into the rotation as a change of pace beer.

Son Beer Love Review (April 6, 2007):

Brewed by the Flying Dog Brewery in Denver, Colorado, this Hefeweizen breaks the mold of American beers with a good bit of German style. Flying Dog is not afraid to experiment with their craft brews and we should thank them for it. Dad sent a six-pack to me recently as I’ve been unable to locate it in Charlotte and he’s raved about it for a while.

The pour is a golden straw-like color with a touch of orange and a decent almost solid white head that dissipates quickly. It’s somewhat cloudy but you can see through it a touch – a nice translucence.

The smell is pure hefeweizen – clean and lemony and peppery with a touch of wheat or hay. Wheat beers have the most delicious smells.
The taste is insanely clean – a touch sweet with lemon and a fabulous refreshing finish that leaves you wanting to take another sip immediately.

This beer is the perfect complement to lunch – a sandwich and chips are ideal (turkey or chicken with miracle whip, pepper and a tomato on wheat with Baked Lays). I’ve tried it twice with this lunch and the beer is almost gone before I finish making the sandwich. A hot day begs for this beer as it quenches your thirst and unlike some of the other beers we’ve tried this one is splendid very cold (40 degrees or so). One of the most drinkable beers I’ve tried and it will be a staple in the rotation as long as I can find it in Charlotte.

Father Beer Love Review (April 13, 2007):

Mid 80′s day and humid. Need a good hefe and gave it a five minute rest because damn it I’m thirsty.

Beer temp 49.8 F. – 10.1 C. Pours cloudy medium gold, nice head with sweet biscuit aroma and definite lemon overtones. Fair head – didn’t last too long but nice lacing on sides of glass. First taste lemon, slightly sweet, nice bite of pepperiness. Kind of wish it was colder but the flavors are really coming through. Louisiana may not have invented humidity but we may have helped perfect it. Maybe summer won’t be so bad now. This is outstanding. Should be served in a tall Pilsner glass. The spider at the bottom gave me the darker dregs and pumped up the cloudiness and flavor.

Lower alcohol hasn’t left me loopy, not that thats a bad thing. Definitely need a six pack. This is the best American hefe that I have found and has all the elements – lemon, pepper and some sweetness, and great balance. Is it the best hefe in the world? No, but at $1.95 with tax it is eminently more affordable than Ayinger Brau-Weisse at $3.58 with tax. If you can find it buy it and enjoy it. By the way no screw top cap which is always a definite plus.
Repeatability – absolutely.

Son Beer Love Review (February 19, 2007):

This is a delicious beer. Pour is amber – cloudy and unfiltered, with a nice head that seems to go away fairly quickly, but laces well on the glass. Passes the smell test with flying colors – a doughy, bread-like smell.

It has a sweet edge to it – toffee and caramel perhaps – and you can taste the malts. The finish is a little bitter, but not unpleasant – a good balance between smooth and bitter capped off with some good hops. Would definitely do again.

Father Beer Love Review (August 24, 2007):

Tragedy has struck the The BeerFathers house (west), sob. In the back of the ice box I have kept 2 beautiful .5L bottles of Ayinger beer – one Jarhundert and one Brau Weisse for about 6 months or so. Last week I decided to celebrate something or other, I believe Tuesday was it (I don’t have to look to hard for something to celebrate) uncapped the beautiful brown bottle of Jarhundert and made a good pour. As I admired the color and smelled the wonderful aroma something seemed slightly amiss. I tasted it warily and discovered that it had turned into a Milwaukee’s Best. While Belgian strong ales and barley wines can improve with age, Dortmunder/Helles styles don’t. So keep an eye on your stock less this happens to you. As a side note the next night I drank the Brau Weisse and while it might have lost a little bit of flavor it faired much better.

This one is made by Bamberger – .5L 6% ABV beer temp. 44.9F-6.9C. Pours light amber brown with a nice off white head, somewhat cloudy. Aromas of caramel, wheat and a touch of sweetness. Head faded slowly and laced well. First impression is of sweet caramel and a touch of toffee and butterscotch. The bitterness of the hops is a bold counterpoint to the sweetness. The mouth feel is good but not the rich butter feel of some. It is milder than the double bocks. This could be a nice compliment to rich Christmas foods (Think the feast of the seven fats).
This one is worth a try if only as a single. It’s bolder than a Shiner Bock or an Amber Bock. Use it as an occasional treat and keep it in mind around the holiday season.

Interestingly, I looked it up at ratebeer.com, where it rates in the 99th percentile with a score of 4.02/5.00 (a very high rating). Some of the reviews cite a plum and raisin flavor, which may be why I didn’t like it as much as the Maudite (I’m not yet able to discern individual flavors like that but I know those are two fruits I don’t seek out often).