Hopfen Weisse (Brooklyn Brewery)

I had to uncork this bottle as a follow up its German cousin the Schneider-Brooklyner Hopfen-Weisse. It can only get better considering this is basically the same beer, but brewed by Schneider's Hans Peter Drexler at the Brooklyn Brewery with American hops. What a great idea to collaborate on this type of project. I hope to see some other American and European breweries do something similar in the future.

Pours pale, cloudy dark orange. There is some yeast sediment floating around the glass as proof of the bottle conditioning. Never a bad thing. The head is big and fluffy and the carbonation levels seem to be spot on. Its not a beautiful looking beer but its not worth judging it just yet.

Smells nice and citrusy. The hops are definitely in the foreground while the spicy, clovey yeasty smells are in the background. There is some bitter orange that really hits the nose when I take another whiff of this one. Overall, its very intriguing. 

Wow, what a smooth drinking beer. The malt and hops are very well balance. There is some sweet citrus mingling the spicy yeast tastes. Its like biting into a juicy, hoppy orange. Well, that sounds a little strange but thats what I come up with. I have to say that I quite like this beer. Its very refreshing with quite a lot of flavor and that high ABV is pretty much undetectable.

Cheers to both Brooklyn and Schneider! 

BEER FACTS

Name: Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen-Weisse

Style: Pale Weissbock

Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery

Location: Brooklyn, New York, USA

Container: 750 ml. corked bottle

Malts: Pale Wheat & Barley

Hops: Amarillo & Palisade

ABV: 8.5%

IBUs: ?

Hopfen Weisse (Brauerie G. Schneider & Sohn)

This a beer that combines the brewing prowess of two great beer countries. The old and the new. The big and bold with the practical and the genuine. The Schneider and Brooklyner version of the Hopfen-Weisse uses German hops and is brewed at the world famous and historic Schneider Weissbier Brewery in Kelheim. Below is a great description of this joint venture that I found on the importer's site: Schneider & Brooklyner Hopfen-Weisse is a collaboration between brewmasters Hans-Peter Drexler of the Schneider Weissbier Brewery and Garrett Oliver of The Brooklyn Brewery. Now, once again, together they bring you a small batch of their joint creation, a pale weissbock robustly dry-hopped with the Hallertauer Saphir variety grown in the fields near the Schneider brewery. Hoppy, zesty and supremely refreshing, Schneider & Brooklyner Hopfen-Weisse is a delicious blend of Bavarian craftsmanship and American ingenuity. Pours a glowing orange color that is cloudy with yeast and a big, fluffy head. The bubbles show a nice steady stream of carbonation. This beer looks amazing in a tall glass. I can't wait. At first the smell is spicy, clovey with some of that familiar banana smell that can be attributed to the yeast. The bitter and slightly citrusy hop aromas follow the strong spicy smells. This is quite a unique smelling brew.  That uniqueness continues with the first sip. That spicy, clovey taste is present but the nice floral and citrusy hoppiness quickly joins in. What a great blend of wheat, yeast and hops. I'm so used to hoppy beers like pale ales, IPAs and porters that this is a pleasant surprise. Its not super hoppy but the presence of the precious bittering flower is much more so in this beer than in any other wheat beer I've ever had. I can't wait to try the Brooklyner version of this one brewed with American hops.  One small thing that I do note about this beer is that it is pretty heavily carbonated compared to the other beers I've had from Schneider. I don't think that really takes away too much from this beer, but its definitely noticeable. Prosit! BEER FACTS Name: Schneider & Brooklyner Hopfen Weisse Style: Pale Weissbock Brewery: Brauerei G. Schneider & Sohn Location: Kelheim, Germany Container: 500 ml. bottle Malts: Pale Wheat & Barley Hops: Hallertauer Saphir ABV: 8.2% IBUs: 40

Schneider Weisse (Brauerei G. Schneider & Sohn)

Georg I. Schneider created the original Schneider Weisse recipe back in 1872. Little did he know that the beer he brewed would one day be the benchmark for the style. Fast forward 136 years later and Georg's great-great-great grandson Georg VI. Schneider is overseeing a brewery that still produces beer brewed with that original recipe along with an array of other wheat beers such as Aventinus and Edel-Weisse. 

Pours a beautiful, rich, dark peach color with a huge, thick fluffy head. Its probably darker than some would expect since a lot of the American hefeweizens tend to be lighter in color. As the remaining yeast drips into the head of this beer it plunges into the beer and leaves a milky trail. Looks very appealing. Smells of cloves, cinnamon and spice, yeast and a bit of apple and banana. Tastes of spice and cloves at first with a nice refreshing follow through. Its a very refreshing beer with some juicy fruit qualities that make it ridiculous drinkable on a warm day. Nothing too overpowering, just a great clean, crisp beer. Beers like this are part of the lore that is the German beer tradition. There's a reason why this beer is still being brewed after all these years, its high quality and delicious. BEER FACTS Name: The Original Schneider Weisse Hefe-Weizen Style: Hefeweizen Brewery: Brauerei G. Schneider & Sohn Location: Kelheim, Germany Container: 500 ml. bottle Malts: Wheat & Barley Hops: ? ABV: 5.4% IBUs: ?

Slam Dunkel (Weyerbacher Brewing Co.)

They were unloading these at Downeast Beverage earlier today and as I had never before seen them I made sure to grab one. It seems to be a very new release from Weyerbacher as there aren't a lot of reviews floating around the net. If you aren't familiar with Weyerbacher you should definitely check them out. They brew a lot of different styles from a solid IPA and a great Belgian Quad to probably the only Imperial Pumpkin Ale on the market. 

I am excited about this "Double Dunkelweizen" since its a style I am beginning to really enjoy more and more. Pours a big cloudy, murky brownish orange color with a big fluffy ghost white head. Its a nice thick head and a great looking pour. This beer looks like a meal in a glass.

Smell is very sweet with some nice spiciness. There are some apple and cinnamon notes along with red grapes and cloves. Its a great smelling beer. I could see this being a scent for a Yankee Candle. Maybe they could market a beer candle line?

Taste is rich and sweet juicy fruit along with some warm spices. There is some dryness that seems to come from the alcohol.  I definitely get a lot of the apple and cinnamon tastes that I could smell along with cloves and banana which are pretty common for the style. This is a great interpretation of the style that brought us the almighty Aventinus. Very delicious and for a penny under $4 its a deal!

BEER FACTS

Name: Slam Dunkel

Style: Dunkelweizen

Brewery: Weyerbacher Brewing Company

Location: Easton, Pennsylvania, USA

Container: 22 oz. bottle

Malts: Wheat, Pale, Munich & Chocolate

Hops: ?

ABV: 7%

IBUs: ?

Wiesen Edel~Weisse (Brauerei G. Schneider & Sohn)

There are quite a few European beers that carry the USDA Organic stamp these days. I'm sure its a selling point on both sides of the Atlantic, but my guess is that the organic beer market is much more hyped here at present. That being said, the Schneider Weisen Edel~Weisse is made with both organic malt AND organic hops. Some organic American brews labeled as organic are not brewed with organic hops. This is because organic hops are expensive and hard to source and a beer does NOT need to be brewed with organic hops to be labeled as organic. Because hops constitute less than 5% (dry weight) of the total product, they do not need to be organic. Currently there is quite a bit of action to get this overturned and require all organic beer to be 100% organic. 

This 100% organic hefeweizen pours a dark yellow to orange color. Its hazy and it looks thick since its unfiltered. This is not some pale yellow hefeweizen to be served with a fruit wedge. This is a serious looking German wheat beer. Be prepared. The head is big and fluffy white. It sticks around for quite awhile before slowly but surely sinking back into the beer.

Smell is sweet fruit, cinnamon, cloves, a bit of holiday potpourri and some nice yeastiness. Quite a pleasant smelling beer. Another one I'd like to make into an air freshener. If this beer is half as tasty as it smells I am in for a treat.

Tastes spicy and sweet. A couple sips and I can make it some green apples, cloves and some wheat. I was surprised that this beer was brewed with cascade hops since I really don't taste any of the citrus that they usually provide. Its definitely not a big, juicy fruity beer like Aventinus. Instead its a little more thin in mouthfeel and very easy drinking. This is pretty much perfect on a warm/hot day. Its very thirst quenching and refreshing. 

For a great article about organic beers go HERE!

BEER FACTS

Name: Wiesen Edel~Weisse

Style: Hefeweizen

Brewery: Brauerei G. Schneider & Sohn

Location: Kelheim, Germany

Container: 500 ml. bottle

Malts: Organic Wheat & Barley 

Hops: Organic Cascade & Hallertauer

ABV: 6.2%

IBUs: ?

Aventinus (Brauerei G. Schneider & Sohn)

Oh, Aventinus! My purple-labeled friend. You're deep, dark, unfiltered goodness always makes me happy. Man do I love me some Aventinus. The label calls it the "massive twin of Schneider-Weisse." I'd have to agree.

From the Schneider-Weisse site:

"Dark-ruby, almost black-colored and streaked with fine top-fermenting yeast, this beer has a compact and persistent head. This is a very intense wheat doppelbock with a complex spicy chocolate-like arome with a hint of banana and raisins. On the palate, you experience a soft touch and on the tongue it is very rich and complex, though fresh with a hint of caramel. It finishes in a rich soft and lightly bitter impression."

Pours dark and murky. Its definitely a very dark reddish/ruby color, as stated above. It reminds me of fresh, unfiltered apple cider. The head is huge, white and very, very fluffy. It takes awhile for it to settle to a level in which I can take a sip without getting foam on my forehead.

Smell reminds me of canned bartlett pears. That is the first thing that comes to mind. There is a lot of fresh, ripe fruit in the nose of this beer. The smell is very sweet and rich and some of the clove and banana from the yeast is also present. Very, very inviting.

Taste is juicy. Very juicy. LOTS of ripe apple, pear and figs. As the glass drains a bit I can get hints of alcohol that weren't apparent at first. Its an amazingly easy drinking and thirst quenching beer. It really is amazing that this beverage is made from such simple ingredients since there is quite a bit of complexity going on with all of the tastes you get. Aventinus is the type of beer that once you have a glass its unlikely that you'll ever forget it. You'll keep going back to that familiar purple-labeled bottle to get your deep, dark fix.

BEER FACTS

Name: Aventinus

Style: Weizenbock

Brewery: Brauerei G. Schneider & Sohn

Location: Kelheim, Germany

Container: 500 ml. bottle

Malts: Crystal & Dark

Hops: ?

ABV: 8.2%

IBUs: ?

Hang Ten (Clipper City Brewing Company)

This bottle of Hang Ten is about 10 months old. At 10% it should still be pretty damn good and maybe some aging made things a little more interesting. Time to put another notch in my Heavy Seas belt...

Pours with quite a bit of viscosity, Hang Ten fills the glass with a dark ruby reddish/amber color. The head is quick to fade to a mere film at the top. For a strong beer this one still has quite a bit of carbonation. This is  a pretty serious looking beer.

The smell is very ripe fruit, dried pears, alcohol for sure and hints of baked apples and cinnamon. Hang Ten is reminiscent of Aventinus but maybe a bit stronger with the alcohol notes. 

Taste is quite intriguing actually. Lots of fresh and dried fruit tastes. Definitely a sweet apple cider quality to this one as well. There is some subtly spiciness as well but I think what I am most impressed with is how extremely smooth this one is. Also, not sure if anyone should care but there is pretty much no wheat flavor or quality to this beer. Personally I don't care at all, its a great beer and that is what matters to me. I'm definitely surprised that the alcohol taste is not overly apparent, sure its a bit dry and it definitely warms you up quickly, but there is no sharpness or bite from it. Again, its very smooth. Maybe I aged it just right! 

I'll be on the look out for this one when it comes out again this July. Another great big beer from Clipper City. 

BEER FACTS

Name: Hang Ten

Style: Weizenbock

Brewery: Clipper City Brewing Company

Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Container: 12 oz. bottle

Malts: ?

Hops: ?

ABV: 10%

IBUs: ?

The Heavy Seas Collection is:

Small Craft Warning Über pils - Strong Pilsner (Year Round)

Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale - India Pale Ale (Year Round)

Peg Leg Stout - Imperial Stout (Year Round)

Holy Sheet - Strong, Dark Belgian Ale (February Release)

Red Sky at Night - Saison Ale (May Release)

Hang Ten - Weizen Dopplebock (July Release)

Winter Storm - ESB (mid-October Release)

Below Decks - Barleywine (December Release)

Summer Ale (Shipyard Brewing Company)

Another label that tells all you non-believers that we really do get some nice, warm weather here in Maine. It also shows that famous rocky coastline and nice cold water that lobsters love so much. If I'm not totally mistaken, is that some wheat on the label as well?

Pours a clean, clear golden color. Very similar in appearance to both Geary's and Gritty's summer beers. The head is a finger in thickness but quickly disappears almost completely.

Smells like waffles. Well, not exactly but that comes to mind. Slight buttery notes along with some sharp metallic notes.

Initial taste reminded me a tad of tequila. I don't know why. After a few more sips I get some sweetness from the malt and wheat. No hop presence to speak of. I also taste some of the sharp metallic notes that I smelled. Its a very light beer without a lot of strong flavor and dry in the finish. Not my pint of beer but sure to please those looking for a light-tasting beer this summer.

BEER FACTS

Name: Summer Ale

Style: Wheat Ale

Brewery: Shipyard Brewing Company

Location: Portland, Maine, USA

Container: 12 oz. bottle

Malts: Wheat and ?

Hops: ?

ABV: 5.1%

IBUs: ?

Brewed in Maine

White (Allagash)

Allagash White is likely the most popular of the Allagash beers. Its on tap more places and most people in Maine have at least had the White even if they haven't had some of the other more unique Allagash creations.

Pours like a cloudy lemonade. Very light with the familiar haze of a witbier. The head is foamy and the yeast drips on top and stays. Be sure to follow the instructions on the bottle for best results (just like a true Belgian beer!).

Smells of sweet orange, clove and yeast along with some other spices I can't sort out. Its very hard to describe the smell of this beer in detail since I'd probably describe something that smells like this as smelling like a Belgian wheat beer.

First taste sets this beer apart from its counterparts. Its light, crisp and of course refreshing. It reminds me of sitting outside during the summer at the Porthole. They always have this on tap there. Allagash White is spicier than other witbiers and you really get a lot of flavor in every taste.

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This is a beer I definitely enjoy most when its warm out, but its been a long winter and I missed it. Its a super easy drinking beer with a really memorable taste.

Allagash White is a great Maine alternative to Blue Moon (brewed by Coors) and Hoegaarden (owned by InBev). If you like those beers and haven't tried this one, you need to pick some up or order a pint next time you see it on tap.

BEER FACTS

Name: Allagash White

Style: Witbier

Brewery: Allagash Brewing Company

Location: Portland, Maine, USA

Container: 12 oz. bottle

Malts: Wheat
Hops: ?

ABV: 5%

IBU’s: ?

Brewed in Maine

Circus Boy (Magic Hat)

Circus Boy certainly has one of the more interesting labels in the beer label world. On the front is a cage and in the shadows is the outline of a creepy looking guy. The label on the cage says "The Hefeweizen!". The back of the label reads "Unfiltered and Unfettered. Circus Boy is cloudy by nature, like Burlington, VT itself. Rouse gently to release full flavor". 

I dumped it in my glass, hoping that was rousing gently. I am never too good at that sort of thing, following instructions I mean. 

It pours a cloudy yellowish-orange color with a head that goes away but comes back with some rousing. Smells of cloves, banana, slight citrus and Bazooka bubble gum. 

This is a smooth drinking beer, but I do admit that I am not a