ABV: 5.0%
IBU: 27
Serving Temp: 35F
Carbonation: 2.8 vol
Grade: B-
I intended this beer has something inspired by Widmer hefeweizen--smooth and easy drinking with a pronounced wheat flavor--but while these descriptors still hold, this apple fell surprisingly far from the tree.
The appearance was a little hazy, as you would expect, with a nice clean white puff of foam on top. I finally got around to balancing my draft lines with this neat little trick, so while previous kegs poured glasses of foam, this one is leaves a perfect half inch of head. Interestingly, as the keg sat on tap, it slowly cleared, so that by the time I filled my last beer it was one of the brightest beers I've served. Stan Hieronymus mentions in Brewing with Wheat that this is an issue for Bavarian brewers who want the signature cloudy appearance, but it was still surprising to see such a drastic transformation for myself.
The flavor was very bright and crisp, with just a hint of the thicker wheat flavor. For this brew I used Irish ale yeast instead of an american or German strain and the effect is quite apparent. It's dry, but with a unique, mysterious character I remember from my Irish red ale. Here it definitely comes across as more fruity--maybe some Fuji apple notes?
As a whole it's an okay beer. The wheat and yeast don't really add anything to each other (and the Hersbrucker hops were just AWOL) to create a compelling product, but at least they don't clash. I brought this to some friends' barbecue and it was an easy sell, so that's a good sign. I just hope next time I can finally nail that perfect wheat beer...
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