Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Shiner Hefeweizen by the Spoetzl Brewing Company


Today has been a wonderful day in North Texas. With temps running in the mid 80s it is downright pleasant compared to the 105ish we have seen for the past three to four months. If anything deserves a beer, this is definitely it.

As it feels summer is on the way out, it is time to start weeding out the lighter lagers and ales to make room for the dark, malty beers of fall and winter. After a bit of deliberation, from the back of the fridge came a couple bottles of Shiner’s Hefeweizen from the Spoetzl Brewing Company.

Pouring out into a 20oz imperial pint glass, the 12 ounces of beer formed a thick head that threatened to exceed the volume of the glass, but stopped just short of making a mess on my desk.  As impressive as it formed, sadly the head did not last but only about twice as long as it took to form on top of the pale tangerine beer.  True to the style, the beer was rich with cloudy yeast sediment and active carbonation.

The nose had a mild, bready, yeast forward aroma with very slight citrus aspects.

Taking a drink, my mouth was filled with a nice wet mouthfeel and a generic flavor of citrus with a light spice, giving the beverage a clean, refreshing and slightly tart finish.

The body and flavor, being tart and crisp, reminded me more of one of my homemade apple ciders than any home brewed or commercial hefe or wit beer that I can recall drinking recently, and I suspect it’s due to the use of a lager yeast as opposed to an ale stain.

It is a good, decent beer, but not one I see myself drinking often due to a desire to have a stronger banana presence, and more balance in the citrus aspects of the style.

Prost!

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