Ayinger Ur-Weisse

Banana, caramel and chocolate with some citrus tones and a lovely soft spiciness in the doughy aroma that seems malty but light. Hazy amber-tan coloured body is topped by generous off-white head that recedes slowly to a lasting cover. Caramel and banana flavours are apparent but somewhat subdued after the promise of the aroma. Citrus and cloves also make appearances with none taking the spotlight. Strong carbonation and medium-light body that is very dry and well-attenuated. Lager glass, fridge temp. Bottle (Winooski Beverage Warehouse, Nov. 2004).

Walking around John’s Grocery, and there was the line of Ayinger beers calling out to me. There are so many I haven’t tried, I figured I could just pick one and probably it would be a rate. Nope. Realized as I was adding this I had had it before. Oh well. This was clearly a fresher example, so it’s nice to be able to bump my rating up a few points. Hazy orange, generous layer of lasting off-white head. Spicy hay nose, apples, warm rustic bread and a hint of butter in the background. Mint and apple flavor, yeasty baguette, sweet menthol finish. Soft and full, good depth and complexity. A beer very happy like this on its own, but one that suggests a myriad of possibilities paired with food. (Previous rating, 3/16/2005. Pours light copper with a big head of light tan foam that fades quickly. Lemon, carmel, mild roast aromas, with a subtle spiciness. More sour lemon in the flavor, with hard-candy carmel. Soft, mouthfilling. Completely lacking the nice sparkly-bite I sort of expect with a weiss. This seems like well-crafted beer...just not all that interesting. Have I toasted my tastebuds with IPAs? No...I don’t think so. I think this is just a little bit boring. 6/3/6/3 14)

Pours amber iwth a slight haze. Thick lasting head. Ridiculous carbonation- this one was actually sitting on its side in the trunk of my car and started leaking a bit. I only lost about half an inch from the bottle but I was expecting it to be flat. No, when I cracked that cap this beer popped. Still had immense carbonation. Yeasty aromas with some citrus peels. Good rich flavor and extremely well balanced. Citrus flavor like tangerines come to mind. Quite drinkable. Creamy mouthfeel typical of Ayinger brews.

Pours a cloudy darker golden color with a medium head. Very yeasty aroma with hints of wheat malt and citrus. Flavor follows suit. Yeasty with a bit of citrus some banana and a bit of barn yard. Medium mouthfeel and very smooth.

Yeasty caramel-citrus aroma, herbal pear flavors, touch vanilla. Retains head well, finishes clean and a bit sour with some residual creaminess. I am impressed.

Amber and cloudy, well carbonated with a frothy off white head. Aroma of banana and pear with yeast and a hint of vanilla. Light in body with apple being the dominate flavor. Finishes fast with little bitternesss

Poured with a large white head, Cloudy dark copper body. Lots of bubbles in my hefe glass. Aroma of lemons, cloves and some bread. The taste is bananas, peaches and watermelon. The background has a touch of cloves. The finish is a little sweet. This is a nice solid and subtle beer. I am glad to see that Ayinger is even in one of my local grocery stores.

Aroma is pleasing - Clove, peach, bready .... Appearance is amber/copper with a nice sustained head ... Flavor gets off to a good start with hints of clove, peach and pepper, but then the beer collapses into a disappointing watery finish. Good but not great.