Barrel House Hocking Hills Hefeweizen

Brewed by Barrel House Brewing Company
Style: German Hefeweizen
Cincinnati, Ohio USA

The Dan Journal #82. Tasted 4/30/2007. 22oz bomber. Cloudy orange hue. Soapy white head. Spicy banana citrus yeast aromas. Smooth yet a touch grainy. Nice cloying honey orange citrus flavors. Subtle perfumy hop finish. Crisp and light. Totally quaffable. Good, nay great melding. Really nice creamy finish. Well done.

22oz bottle-pours a fizzy disappearing off white head and cloudy yellow color. Aroma is lots of fruit, clove/coriander?, yeast. Taste is lots of fruit-some tartness, clove/coriander?, yeast-banana, musty raw wheat. Finishes earthy, barnyard. OK effervescence.

22 oz bottle. Misty pale orange with a frothy white head that fades in a minute. Standard lemon-wheat, banana nose. Tangy with a juicy mouthfeel. Banana spritzer with a squeeze of lemon. Some lingering wheat but pretty clean. Could use a bit more body but overall quite tasty.

22 oz. bottle: Pours with classic hefe fever - clouded honey color with a rising, creamy head and loads of banana esthers spilling from the tulip. A closer inspection of the nose reveals ripe banana, sugary vanilla, bubblegum and a healthy dose of honey wheat. The body approaches creamy in mouthfeel, almost there but just a bit spritzy for me. Light and drinkable, the onslaught of vanilla, ripe bananas and bready wheat continue. The phenols turn just a tad sour on the back of the tongue, adding an interesting element for me. Maybe this is from age? (No BB date to be found). All in all, this is a fantastic example of the style, one of the best American versions I’ve had. Loaded with flavor, the yeast doesn’t take over the creamy malt body and everything lives in harmony. At 4.6%, this would make a great summer session beer (is it sold in sixers?) Finding this for only $2.40 a bomber isn’t too shabby either.

Hazy yellow, thin head getting even thinner. I confess to not having much experience with hefes, but I like this one. Aroma is banana! Fruity flavor, "hints of clove, banana, and vanilla" sums it up nicely. Barrel House deserves to get more exposure for their tasty and very solid brews.

Bottle. Vanilla, banana, clove and cinnamon aroma. Cloudy orange yellow color with small head for a weizen. Heavy clove flavor dominates - hints of banana and vanilla. A bit too much clove flavor in this one - overwhelms the fruit and malt flavors.

From a 22 oz. bomber bottle with no freshness date, a blurb along the right side of label, appearance and malt/hop info along the bottom of label, sampled at cellar temperature in a weizen glass. Poured an unfiltered cloudy, orange hued yellowish golden with a frothy, rocky white head, good retention, settled into a thin creamy lacing, for me, a good hefe weizen appearance. Smells like a good hefe weizen, lots of clove, banana, and like it says on the label, vanilla, a light spiciness and fruity wheat malts, a nice appealing aroma. Good moderate carbonation, and a malty crisp, dryish, creamy smooth medium-full bodied mouthfeel, close enough to the creamy full bodied mouthfeel I like in a good hefe weizen. Pleasant tasting, easy drinkability, tastes of clove and mushy banana, a subtle touch of nuts, a tart fruitiness from the wheat malts, a soft amount of peppery spiciness, the hops have a cleansing effect at the end, and a dry yeasty, malty finish, finishes dry and clean. For me personally, this is in the top 5 for a bottled American brewed hefe weizen that I have tasted, only a fresh batch at a good brewpub would be better, a good beer to mull over the day’s events with.

Date: 4/29/2007
Event: River’s Bend Belgian Workshop / Abbey Dubbel Brewout
Location: Ken’s House
Serving: 22 oz bottle.

Tasting Notes
Aroma: Banana, wheat, light clove.
Appearance: Hazy yellow with a foamy white head.
Flavor: Banana, wheat, light clove, and a hint of yeastiness.
Palate: Medium-light body. Smooth and mellow.
Overall: Very solid hefe that’s really quite cheap for the quality and flavor of the beer!