Black Forest Heavyweizen

Brewed by Black Forest Brew Haus
Style: Weizen Bock
Farmingdale, New York USA

Hazy golden-yellow beer with a creamy white head. Lots of clovey aroma and a softer banana sweetness behind it. A touch of peppery aroma with a fairly prominent bubble gum sweetness. Fairly wheaty spiciness through the middle although the palate is surprisingly light. Linginger fruity spiciness. It’s definitely a bit amped up, but they have managed to keep things mostly under control here. Not bad at all.

12 ounce (I think) pour at the brewpub - well, this one sure doesn’t produce much of a head - points off for that - however, this is a very well-balanced version of an imperialized hefe - clove is the dominant phenol, both in the aroma, and through most of the flavor - aside from a heavier sweetness at the front, and a slightly heavier body, you’d think this was a regular hefe - fairly dry, semi-tart, and quite refreshing - a little bit tangy through the middle - the finish gets sweet again, with some banana flavors, and some alcohol spiciness gives away its strength - I’m not a big fan of the imperial weizens, but this one is pretty good.

On tap at the brew pub. I ’m tempted to say, "Like their Hefeweizen but good," but people probably want a better description than that. Pours a surprisingly light gold, somehow with the name I expected it to be darker. Aroma is fairly yeast heavy, but also rather sweet. Flavor is sharp and dry, but not offensive in the least. Wheat definitely dominates, but I agree with Peter that there is a bit of vanilla on the finish.

Growler from Brewpub: Consumed that same evening. Pours a nice cloudy golden with a thick pillowy white head that falls to a film. The aroma is spicy, estery, some fresh banana, phenolic- clove, a touch of vanilla sweetness and lots of fresh German yeast overall. Fluffy palate, with slow moving carbonation. Very yeasty with lots of spicy phenolic flavors. Only a little bit of sweetness comes through- touch of banana. It remains crisp and semi-dry, with a crisp wheat presence that meshes with a light vanilla touch on the back. Residual phenols stay around on the tongue. As it warms it may give off a touch of solventy character, but the alcohol is well hidden, overall. A decent Imperial Hefeweizen, overall.