Black Forest Smoked Hefeweizen

Enjoyed a half liter of this one on draught at the brewery in Farmingdale, NY. Pours to a bright, golden color, with a nice white head, that faded, and a lively carbonation. The nose was inviting, with some light, salty/sooty smoke aroma. The palate is firm, with some good tart, wheat malt flavor, and a touch of sourness, that made this beer refreshing. This beer finished with some more tart wheat malt flavor up front, then ended with some light, salty and smoky flavor that lingered. Tasty beer, but it lacked the fruity esters of a good Bavarian hefe, and appeared not to be a true hefe, as it poured bright, and I didn’t get any yeast aroma or flavor. That being said, it was a tasty, refreshing beer, and I enjoyed the rauch malt aromas and flavors. A good beer that would work well with the German fare on the Brew Haus menu.

On tap at the brewpub tonight...A good beer overall. To me, it tasted much more like a lager than an ale, and certainly not much like typical american heffes. Very clean tasting, refreshing, with no citrus or too much wheat. The smoke is not very prominent, and just complements the flavor, which is slightly grassy and herbal. Nice.

An interesting take an a hefe - much more lively, "sparkling" carbonation than your typical hefe, with an aroma that is much less dominated by the citrus and banana fruity esters than you’d expect, with just a light smokey quality far in the background - the flavor, much like the aroma, lacks those up front banana and clove flavors, which is a welcome change - there’s some light lemon, a mild bready quality, and a light yeastiness, with a very faint, but still quite present, smoke flavor - finishes fairly clean, almost like a pilsner or lighter lager - quite nice, actually.