Long Trail Hefeweizen

Brewed by Long Trail Brewery
Style: German Hefeweizen
Bridgewater Corners, Vermont USA

Snagged this as part of a mixed long trail sixer even though its a bit past season.. Cloudy Mango pour with a slight offwhite head. Aroma is mostly banana and spice but a hint of sweet caramel malt is evident. Flavor is overripe banana that tends to be a little overpower, not leaving much room for other flavors. Some spiciness, and the finish is a bit dry but overall a little too heavy handed on the fruiting and not enough yeastiness and wheat. OK

Apricot pour with some haze and a one and a half finger white head. Aroma is loaded with banana and clove with a bit of pepper and coriander. Flavor is overly banana ridden with some dryish sweet malt and tropical fruitiness. Palate is smooth, semi-flat after a few sips, and retains a clean wet finish. A yummy summer quaff.

Opaque yellow pour with small white head. Aroma holds tons of spice, with cinnamon, apple, pepper, and citrus and yeast notes. Flavor is much of the same, although banana, nectar, mango, and guava stand out, along with the aforementioned spice and yeast. Palate is light, as hefeweizens generally are, but still has some body to it. Quite a pleasant surprise; not a stunning beer, but a really solid session brew.

Bottle. Poured straw yellow with a thin white head. Aroma was pretty standard though not as stong as I expected. Body was light, flavor was like a light hefe. Refreshing at the least.

In my humble (and ultimately, meaningless, opinion), Hefeweizen is a notoriously difficult beer style to rate. In many ways, what makes a great Hefe is exactly what we would tend to not look for in good examples of other styles. This particular sample was a pretty good illustration of the difficulty of judging the merits of these beers. The beer was sampled from a 12oz bottle in a pub glass. It pours a very hazy straw-colored yellow, with a small and quickly disappearing white head. The aroma, in my opinion, was the standout aspect: banana, Holiday spice, and a bit of tropical fruit. However, the palate was less complex and enjoyable. Spritzy, but without character or finish. Given the perameters of the style, one cannot expect doppelbock-like flavor, but I was less than satisfied with what ended up seeming like a lot of carbonation, a touch of wheat malt-derived smoothness, and not much else. Average to a touch below.

Hazy, orange appearance with a large white head and a small amount of lacing. Little discernable aroma; perhaps a bit of spice. Moderately sweet, fruity taste with more of an emphasis on spicyness. Light bodied, well carbonated mouthfeel. Short lived finish. Plain and uncomplicated.

Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a very cloudy yellow-gold color with numerous floaters and a huge white head. The aroma was fairly strong bubblegum and clove with a bit of pepper and a hint of citrus. The flavor was dry, tart and bitter with a musty cardboard undertone and touches of pepper and chamomile. The finish was long and dry with must chamomile. Decent.

Pours a straw yellow with a white head - aroma of banana and clove. Taste is the same - banana, clove, and more banana... Can’t say that I have ever tasted a beer that has such a strong banana taste.