New Glarus Solstice Weiss

Formerly brewed at New Glarus Brewing Company
Style: German Hefeweizen
New Glarus, Wisconsin USA

My son attends school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and the New Glarus Brewing Company is located in New Glarus Wisconsin which is about 25 miles south of Madison. So of course I had to check out this wonderful little brewery. Let me say that ALL of the beers in the New Glarus line-up are excellent! Just pick out your favorite style of beer and sample. You won’t be disapointed. This Bavarian-style Hefeweizen is the best I have ever had. (Although Weihenstephaner and Ayinger are very close seconds) This beer has a rather unique taste of wheat and malt creaminess that is hard to explain unless you sample it yourself. I have given this beer a perfect score until I can find another Hefeweizen beer that can beat it out for the top honors. If you’re into Hefeweizen beers this is a "must try".

Outstanding unfiltered wheat. Hearty body with mild fruity taste that give this balance and character. Banana and orange seem to prevail. Overall, the best I’ve ever had.

Begins orange and clear with a large but very thin head. As the yeast slowly settles to the bottom of the glass the beer gets darker and cloudy. Sour citrus aroma. Taste of citrus, banana and sugar. The sweetest and thickest German wheat I have had. Great palate. An outstanding wheat from an outstanding brewery.

This beer inspired my *first ever* beer rating...long-time reader, first-time writer. I am a huge fan of the style and really enjoy what Hacker-Pschorr is doing with Weiss. This one is actually not as good as the Hacker-Pschorr hefe weiss (one of my all-time favorites). Where does the head go so quickly? It looks like a great head at first, but then you look away for a second and it’s gone. It should last longer. The aroma is great...banana as it should be. And this has a great thick feel all the way through (although it should be thinner). But as much as I like New Glarus, this offering loses just a few points because of its ending. The start is great with a strong blast of banana and toffee and nutmeg, but then fades rather quickly and gives way to the nutmeg, less banana, and a bit of bitterness. A true wheat should not have bitterness in the aftertaste. The bitterness is nicer if you keep it in your mouth for a few seconds (swish it, baby!). Overall, a great beer, and another impressive output via Dan Carey at New Glarus.

Big, huge wheat. Gorgeous bouquet of clove and banana. Ultra cloudy with thin lasting head atop a beautiful body. Full mouthfeel. A great beer and probably the best German Wheat I have ever had.

The star of the Light Ales/Lagers tasting in Chicago. Very turbid appearance - my style of wheat beer already! Large banana, vanilla aroma. Sweet and dessert-like. Rich sweet malts, all (good) kinds of phenols. Slightly spicy finish. Moderate-sized, slightly creamy body. Brilliant balance.

A truly lovely and beautiful hefe. Intriguing color, instead of the usual cloudy light yellow it’s a slightly hazy deep gold with visible particulate matter. Thin white head, but nicely sticky with good lacing. Nose has loads of clove, some banana, nice fruitiness. Lovely flavor, some banana and clove, but bubblegum sweetness predominates here. Vaguely toasty, lots of bready malts, leaves a nice crispness in the mouth. Wonderfully soft and inviting palate, slides pleasingly down the throat. All in all, an excellent, excellent hefe.

semi cloudy very light yellow with a nice white head. an amazing cotton candy aroma. tastes like a yeasty flavored thing of pink cotton candy too, amazing.