Plank Heller Weizenbock

Brewed by Brauerei Plank Laaber
Style: Weizen Bock
Laaber, Oberpfalz/Bayern, Germany

(Bottle) Pours a cloudy orange body with a tall yellowish off-white head. Aroma of rye, clove, wheat, banana, clove, and bubble gum. Flavor of strong banana, clove, biscuit, and some lemon.

500mL bottle, courtesy of artusory. Thanks, Ryan! Pours a bright, effervescent honey-orange color; huge white head: beautifully textured, with great retention and lacing. Nice pour. Bananas and esters in the aroma; creamy, moderately dense. There’s a lively effervesence on the tongue at first, hitting citrus and yeast; mid-palate shows a warm, creamy center: plenty of ripe bananas, esters, dried fruits, and chewy goodness all-around; not excessively dense, striking a solid balance between density and drinkability; the yeast and malt character in this are just excellent: clean, vanilla- and pepper-laden, and slightly warming. Medium finish, showing bananas and dough.

Date: 05/10/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

opaque dark yellow, thin white head, touch of lace, nice sweet banana aroma, creamy but thin body, nice banana flavor, only a hint of clove,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4
-------- /> Date: 10/13/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

opaque yellow, fine white head, sweet candy malt aroma with a lot of fruity banana character, creamy body, rich malt flavor, lots of banana character is heightened by the malty sweetness,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.8/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Pours sparkling golden with a moderately full, white, fluffy, rocky head with decent longevity and no lace. Nose is very pleasant; toasted banana bread, yeast, cloves, light vanilla, light pie crust, maybe even a hint at apricots and lemon peel. Flavor is very similar with banana bread and vanilla, apricots, cloves, yeast, and some wheat as well. Cinnamon becomes noticable with a spicy/herbal hop character there to keep balance. Palate is more than medium, silky, somewhat round, and lively. Finishes with banana, yeast and some lingering fruit and clove notes. Very nice weizen bock especially considering the darker versions are usually more to my liking. For me to say I liked this better than the dunkler is saying quite a bit but I really did. Surprisingly complex, extremely drinkable, and quite interesting for a light German beer.

Hazy pale body with a large, slightly overcarbonated, white head, sticky lace. The aroma is banana, apricot, herbal hops and light spice. The flavor is fairly dry, lightly bitter with cloves, bread, apricot, herbal and spicy hops. Medium body is moderately carbonated and round with a bitter end. Super stuff.

Bought a single bottle of this at The Beer Depot of Ann Arbor. It was wonderful. A refreshing and delicious dark-toned wheat with a nice head and a great finish.

As with the dunkler weizenbock, the appearance here is second to none. Pours a cloudy golden orange with a nice thick head. Huge lacing. Aroma of clove banana hefeweizen like and also belgian candy characteristics. Flavor is more subdued with orange and apricot fruits present. I like this but the flavor is a slight letdown after such an impressive aroma. Still a very solid brew and after sampling 2 of Plank’s beers I seriously think they are the best German brewer IMO. Not as good as the dunkler, but this is still impressive. I can’t say enough about these two beers.

Bottle… Cloudy yellow ale with a huge, wispy, white head. Typical hefe notes of clove, banana, bubblegum and light smoke with a whisper of cinnamon. Well-balanced flavor. Very sweet up front; followed by adequate bitterness. Oddly enough, a little boozy. Medium-bodied and astringent with spritzy carbonation. Spicy, bone-dry finish. Strange, but excellent for the style.