Southern Tier Heavy Weizen

Brewed by Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: Wheat Ale
Lakewood, New York USA

The total, stationary suspension of sedimentary particles is a beautiful sight to behold. Dot lacing is rendered from a small white head that fades quickly to a thick ring. The body is a cheap, deep golden with some sunshine yellow hues infiltrating the less dense edging. The makings of the banana and clove duo are very complex - it’s just not as simple as that. Alcohol provides a skeleton for a malty structure that seems to be an equal balance of oats and wheat. Zesty banana peels are intertwined with small pieces of orange, black pepper, lemon and a hint of nectarine. Some floral and grass notes hide in the shadows, omly appearing with a strained nosing. Alcohol is barely noticeable at all. There is an overall tartness that seems to originate from the spicing and wheat malt. Nicely done. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately spiced, lightly tart and just a little bitter. Spice character is wildly reminiscent of an Abbey tripel. Coriander notes pounce the banana notes in the taste. Alcohol is still a non-factor. Hoppiness is noted, grassy and prickly. The finish is like a banana milkshake, buttery and refreshing. I wish all wheat beers had this much character and were this lively, whether the end result was delicious or not. Mouthfeel is vigorously carbonated, but syrupy malts cut through it all; thankfull the same is true of the opposite. Palate is smooth and medium bodied, mildly sticky, very refreshing for a beer of this gravity. This is a very well done wheat beer.

Bomber form Liquid Solutions. Pours a medium golden with a decent sized head. Initial aroma of sour wheat and cooked vegetable. Flavor is raw malts and wheats, light hops, and touches of clove and spices. As it warms it almost takes on a Belgian spice flavor. Turned out to be pretty decent.

On draft at Zeno’s, Penn State. Poured hazy orange with some bits of hops swirling in the bottom of the glass. Strong wheaty flavor with some banana and citrus. Had a surprising hoppy bite. Didn’t notice any alcohol in the palate.

Bomber. Hazy gold to amber with a moderate frothy white head. Second pour with yeast created a cloudy yellow orange. Prominent yeast aroma--banana, raw dough, soap, even some cheese, with some light malt and citrus notes. Sweet honey malt flavor, with some doughy yeast and lemony saaz/hallertau underneath. The hops, however, don’t quite cut into the sweetness of the malt too much. The sweetness and doughiness otherwise may be offset by the addition of a lemon wedge, but I never do that. Can sense some of the alcohol in the flavor as well. Nice medium to full body. Smooth mouthfeel with fine carbonation. Not your typical summer HefeWeizen. Quite chewy for the style, but overall a nice creation.

[278-20070424] 650mL (w/ jerc). Orange lemon citrus aroma. Very murky, orange yellow body with a long-lasting foamy off-white head. Medium boozy flavour highlights citrus orange zest hops. Medium body becomes more alcoholic as it warms. Wonderful aroma, too bad the booze isn’t less showy.

22oz bottle. Thanks John! Pours with a massive head into my traditional weizen glass. Banana nose with some bubblegum and malt. Flavor is thick and sweet with some more candied banana and bubblegum...lingering sweetness. Not much else going on...I’m just wondering why? The description says "taking a style that is delicate and quaffable and shaping it into" (what they should have said next was) something unrefreshingly sweet that will get you hammered. This is like malt liquor with a weizen yeast. I don’t absolutely hate it, but I don’t see the point either...its a gimmick and a bad one. Why plug 8% ABV into a weizen? The only payoff here is that it gets you buzzed. Anything delicate and subtle has been shoved aside by the overwhelming sweetness. I wish there were some "divergent characteristics" in this beer. Maybe it would have been better with a lemon wedge?

Bottle. Hazy golden/pastel yellow body with a moderate white head that fades fast after a sip (3+) Lovely tart wheaty aroma, light notes of grass and lemon, slight touch of bubble gum. Light alcoholic notes in the flavour are less than there could be, but they are largely restrained while chilled. Alcoholic helps dry out an otherwise rather sweet flavour profile along with a very light hop presence in the background. Tiny banana and lemon notes accent the wheaty flavour. Average to medium bodied palate. (3+). Quite good, but I suspect the alcohol would get a bit rougher if you linger too long over the glass.

Don’t know why but I wasn’t expecting this to be this close to a normal hefe. Big big banana and clove aroma burst at me from a long way away. Thick head and lots of carbonation. Supposedly this is unfiltered but it looked pretty clear. Was also a bit oranger than I’m used to seeing. Palate is creamy with a bit of grit and !hops! Also, get plenty of ripe bananas in the palate. Great beer.