May Beer Dinner = Wheat Beers

There are many different styles of wheat beers and wheat beer was very popular in the U.S. before “the great experiment” of prohibition.  I recall sampling American Hefeweizens while I lived in the Pacific NW and these were; and still are, a very popular summertime beverage.  The primary wheat styles that I have tried are Hefeweizen and Belgian Wit.  A classic Hefeweizen has hints of clove and banana due to the yeast and a Belgian Wit usually contains spices (coriander) and fruit (curacao orange rind) that coupled with the Belgian yeast, provide a distinct taste.

Tibor and Nicole prepared excellent food selections of watermelon and deviled eggs for appetizers and dinner of brats steamed in beer, corn on the cob, asparagus, and pretzel rolls.  Dennis brought over a turtle cake and I brought over baked beans.  Everything was very tasty and it was an excellent meal with friends.  The brats were Johnsonville brats and the steeping in Twisted Pine’s Ghost Face Killah (a chili beer) transformed them to another level.  Tibor also grilled some buffalo jalapeno cheddar brats from Continental Sausage located here in Denver and they were fantastic. The pretzel rolls were a recent addition to the Costco lineup and these were very tasty.  Again, everything served was very good.

The beer lineup is as follows:

1)     Horton’s Homebrew – After Midnight Porter (not a wheat beer - covered in a previous  post)

2)     Twisted Pine – Ghost Face Killah (not a wheat beer – a chili beer)

3)     Odell – Easy Street Wheat

4)     Dry Dock – Hefeweizen (a favorite and a previous medal winner)

5)     Tommyknocker – Jack Whacker (fermented with lemongrass)

6)     Sam Adams – Cherry Wheat

7)     Shock Top – Pumpkin Wheat

8)     Shock Top – Lemon Shandy

9)     Shock Top – Belgian White

10)   Avery – White Rascal

11)  Widmer Brothers – Hefeweizen

12)  Boulder Beer – Sweaty Betty

Probably needless to say, but we did not drink full pours of these beers as we wanted to be able to do things the next day.  The other helpful factor is these wheat beers are typically lower in ABV than many other beer styles.  The take away is there are a number of really good wheat beers.  None of these were bad and there were a wide variety of flavors – everyone had ones they liked.  On a side conversation with Tibor, we agreed that the Dry Dock Hefeweizen was our favorite – it is just a fantastic beer and brewed to style perfection.  I can understand why they have won awards for this beer. 

Next month we focus on Amber Ales.

The Bier Brewery and Sun King

I was back home again in Indiana (no pun intended) to visit relatives and celebrate my parent’s 50^th wedding anniversary.  On Friday, 5 August, we stayed at Karen and Darren’s home.  Darren had went out earlier to the Bier Brewery and picked up a growler of Weisengoot and a liter of Apricot Wheat Bier.  The Weisengoot is a Hefeweizen and both poured cloudy yellow with a nice two-finger head.  I enjoyed both of these very much and I thought the Weizengoot reminded my of Avery’s White Rascal with a taste hints of spice, banana and perhaps a Belgian yeast taste.  The Apricot Wheat Bier was the first fruit beer that I can say that I actually enjoyed.  I wish I had stopped by the brewery to sample more of their biers, but the schedule was too tight.  I have since learned the Bier Brewery was awarded the Indiana State Fair Champion Brewery this year and I have traded email with the brewer congratulating them on their win and brewing some mighty tasty bier. 

I also had the opportunity, thank you Darren, to try Sun King’s Wee Mac (5.3% ABV and 23 IBU) a Scottish-style Brown Ale that is described as a “Scottish Style Brown [with] a nice hazelnut character and with rich toffee undertones”, which was awarded the “Gold Medal, 2010 Indiana Brewer’s Cup, English Brown Ale”.  This one poured from the can dark tan with a nice head.  This is a really nice tasting beer and easy to drink.  I can see why Sun King was named one of the ten brewers to watch in 2011 by Draft magazine. 

I was really impressed by these three samplings from Indiana craft brewers and I look forward to trying more from them on the next trip back to Indiana.

Summer Beers

I decided to obtain a few summer beers to try them out as the hot weather has hit Colorado.  I picked up Sierra Nevada – Summerfest (5.0% ABV and 28 IBU), Widmer – Hefeweizen (4.9% ABV and 30 IBU), Breckenridge – Summerbright (4.5% ABV and 15 IBU), and Left Hand – The Stranger (5.0% ABV and 36 IBU). 

I think it hard to beat a Hefeweizen or Belgian Wit in the summer and the Widmer Hefeweizen is very good.  It has your typical cloudy yellow color with a nice head.  I prefer ales to lagers and while Summerfest is a lager, it is not bad at all – I would probably select Kellerweis over Summerfest though.  It pours crystal clear with great carbonation and pours yellow / gold with a nice two finger head.  Summerbright is very refreshing and with the low ABV, one could literally drink this all day with no issue.  The addition of citrus, oranges and lemons, to this wheat beer is well done and this is a nice beer.  At first taste, I did not like The Stranger Pale Ale, but as the ale warmed up, I grew to appreciate it.  The taste difference is due to the use of rye malt and it is not a bad beer – just let it warm up a bit.  Below are pictures and web descriptions for each beer.

Sierra Nevada Summerfest - "Our Summerfest^® is a refreshing, pilsner-style lager. Its incredible smoothness comes from an extra-long lagering period. Lighter in body than our ales but just as complex in character, Summerfest^® quenches your thirst with big aroma and a tangy hop bite."

Widmer Hefeweizen - "Meet the beer that started it all. Our naturally cloudy flagship brew starts with the highest quality wheat. It's bold, clean flavor and pronounced citrus and floral aromas are what define American-style Hefeweizen. So pour yourself a cool, cloudy glass, finish with a lemon and enjoy the original."

Breckenridge Summerbright - "The brewmaster's goal: the perfect ale for summertime quaffing, nothing more. Breck Brew's SummerBright is the result. The craftsman's touch combines white wheat, two row pale and munich malt with the pacific northwest's most intriguing hops to create a bright, clean ale ideal for picnicking, evenings on the screen porch and enjoying the whims of the summer breeze."

Left Hand The Stranger - "Sane or senseless? Harmless or harmful? Sometimes it takes awhile to get to know a stranger. Initial impressions are not always reality, so you must delve deeper. Beyond the initial floral hop aromas, malt sweetness is revealed, yet with a spicy undertone that exposes a very rye sense of humor. Take your time to get to know the Stranger. It’s strangely satisfying."

Franziskaner - Hefe-weissbier

Franziskaner – Hefe-weissbier (5.0% ABV) is a German hefeweizen or wheat beer made in Munchen, Germany.  Hefe means the yeast is still in the bottle and this unfiltered beer pours cloudy tan with a very large head – be careful pouring, and do not pour out the entire bottle.  Make sure and save about 1/3 to 1/4 of the beer to swirl the yeast to pour with the remaining beer.  Franziskaner has a wonderful aroma with a wonderful taste of spice, bready malt, and banana.  I paired this with a fresh salad and French onion soup and the pairing was very good.  The beer and the soup emphasized the French bread, the sweetness of the onion (and the Vidalia onion salad dressing), and the earthiness from the cave-aged Gruyere atop the soup.  I was not sure how well this beer would pair with the meal, but it was very good.

Sierra Nevada - Kellerweis and Ovila

Kellerweis (4.8% ABV and 15 IBU) is a Hefeweizen from Sierra Nevada and pours gold with a frothy head.  Make sure to leave some beer in the bottle and swirl it to get all the yeast that is on the bottom.  Kellerweis is a very tasty hefeweizen and Sierra Nevada actually uses open fermentation on this beer.  If you are looking for a drinkable beer that would be good on a summer day, Kellerweis should be on your list.

Next up was Ovila (7.5% ABV) and is a Dubbel.  Ovila is a special release from Sierra Nevada and some of the proceeds go to the Abbey of New Clairvaux.  There is a lot of carbonation on this corked and caged bottle and it will give a nice little pop.  Ovila pours copper with a frothy head and has an aroma of dark fruit and cloves.  This is a tasty beer and one can pick up the dark fruit, dark malt sweetness, and a Belgian taste from the yeast used in brewing this beer.  I really appreciate Sierra Nevada trying new and different things and this is a very good beer.  There will be two additional Ovila releases this year, a Saison and a Quad.  I will purchase these and I look forward to sampling these beers.

Hefeweizens - Paulaner and Hofbrau

Hefeweizen is a German wheat beer that originates from southern Germany.  The blend is typically 50% wheat / 50% barley, but more wheat can be used in brewing this beer.  This beer is also cloudy because of the yeast (Hefe) that is present in this unfiltered beer.  Hefeweizen is a popular style, especially in the summer, because it is light and refreshing with tastes of banana, cloves, and bubblegum.  Some people put lemon wedges in hefeweizen – do not do this if you are in Germany – this is an American thing.  I tasted two classic German brewers – Paulaner (5.5% ABV) and Hofbrau (5.4%), which is actually brewed in Kentucky (go figure).  Both beers pour cloudy gold because of the yeast in the beer and both had a large head.  I made sure to swirl the bottles near the end of the pour to get the yeast from the bottle into the glass. I liked the Paulaner best and it had a great taste of wheat, spice, bananas, and yeast – it is a very tasty beer.  There are many American brewers that brew Hefeweizen or similar styles of wheat beers.  I enjoy Belgian Wits too and these typically have flavoring of coriander and curacao orange added that give them a unique flavor.

Dry Dock – Hefeweizen

Dry Dock is a brewery in Aurora, Colorado and they did very well at the 2010 GABF.  I purchased the Hefeweizen (4.3% ABV and 12 IBU) in a 22 oz. bomber and poured it into a large glass.  The beer is cloudy as is typical with the style and had a large head that quickly receded.  Dry Dock won a Silver medal at the 2010 GABF in the South German-Style Hefeweizen with this beer and it is very good.  Dry Dock describes their Hefeweizen as “a traditional cloudy German wheat ale with a HUGE banana nose and hints of bubblegum and vanilla.”  I like the taste of this one and it reminded me of a Belgian beer.  I paired it with a mixed salad, Cajun shrimp and French bread.  The beer went well with the salad and the bread, but it was a bit overpowered by the blue cheese in the salad and spicy shrimp – this was expected as the Hefeweizen is a lighter style.  Dry Dock did a great job with this beer and I would like to try more from them.

German food and German beer

The beer tasting group met last night for good drink, good food, and great conversation at Tibor’s home last night.  At our last tasting, we agreed to taste German beers and Chris, Dennis and I each brought two different types of German beer.  I grabbed some fresh Bratwurst at Tony’s Meats in Littleton along with some sauerkraut.  I had purchased Ayinger’s Celebrator and Aecht Schlenkerla’s Weizen Rauchbier for the evening.  Nicole, Tibor’s wife, also cooked spaetzle with bacon and cheese, prepared a wonderful salad, cooked large warm pretzels, and served some nice Troberlone chocolate with sprinkles of cayenne and cinnamon to taste with the chocolate.

I grilled the Brats and then placed them on top of the sauerkraut in a crock pot with some Paulaner Oktoberfest Marzen.  Tibor had really decked out the table with classic German steins, glassware, and other items he had collected in Germany during his youth and his trips back over the years to visit his father and family.  Tibor and Nicole have both attended Oktoberfest and have a great knowledge of Germany and German culture.  Tibor started with two Oktoberfest – Marzens of Spaten (5.9% ABV) and Paulaner (5.8%).  These went excellent with Brats & Kraut, mustard, spaetzle, and salad.  I preferred the Paulaner over the Spaten and the pairing was very good. 

Next up was Erdinger Dark Hefeweizen (5.6% ABV) and Aecht Schlenkerla Weizen Rauchbier (4.7% ABV).  The Erdinger Dark Hefeweizen is  classed as a dunkelweizen and was the best beer of the evening.  A Rauchbier is a smoked beer and the Aecht Schlenkerla had a deep smoky aroma and taste and we thought it would have paired excellent with smoked salmon.

Spaten Optimator (7.6% ABV) and Ayinger Celebrator (6.7% ABV) are doppelbocks and these were very nice.  I think Nicole served the pretzels at this time and these were very tasty with the pretzels.

   

We ended the evening with Warsteiner Dunkel (4.9% ABV) and Kostritzer Schwarzbier (4.8% ABV) and these were another great pairing with the Trobolone chocolate with cayenne and cinnamon.  It was great do a little trip to Germany with excellent food and drink and it was a great evening.  I really appreciate Tibor and Nicole hosting and the food Nicole made was excellent – I loved the spaetzle.  One thing I picked up from podcasts from Dr. Bill is that if you pair beer with the regional cuisine you usually will not go wrong as the regional beer and food historically go together.  This is excellent advice as the beer and food of Germany paired excellent with each other.  Next time, we will be meeting in May and we are considering focusing on Hefeweizens and Witbiers.