Smoke Stack Weizen
Water Street Brewing & Ale House

Brewed to classic hefeweizen lines, Smokestack is an all around upstanding beer. The clove nose is nicely enhanced by a tart (mandatory) lemon wedge. The customary hallmarks of the style are in evidence along with a buoyant peppery flavor. Though the flavor tends to fade over time, and the diminished show of carbonation suggests fatigue, there’s still a casual ease of appreciation here, especially early in the pint.

I'm here with my brother and my dad, feeling like a bit of an outcast. Yeah, I'm wearing shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops, but somehow I still don't feel quite "hippie" enough. Which is cool, because it's rare that I am not casual enough. So I belly up to the bar, and order me a Smoke Stack Weizen. I am concerned, as I always am, as American brewers don't have the best track record with true weizen beers. But I figure, what the hell, I'll give it a shot.

Appearance: This beer purports to be a dunkelweizen, but doesn't look like it. It's dunkel, of course, but has that same yeast-laden, unfiltered appearance of a (shudder) Widmer "Hefeweizen". No head to speak of, and the beer looks somewhat lifeless. I'm a little concerned at this point.

Smell: Whoops! I'm completely wrong in all of my assumptions about this beer. Clove-y, spice-y, nutty and slightly banana-y, this nose fills all the dunkelweizen requirements any dunkelweizen lovin' jackass (like me) could have.

Taste: Oh my freakin' stars, it even tastes like a real dunkelweizen! It has that same great nutty yeasty flavor that I love, with a delightful clove finish. It pleases me to no end when American brewers use a real Bavarian yeast, and this beer is no exception.

Mouthfeel: Well, as the yeasty suspension would indicate, this is a bit thicker than I like my dunkelweizens. It's a bit distracting, but not totally off-putting.

Drinkability: If you can get past the mouthfeel, this bad boy can be sucked down all day long.