Huckle-weizen
Yellowstone Valley Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

 

i am surprised this is rated as low as it is, maybe the residual sugar is just too high in this style for some folks, but i appreciate how different it is. not much huckleberry beer out there (at least that i am aware of). on tap at the brewpub, a cool, blue collar place right in billings. this one is hazy and just tinted pink, with more of an orange shade than the usual yellow. smallish and short lived head. carbonation is a bit of an issue for this one. a great nose of sweet huckleberry jam, maybe some syrup is used, maybe fresh berries, tough to tell, but I'm leaning syrup because of all the sugar. the yeast is quite german in nature, very hefeweizen base. the flavor is also delicious, very refreshing despite the sugar, and a good showcase of the berry without the yeast getting in the way at all. if it had more bubbles it'd be a perfect summer quencher. fuller body on it too, which is appealing, it gives the fruit something to hang on to. a little leftover sugar, maybe a longer fermentation would clean this up a bit, but i still like it for its uniqueness. very montana. id like to try it in bottled for to see if the carbonation is improved. this would likely have a market it other states if they could make it consistently.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not a bad brew right here. More of a summer brew than autumn, but I drank it anyway.
Somewhat light reddish pour, thin haziness. Medium sized head up front, then it faded a bit to a collar.

Aroma of sweet fruit. Like a white zinfandel. Cherry, strawberry. Somewhat floral. Not sure about the hefe part.

Flavors are semi sweet fruit--strawberry, cherry, cranberry--and orchards like apple and pear. hint of bubblegum. Light, light biscuit underneath.

So-so feel to this one. It's a porch pounder on a summer day, for sure.

A: fairly hazy sort of orange color. Forms a sizable white jead, but has little retention, reducing down to just a thin surface coating.

S: well, smells of huckleberry, blueberry, and berries in general. Not overly sweet, just a mild berry essence.

T: starts off with the taste of berries, huckleberry and blueberry, with a touch of lemon. Some wheat, a light bit of bread and grain. Finishes rather quickly with a not overly pleasant taste of rotten berry.

M: on the lighter side. Medium carbonation. Light sugary sweetness.

O: about what would be expected from a fruited wheat beer, though given how prevalent the berry flavor is, I question if they used the actual berry in the brewing of this beer and not some sort of extract added after fermentation.

 

I would definitely label this one as a Fruit brew...not Hefe...

A - Plain boring head. Pour is fast and subtle. Brew is murky peach color.

S - Smell is slightly sour. Apple and pear/peach stand out. Lots of sugar and lemon too.

T - WHOA! Shocking! Amazing sour funk going on. What an awesome flavor... interesting. Some berry funk along with apple and lemon.

M - Slight over-carbonation. No bitterness, decent sweetness, and no heat.


O - This may be the best sleeper brew of all time. Thanks to my GF for surprising me with this delicious brew! Quite an awesome sour! A little allover the board, but the sourness makes up for everything.

Appearance: Pours a pale golden body with a small, fizzy-looking white head.

Smell: Boom. There you go. Huckleberries.

Taste: This beer offers enough of the fruity, juicy huckleberry quality we all seek without getting excessive about it. Beyond that, there's just a soft hint of wheat and lemon. Finishes crisp and tart.

Mouthfeel: Medium-thin body. Medium carbonation.

Drinkability: Finally, a beer that allows me to get my huckleberry "fix".

A - Pale orange color, mostly see-through with TONS of carbonation bubbles flowing. Head is bright white and settles to a splotchy eighth inch.

S - Intensely sweet berry pretty much dominates the smell. Some earthy wheat stalks hiding behind the berries.

T - Sour berries. Cloying sweetness. Not much wheat or yeast flavors that are common with Hefes.

M - Far too much carbonation, probably been on the shelf a bit too long.

D - This beer far too carbonated which makes it really hard to enjoy.

Rich amber with a hint of orange peel orange. I didn't expect to see any huckleberry purple, but it still would have been cool. The bone white cap is a compact two fingers after the pour and looks decent. A few arcing streamers of bubble bath-like lace decorate the glass.

There's quite a bit of tangy wheatiness in the nose, almost enough to be considered sour. The natural huckleberry extract isn't exactly subtle, but neither does it overwhelm the base beer. If I read the website correctly, that's exactly what the brewers were going for. While it's a semi-pleasant nose, I can imagine much better given the ingredients.

Huckle-Weizen is way too sour on the palate. I expected as much after sniffing it. It's one of those APWAs (it definitely isn't a hefe weizen) that tastes like it was cut with a few ounces of freshly squeezed lemon juice. In fact, it's so tart and puckery that the huckleberry flavor is pretty much obliterated. A suggestion of berry on the finish is all that survives.

The mouthfeel is light (appropriately so) and is grossly overcarbonated. I always wonder why there isn't a larger head and better head retention when there are so many bubbles buzzing around in the mouth. I guess some properties of the malt have a lot to do with those things as well.

The only positive that I can come up with for Huckle-Weizen is that it isn't quite as dreadful as Yellowstone Valley's Grizzly Wulff Wheat. The brewery better pay closer attention and catch whoever is adding lemon juice to the brew kettles. Quality control is a must if these guys want to brew something other than forgettable beer.