Hefeweizen
Hargreaves Hill Brewing Company

 

 

I had a 330ml bottle. The label has changed since the picture on this record was created.
Appearance: pours a very light yellow colour with some cloudiness. There was an excellent brilliant white creamy 1cm head that stayed around.
Aroma: some light fruit aroma I can best describe as mild paw paw with expected wheat beer aroma as well.
Flavour: first noticeable trait is the creamy head which is impressive. Next is the fineness of the carbonation. A fine bead and very smooth drinking beer. The wheat beer flavours and anticipated banana fruitiness is much more apparent in the taste compared to the aroma and is a good example of the style.
Overall: a good example of the style and a nice tasting beer with some mild dry bitterness on the finish. Disappointing for me was the aroma which was a miss and too faint. Overall still happy with this.

 

 

 

Bottle: a standard brown 330mL bottle with a reserved but stylish semi-macro label. I like it.

Appearance: pours a light, slightly-hazy straw with a puff of white head that drops to a cap pretty quickly. Sporadic lacing. Not the best-looking Hefeweizen I have seen.

Aroma: wheat and saccharin citric fruit on the nose, without too much in the way of those usual banana and clove notes.

Taste: there is some wheat there, but with some artificial-style citric sweetness. Not unpleasant, just a bit different. Not entirely sure I'm into it to be honest, but it is different at least.

Aftertaste: the sweet flavours back off to leave a really odd and not terribly nice funk in the back of the mouth.

Mouth feel: fairly light in body with a moderate carbonation. Clean and crisp without the slight oiliness that comes with a normal wheat beer.

Overall: a nice attempt at making an Australian version of the Hefeweizen. I don't think they're quite there yet, and I don't appreciate being charged an arm and a leg for an attempt. There are definitely better hefe's for less, but I'd like to see what this is like in another couple of years.

 

A: Poured a hazy golden color with a good head that fades to nice lacing.

S: Aroma of citrus, fresh grain witha bit of malt sweetness in the background.

T: Taste of citrus with a mild malt sweetness and some grain. Nice bitterness and a clean finish.

F: medium body, crisp and refreshing.

O: Nice offering for the style.

 

 

Ok…for once an Australian brewer makes a decent German. Thin head, nothing special, but the colour looks good – illuminated orange that gets substantially lighter at the rim. Expressive nose, sweet citrus and banana bubble gum, pretty good. A bit lighter to taste with dry fruits and bananas and spices. A slight disappointment off the back of the nose, to be honest, but regardless quite well built and drinks well.

Pours amber with a small head that quickly fades.
Nose shows light wheat with plenty of sweet malt (too much) and some lemony hops.
Flavours are pretty much the same but the malt is dominating, not enough wheat.
Much too much carbonation.
Needs more wheat!

A fair shade darker than your average hef. Highly carbed with a huge bubble bath head. Nose is slightly lemon sour with a touch of the banana notes of a hef. I'm guessing this isn't uber fresh, no dates (oh dear). Doesn't have the creamy yeastiness of a good hef. Quite broad on the palate, almost lagerish. Just a hint of hef character but it's just not doing it. Not an unpleasant beer but not a great hef.

This pours a cloudy pale golden with not a lot of head.

There are some banana notes on the nose.

The banana drops away on the palate and some lemon and bubblegum notes come through.

High level of carbonation gives it a nice mouthfeel.

All up I found the flavours a bit dumb.

Very pale cloudy straw colour with a billowy, pocked head of white foam. Dissipates to a ring of film pretty quickly. Not a bad look, though a little light.

Nice wheat tang on the nose. Zesty citrus with a light underlying skunkiness. Almost a hint of that meaty POR character. I thought it was good at first, but there's a number of bad characters which just well up.

Light sweet palate with a creamy edge. Light bitterness creeps in later, with a rather unpleasant bad yeast character. Leaves a residual bad taste in your mouth. A shame - otherwise it's quite pleasant. Mouthfeel is nice and creamy, light and smooth.

Drinkable enough. I'm just disappointed that there's a few too many off-style and unpleasant characters.

(Note: I was served this blind, and was convinced it was a witbier - it certainly has more of the sharp citrus characters of a wit than the banana-clove phenols of a hefe).

After finding a few aussie style hefe's I was hesitant in trying this...I have found our hefe's a little too rough with way too much sourness.
A: straw yellow, quite clear but a fair bit of sediment. 1 finger head, very carbonated, with big alive bubbles. Head receded to a blotchy film on the surface.
S: Ribena, black currant straight up, little sour lemons (again). Phenols, some floral hops & pineapple. very tropical.
T: No black currant in taste. Lemon though! with some sourness again. cloves, bubblegum. Tried for some wheat/grains but couldn't find any. No bitterness.
M: Full carbonation but soft. also wide palate sensation & a little sour tang. Feels somewhat 'home-brewish' but a nice home-brew.
D: Summer beer for sure, fresh, citrus, sour notes (which was a good substitute for lack of bitterness). Could have again & considering I have tried some wild & rougher Aussie hefe's, this one was a little more tame (smooth) ::: good thing!

Pours a dirty, murky orange with a good white head that persists. Looks a little swampy.

Citrus notes mix with yeastier aromas of clove, banana and spices. A little one dimensional.

Very lemon zest palate. Low on flavours but has a real zing to it. Ok, but a little dull. A little bitter on the finish.

Strongly carbonated. Sour and acid flavours are a little over the top. Really lacking any mid palate. Lacking balance.

Ok, but not something I would chase again, considering the authentic versions are readily available and very well priced.

A - Pours a pale straw colour with a decent head that falls away to about 1cm or so. A bit of lacing clings.
S - A bubblegum aroma with some yeastiness and mild apple notes.
T - Wheat malts with some of that bubblegummy sweetness.
M - A creamy mouthfeel at first that finishes quite watery.
D - A decent drinkable beer. I've had better though.

A good example of why one needs to try more than one bottle if possible, before reviewing. My first bottle offered a tired, hollow beer, missing a lot of the advertised characteristics. The second bottle was far better, with subtler, fresher notes.

A: Hazy pale orange, through to a dark lemon around the edges. Can force a thick white head yet it fades fairly quickly to a loose web of foam.

S: Wheat malt, honey, pear flesh, cloves. Fleshy yeast notes.

F: Green pear flesh again, some unripe citrus notes. Late herbal bitterness.

M: Lightly creaminess at the start, but generally lightweight and watery from mid to-back. Subtle sourness/tartness, with a late bitterness at the back.

D: Not for me. I'm fairly conservative with my hefes.... Weihenstephaner, Schneider Weiss... and Redback from an Aussie angle. Many micros attempt the style, but seem to miss one of the critical dimensions. For this beer, I would like some more creamy, wheaty sweetness, and a body to match. Or even some more pale crystal.