Makawao Wheat
Maui Brewing Co.

 

 

A thanks to the creator of the canquest, woodychandler, for this beer. Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a dark golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of tropical fruits. Taste is of pineapple, lemons, some wheat, considerably hoppy for the style. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is refreshing beer worth trying.

My Tavour foray CANtinues with yet more CANs that they have shipped to me since signing up. I had a pretty good run during New Beer Sunday (Week 693), but I was left feeling unfulfilled. I am doing my best to get to these as quickly as possible simply because they are just so intriguing. It is an integral part of The CANQuest (tm) to have this inherent curiosity.

From the CAN: "Island Brewed"; "Limited Release"; Crafted with passion from the heart of paradise. We are an innovative and independent brewery. Welcome to the 'ohama."; "20 Deg. 44' N 156 Deg. 26' W".

Oh, man, as a retired US Navy sailor & a cartophile, this is an easy way to suck me in & win me over right from the outset. My uncle is a retired geology professor & both of us are fascinated by the current lava flow that is occurring. It may be a painful subject for the islanders, but it is utterly awesome to see some of the eruptions, including the lava waterfall! I toast all of yinz with this beer, 'n' 'at!

The APWA style is described as an offshoot of a Hefeweizen, although filtration is allowable. I was very curious to see what this one was bringing, so I Crack!ed the vent & beCAN a heavy-handed Glug into the awaiting glass. It seemed to have a decent clarity so I upended the cylinder just in case I had missed something, Nope, it was a very slightly-hazy Yellow-Gold (SRM = 4 - 5). It also puffed up to form just under three fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, bone-white head with very good retention, leaving behind loads of sticky lacing. Nose was extremely tropical fruity, laden with mango, papaya and guava, but the wheat gave it a sharp bitterness. I was now extremely anxious to try this one! Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, not watery, but not much beyond it. It was certainly tropical fruity, with pineapple joining the party, but just like on the nose, the wheat gave it a sharpness that held the sweetness in check. This, to me, is how these hops should be utilized - not simply on their own, but intermingled with other ingredients that will keep the sweetness to a minimum or at least to a reasonable level. I have had AIPAs where the hops filled this role, but in this case, it was the wheat malt. Finish was semi-dry to dry and extremely refreshing. This would make a great CANned beer for the beach.

 

$ 4.28 (Including shipping)/12 oz can ($ 0.357/oz) from Tavour, Seattle, WA.
Bottom of can inked “Canned On 010518”, stored at 42 degrees and served at 42 degrees in a hand-washed and hand-dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 3.75.
Body – Light yellow, hazy.
Head – Large (Maximum six cm, aggressive center pour), white, very low density, rapidly diminishing to an eight to nine mm frothy ring and a complete rocky layer.
Lacing – None.
First pour – Very light yellow, nearly colorless, clear.
Aroma – 4 – Generic tropical fruit, pineapple, weak pine.
Flavor – 3 – Initially, a kind of tropical fruitiness wafts by: that quickly becomes an astringent coating on my oral cavity. This astringency lasts well past the swallow and is the only aftertaste. The nose appears to be from a different beer with the delicious tropical fruitiness and pine being a tease. No alcohol, no diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 3 - Medium, almost creamy, soft carbonation.
Impression and summation – 3 - The appearance is OK, despite the lack of lacing. The aroma is very inviting. The taste fails to support the nose. The palate is average.

 

 

 

12 ounce can into pint glass, canned on 1/5/2018. Pours lightly hazy medium golden yellow color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, light pepper/pine, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and pale/wheat malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, light pepper/pine, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel, herbal, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, pepper, pine, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and pale/wheat malt flavors; with an awesome malt/bitterness balance, and zero lingering hop astringency after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately crisp, bready/grainy/sticky, and slightly resinous balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5.8%. Overall this is a delicious hoppy American pale wheat ale! All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth, crisp, and refreshing to drink with the modestly bitter/drying finish, never aggressive. Drinks more like an IPA, but I was a big fan. Great balanced mix of juicy, dank, and vibrant hop complexity; nice pale/wheat malt backbone, minimal residual sweetness. A very enjoyable offering, loved the hop profile as expected. Motueka, Denali, and El Dorado hops.

 

Bought a 6-pack from Foodland $8.99
Fruity smell like a hefeweizen
Cloudy golden color
Medium-light mouthfeel
High carbonation
Bitterness from hops, some light fruit flavors
Overall a nice beer.

It's no secret that I find Maui Brewing Co. to be absolutely underrated on this site, so I bought a single can of their new hoppy APWA to see how they fare with the style. I haven't had their year-round pineapple wheat beer yet, since I just assumed it was pedestrian and boring, but if this is good I'll have to give it a shot to see if it is worth having around as a well beer.

This pours a pretty nice-looking medium-gold/light amber color with a finger-and-a-half of rocky head. The surface of this beer is mostly-hazed over by inconsistent foam and the lace itself is kind of awkward and half-hearted. Pretty great color here, but it just doesn't sit well in my glass. Something about the lace is not convincing... too soapy looking or something, and the surface being only minimally covered with bubbles makes this feel meh overall upon first impression.

The nose is, luckily, quite intriguing. I know that El Dorado is known for its stone fruit and intense tropical notes, and that Motueka hops are known for their lime and bright citrus notes, but Denali is fairly new to me. Denali hops are apparently focused on pineapple and other unique, distinct tropical elements and those come across heavily in this beer. Their subtle, earthy and herbal notes help give character to a classic wheat base with definite pineapple and overripe mango. Excellent smelling beer!

Flavor profile feels similarly engaging, with a nice hoppy kick atop a smooth, comfortable wheat base. Flavors of nectarine, mango and passion fruit marry with more subtle pineapple and other tropical fruit notes before coalescing with some citric bitterness toward the back-end. Strong pine and grassy notes almost catapult this into "session IPA" territory, but the classic pillowy wheat beer element lends a nice, smooth mouthfeel. The hoppy kick is certainly felt here, but the overall impression is not as dry or as intense as most IPA/session IPA style beers. Overall, this is an incredibly crushable and uniquely-hopped APWA that I will likely purchase often for warmer weather events!

 

Poured from 12oz can into Weizen glass. Canned on January 5th 2017.

L: Pale gold, quite clear, two and a half fingers of nice fluffy off-white head has very good retention.

S: Dry crackery malt and fruity hops, nice clean aroma.

T: Lots more hop presence here, tropical and citrus fruits, grapefruit. Dry crackery malt is the backbone here.

F: Light, crisp, dry.

O: Nice. Nothing crazy but solid sessionable beer.

Nice amber appearance. Very pleasant aroma but mild. For a wheat beer it has a hoppy taste that is unusual. The pour is a little weak. Overall a good refreshing beer.