Watermelon Hefe
Strange Craft Beer Company

On-tap at Falling Rock Tap House, Denver, CO

A: The beer is clear light yellow in color and poured with a quarter finger high sense white head that has very good retention properties and consistently left a short head covering the surface.
S: Light to moderate flavors of watermelon are present in the smell.
T: The taste is a little malty and has hints of watermelon in the finish.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and a little smooth on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer was easy to drink but I thought that the amount of watermelon in the taste was a little weak.

Serving type: on-tap

 

Cherry and watermelon in beer can be sensitive and crossing the line to icky has happened too often. This beer right mhere, however, is not one of those. The watermelon is oh so subtle; not a candy NERDS beer. It's a nice beer and I would like to see a touch more carbonation and dryness. Nice thirst quencher without the sweetness of some of the "shandys" that dominate summer seasonals.

 

Full disclosure: I do not like Hefeweizens generally, but I was encouraged against my better judgement to try this. That being said I thought the watermelon was married well with the wheatinessof the hefe and did not overpower it the way it could have. By the bottom of the cup my mouth had acclimated to the taste of the Hefe and I could tolerate and even enjoy it for what it was. If you do like Hefes you will probably will enjoy this - if you are like me and can put aside your anti-hefe prejudices you may enjoy it as well.

 

you dont often see watermelon done well in a beer. its usually too sweet or too rindy or too dominant, but its superb in this beer from strange. the hefe part is lost a little on me, i think the banana aspect of the traditional yeast is muddled by the more vibrant and front of palate sweetness of the watermelon. its like straight juice, right from the cold press, it has the pulpy character, which is balanced pretty well with the wheat malt, but again, may obscure the yeast a little too much for this to still pass as a hefe, its definitely a fruit beer first. refreshing as anything though, no lingering sweetness, and a lot of summery fruit. its so much more interesting than many of the other strange brews, and with very few exceptions, is the best take on watermelon beer out there. perfect hot afternoon session, and really cool with a whole range of fruits.