Dancing Trees
Feather Falls Casino Brewing Company

I liked Dancing Trees; despite getting a copy that was 6 months past its Best By date. While my bottle's condition makes it harder to rate, I've reviewed enough beers to trust my intuition about the brewer's intention. And the intent was to create a refreshing, fruity ale. And that still comes through 6 months late.

However, I don't think Dancing Trees ever Looked above average and may have lived its fresh period below average; but despite lacking foam, it does have a pretty amber which stretches the hefe- style in a good way. For Smells, this is vaguely a hefe- but the yeast gave up producing tropical fruit too long ago. However, Tastes are balanced. flavourful, yet oddly bland. Light mouthed.

Feather Falls is a casino which is a multi-hospitality business of which brewing is mostly a sideshow. So I'm not surprised that the yeast of this hefe- is sub-par. But having a multi-hospitality business, casinos remind me, in an odd way, of the British brewers who also offer restaurants and hotels; although no gambling !

Bomber from Raley's. Hazy amber with small foamy head. Wheat, grainy aroma, light banana. Taste is true to style, big full bready flavors, bubblegum, banana. Skeptical at first, but his is actually pretty good.

Appearance - Pours somewhat clear. Had to give the bottle a good swirl to pick up some yeast sediment before some cloudiness appeared. Light burnt orange color. Half finger width head that dissipates fairly quickly, leaving a thin, broken layer of suds on top. A few small spots make up a minimal lacing.

Smell - Pretty decent amount of clove and banana on the nose, along with the wheat.

Taste - Doesn't quite deliver on the promise of the nose. Though they are there, the banana and clove notes are fairly tame, leaving the wheat to be the default prominent flavor here.

Mouthfeel - Light-to-medium in body with fair carbonation. Smooth, drinkable brew with an easy finish. At 4.5%, it should be.

Overall - Not a good or great hefe by any measure, even as American made ones go. Just lacks ideal banana and clove notes in the flavor. It's also not a drain pour. That said, not one I'd buy again.