Peace, Love & Haze
Witch's Hat Brewing Co.

a well hopped oat based hefeweizen, well, wheat and oats together i assume, and another all michigan ingredient beer. it seems like every brewery we visited up here had an in state beer. this one even uses michigan yeast! i like the idea of adding oats to a hefe, the best ones have a big fluffy body anyway, so this assists with that. curiously though, they have more flavor here than usual, not sure if its the terroir of michigan, a real high proportion, or just a lighter beer style where they are more exposed, but i get a lot of them and i like it, dry and earthy and hearty. the hops are cool too, oily and fruity like i have started to expect from the michigan grown varietals, strongly dosed in this for a hefeweizen, but minimally bitter so it works. the weird part for me is the yeast, it almost tastes fermented too warm and overly estery, but its not traditional, not the banana clove brightness i look for in the style, slightly chemical and even phenolic to me, the weak link in an otherwise inventive and awesome beer. i assume its their first bash at this, and next round this element will be dialed in way better, and when thats the case, this beer will be incredible. dry and well carbonated, easy drinking for how flavorful it is, and overall really enjoyable even with the weird yeast!