Samuel Adams Harvest Hefe
Samuel Adams (Boston Beer Company)

Poured out of a 12 oz. bottle into one of my weizen glasses, this beer pours a fairly cloudy/hazy medium golden color with multiple streams of little bubbles rapidly and continuously rising to the beer's surface. I suppose this is a bit less hazy/cloudy than most beers of this style typically are. Has a nice white fluffy head that's about an inch thick when first poured that settles to a thick surface coating along with a thick ring lining the inside of the glass and excellent lacing. Aromas of some bready malts and wheat along with strong hints of banana and clove, which are spot on for the style. The banana and clove spice notes are very apparent upfront tastewise followed by the bready malts and wheat grains. Has a bit of an earthy, floral hop presence too. Has a mainly crisp, yet smooth and somewhat frothy, medium bodied mouthfeel with moderate carbonation. Has a clean finish, and the banana, clove and wheat really like to linger on the palate after each sip. A solid beer that's a fairly good representation of the style.

Eric

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a very dark golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is bursting with bananas, some cloves. Taste is cinnamon, nutmeg, banana is present, but not nearly as much as in the aroma. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a quality beer.

 

 

 

Poured from 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a light gold color, with a thin white head that fades quickly and leaves a very thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains wheat, bananas, spices, caramelized malts and a touch of hops.

T: The taste starts out sweet with flavors of spices, bananas and caramel. Then some breadiness comes in from wheat and a hearty but not too heavy malt character. The hops presence is mild but brings a decent balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet and slightly bready.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean.

O: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, mild kick, decent representation of style, it’s a solid beer but there are several others in the style that I would choose first.

 

 

A nice two finger head with good retention. The head is white that is creamy and billowy. The color of the beer is SRM 3 a straw color with some amber hues. The clarity of the beer is hazy with a massive amount of carbonation. As the head dissipates it is leaving some lacing on the glass.

The first aromas from the beer are bananas, cloves, and wheat. Additional aromas are a honey-like sweetness, grass, floral, and some earthy notes.

Wow, cloves and banana flavors come off first with some lightly toasted malt, wheat, grain, grassy, a honey-like sweetness, floral esters, bready, caramel, and some earthy notes.

The mouthfeel of the beer is medium, with medium-plus carbonation, slightly astringent, a touch dry, and a medium finish.

I am not sure what to think of this Hefe inspired beer. The spice has a frontal assault on your pallet. I feel that it could be more balanced. It is a good Hefe, but too sweet for my liking.