Raspberry Hefeweizen
Ravens Brewing Company

 

 

Appearance: Pours a hazy strawberry with flecks of orange and pink. Tops up with a soft petal pink bubbly and foamy two finger head. Moderate dissipation with a nice looking cling to glass as it settles.

Aromatics: The first few sniffs contain a fantastic wine-like fruitiness, with sweet florals and some soft grassy touches. I love that it is not distinctively raspberry, there is a lot more in the complexity of aromas at work here beyond the fruit, it is bright, tangy, and reminds me of full bloom honeysuckle with honey and amarillo splashed in.

Taste: There is a fairly fresh and clean water infused with raspberry punch with hints at orange and ruby red grapefruit. The sweet and tangy combination feed into a little bit of a mellow toast of caramels. The flavours are pretty firm throughout keeping a pretty good balance from sweet to mild bitter.

Feel: Pretty crisp and snappy, the carbonation keeps the flavour train chugging across the whole palate. A fairly good middleweight has good splashes of fresh clean water with a tangy with an ever so subtle boozy finish.

Overall: Not to shabby at all. So far I have really enjoyed what Ravens is producing, this is a great summer sipper, it does a nice job as a thirst-quencher, has a flavour profile that is somewhat limited but not entirely one-sided or focused on the raspberry. It is still a hefe, and a pretty darn good one at that.

Pairing: I like that Ravens puts pairings on their beers - this one they recommend Camembert cheese, Grilled Duck, Balsamic Salad, and Chocolate Mousse. I agree with all those - especially the Camembert, top it on a few vegetable based snack crackers or some artisanal bread chunks dipped lightly in a balsamic/oil mixture and you have a true winner.