Hefeweizen
Barbarian Brewing

considering all the off the wall and overly adventurous beers these guys do, and god love them for it, you also kind of have to hope they can nail down the basic and old world styles pretty solidly, but this leaves a little something to be desired, and pries open a crack in their overall quality i have suspected for some time, although its hard to be too critical when they are one of the few local operations taking chances like they do. still, this should be decidedly better than it is, and it most certainly was not the refreshing summer ripper i was after on a hot afternoon. its on their menu now at 4.7% abv in garden city. heavier and cloudier looking than even this style should permit, and without the characteristic tall expansive white head. it smells more or less right, with the yeast evident right away, pears and apples to it, less banana esters, a hint of vanilla and malty sweetness, but then also some dish soap and high tone esters approaching out of place. the flavor has some sweetness through it which i dont love, seemingly more residual yeast making it full than actual wheat structure, and to me seems fermented way too warm, its not delicate in any way, its not real dry, its short on carbonation, and it just seems a little amateurish for these guys. i drank it, bounced back and forth between enjoying parts of it and just tolerating it, but barbarian is capable of greatness and it would be nice to see in something this simple on paper...

Draft at brewery. Pours out perfect, lots of foam. Head subsides pretty quickly though. Lots of banana and bubblegum, not so much on the Clove. Body just a bit thin, but for flavor, it’s spot on.