Hefeweizen
Baron Brewing

 

Had this on tap last summer at Bailey's Taproom in Portland, Oregon. The colour was a cloudy, dark orange with a thick head. The aroma was not what I tend to associate with a German hefe, i.e. grainy and only mildly hoppy. On the palate, there was a tangy quality a quick shot of hops and then spent grain on the finish.

They tell me this is a bottom-fermented beer. A lager. I'm not sure if that's accurate, but I'll entertain the notion for now. Baron serves this Bavarian-style wheat beer in slender half-liter weizen glasses. It is densely clouded in a stormy shade of yellow-ochre and arrives with a fat dollop of creamy white foam. Visually, the beer is stunning. Its aroma speaks proudly of noble Bavarian essence. There's more clove-spice to the nose than banana fruit, and they don't corrupt the presentation with a wedge of you-know-what.

Nicely spiced with dry graininess and a clean finish. Traditional, deserving, and very drinkable.