Summer
Cape Cod Beer

 

cool to see a summer ale doing something other than being a light beer, this is a hefeweizen, not an amazing one, but its a little something unexpected for the season which is always cool, my first ever beer from these guys. an oddly clear example of a famously cloudy style, just slightly richer looking than i generally expect in these too, a frothed up but quick fading white head adorns it. aroma here is estery and classic, banana notes for sure, a little underripe there, with green grape and slight almost papaya character too, subtle spiciness, generic citrus and white wine, and plenty of hearty wheat, a little amateurish around the edges to me, a touch of sweetness in it, but appealing and relatively distinctive on the ferment, familiar but with its own personality. the flavor follows, banana and plantain, golden raisin, and a somewhat nutty wheat malt, maybe a little weird for a summer beer but i like the flavor and heft it brings, this is wheat beer after all! high tone citrus leaning orange and lemon, a little champagne thing, yeasty but still kind of clean for what it is, simple but flavorful, and with big bubble carbonation that adds an additional element of refreshment. its faintly phenolic as it warms, soapy and less good, and there is more sweetness at the end than it needs, but i think overall this is a neat take for the season and it was a fun one to drink doing summer activities like boating, probably les good outside of that context...

 

 

 

I'm not ordinarily a big fan of Summer Ales as many have proven to be rather bland in taste. Had a very pleasant visit to the Cape Cod brewery this week and sampled, among other products, their Bavarian Style Hefeweizen Summer Ale. Found it very enjoyable and bought a 4-pack to take home. After consuming a few cans, I've concluded that this particular product has plenty of taste and just enough body to prevent it from being lackluster as so many of its brethren in this category have seemed to be. Glad to have found a Summer Ale to my liking and foresee many cans traveling from Cape Cod back to my NH home in the next few months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The appearance was a crystal clear gold colored body. There was not any head, but for all I know the bartender may have waited until it died to make sure I had a full beer. The carbonation was slowly rising but very light. It left little lacing and no rings. The smell had some mild graininess with some malts. There wasn’t much else. The taste was malty and sweet. The hops were barely there. The palate it was light, sessionable with its low ABV. Overall, I was somewhat impressed and liked the second pint with the fish and chips I had.

 

 

Sampling a 22 oz bottle cold poured into a snifter. The beer pours a clear goldenrod hue with some minimal bleached white head that fades to the most minimal edge layer very quickly after the beer enters the glass. Wish there was better head retention.
Aroma is sweet and fruity with some banana and hints of cloves too. A little bready yeast mixed in for a very nice appealing nose.
First sip reveals a light crisp body with very fine and tingly carbonation. Very easy to drink and perfect on a summer day.
The flavor is similar to what the nose advertises with some light grainy malt and a bit of banana and perhaps some lemon.
MOves to a bit of cloves on the finish and never hints on any hops or booze anywhere.
An enjoyable light crispy beer that is easy to drink and is a good example for the style.
worth a shot especially if you are on the Cape in the summer.