Gunther's Hefeweizen
Brewsters Brewing Company & Restaurant - Eleventh Avenue

 

 

 

Had an industry pint on tap at Brewster's, Calgary Crowfoot location. A cloudy lemon yellow brew with a light draping of white head, lemon wedge deftly removed from the side of the glass. Dried banana chips, musty cloves, and citrus hops appear on the nose along with faint nutty malt. Palate features more of the same, with the banana again coming across as dry chips and peel as opposed to fresh fruit, a woody clove note that develops over the course of numerous sips, and a coriander seed or lemon vibe that makes me think that the brewer may have mixed up style guidelines or tried to produce some sort of hybrid. Uber-carbonated and thin, with a faintly earthy, citric finish. Not wild about this particular hefe. Comes across as an old world ale tweaked for the masses, with witbier and American wheat elements melded into the classic banana and clove package.

On tap at the Calgary brewpub, many seasonals on today. A story of banana, in the aroma and in the taste. Banana bits in the mouthfeel, though otherwise smooth, with a bit of astringency in the finish. Lacy, thick appearance. Nicely drinkable. One of the better ones.

 

 

500ml bottle poured into a pilsner glass
A - cloudy milky straw golden, short head didn't retain long, small lace ring
S - generous yeast esters of banana, clove, and fresh fruit, rich and bready
T - healthy bready malt, banana and cloves more subdued than the nose but pleasant, slightly fruity with a sunflower seed type flavour on the finish
M - medium body smooth, bready through the finish
D - generally subdued flavours but all the characteristic of a classic German hefe, brings me back to a great time at Oktoberfest 2010

500ml bottle poured into pint glass feb15 2011

A almost a milky pale yellow with a shitload of bubbles feeding a thin film of foam that hangs on for the duration of the brew but not quite the foam I expect from the style, patchy lace and the body looks about as cloudy as it gets and I doubt you could fit more bubbles in a glass

S some bubble gum faint banana some spice and cereal

T quite close to the smell but with a little hefe yeast and even more bubblegum, pretty decent and I'm pleased it's a local brew

M light and fluffy with a flavorful finish

D even on a cold Calgary night this one sunk like a ship no problems with this one

other then the lack of foam I would say this is a good hefe and I will be drinking it again but I may wait for patio season

Referred to in-house as Gunther's Hefeweizen, after the head brewmeister for the Oliver location. I haven't actually had this until now, the post-soccer practice thirst calling for a summery quaff.

This beer appears a cloudy pale orange hue, with two fingers of soapy white head, which leaves minor webbed lace as it falls away. It smells of wheaty banana, clove, and coriander. The taste is sweet, soft wheat grain, orange peel, lemon, and yeast. The carbonation is moderate, the body nice and light, but also round and full, and the finish is dry and grassy.

A fine example of a hefe by my (only) local brewpub.

This took Best Beer at the 2006 Calgary International Beer Fest, and I've been looking forward to a pint at the restaurant since sampling it there. As requested it was served without a lemon. In a pint glass, it's too bad they didn't go the extra mile and have a weizen glass.

The beer is hazy yellow to orange in colour, and had just a thin ring of white head. The glass was filled near the top though, and that may have hindered any head retention.

The smell is mostly clove and bubblegum. Banana is apparent and there is a slightly peppery aroma as well. The overall effect is fairly sweet.

The taste is first a mix of banana chips and bubblegum sugar. Cloves show up next but are short lived and give way to a grainy wheat finish that has a grapefruit bitterness. Quite pleasant for the style.

The beer is light but certainly not watery. Carbonation is comfortable if quaffing, but a bit prickly if left on the tongue.

This is a great summer beer. I did find that it didn't stand up as well when paired with food, but on its own I was more than pleased. Probably the best seasonal I've had from Brewster's to date.