SN Kellerweis in Danger? Your Thoughts?

I doubt Kellerweis will be retired, but it seems like sales need to improve significantly to justify continuing it as a year round offering. My guess is they'll put it in this years summer pack, but if sales don't pick up after that it'll become a mix pack only beer in the vein of Flipside, Ruthless and Tumbler.

 

Its a great hefeweizen, but the availability seems pretty limited in this part of Ohio, even at places that carry a lot of sierra nevada

 

I second the challenge around finding fresh weiss from the motherland...and the nomination of Keller as best US widely available weiss

 

Looks like price and freshness are major factors. With price around here I can get 6pk of Weihenstephan hefe around $13-14 (or $3.50 for the 16.9oz) and SN Kellerweis for around $7-8. Considering I don't get hefe's much I wouldn't be too saddened by Kellerweis departure. Availability is also a factor as it's easier for me to find a 6pk of Weihenstephan then Kellerweis and I live in the bay area.

 

I agree with many that I usually drink a hefe during warmer months. For the price I will probably buy Yuengling Summer Wheat over Kellerweis. I personally thought it was a better beer and cost the same if not less for a six pack. If I was not in the Yuengling distribution area than Sierra Nevada Kellerweis would be in my fridge along with some German hefe's.

Edit.

Making it a seasonal offering, say April-August, would possibly make more sense. This time of year I am not drinking wheats, wits etc.

 

Love it all summer. Hope it stays. Right up there with top heffe

Enjoy

 

yep sounds like the deal with SN Tumber. No worries if SN wants to be a all PA/IPA brewer that is their problem. others make better wheat beer anyway. and cigar city makes a better brown ale. I can adapt. In fact its why I no longer buy any SN product was the lose of tumbler. I do really like and enjoy the keller also. but them is the breaks. btw I not drink SN for any reason other than the types of beer I like they just do make or do not make as well as others do, IMHO. IE founders porter, others stouts, and hefe etc. moved on to newer stuff as they say.

 

Well, fresh is an issue but there is also a cost delta as well. Weihenstephaner costs a fair bit more on a per ounce basis than US craft brewed beers like Kellerweisse; there have been a number of posts discussing this aspect.

Cheers!

 

Yup, Yuengling Summer Wheat was a tasty beer! And a good price to boot!!

Cheers!

 

A proper Weissebier glass is 500ml; so the little bottles that Kellerweis comes in are no good. It is some way off the quality of weissebiers made by most German breweries, but it is a respectable domestic stand-in.

 

most of the ba's enjoy kellerweis during the warmer seasons, maybe sn should make it a spring or summer seasonal especially now that they have nooner and hoppy lager.
I also enjoy kellerweis and would not like to see it eliminated from their lineup.

 

I say it all the time, it's arguably the best beer that Sierra Nevada brews.

 

I would vote to keep it as at least a spring and summer seasonal. It is definitely a weizen that I look forward to because it's always good and consistent. Plus it looks pretty in the weizen glass!!

 

Interesting timing for this rumor; I saw pictures of their new NC brewery with cool custom designed open fermentors made for Kellerweis and other wheat beers.

 

they might be for kellerweis right now but there are many beers you can brew with open fermenters

 

I, like many of you, always choose a German brewed competitor over a six of Kellerweis when wandering the isles of the bottle shop. That doesn't mean I don't think it's a tasty brew. I think that it would benefit from being a part of a SN summer variety pack instead of being a year round beer. I would definitely buy that variety pack.

 

unfortunately, the title probably hurts it's sales

 

I loved Kellerweis when it first debuted. However, over the years I've personally felt it lost a lot of its banana flavor and became thinner, simply lacking overall. Still good, but not as good as my favorite US brewed hefe, Troegs Dreamweaver Wheat.

That being said, I still enjoy it, and sometimes I'll pick it up because it's fresher and lower abv than Weihenstephaner. At its best, it's close enough to the Germans. I'd probably pick up Ayinger and Andechs over Weihenstephan if they actually had bottling dates.

I believe Sierra Nevada will, and should, move this beer to a seasonal. It sounds petty, but if I knew it was only around for a few months, I know it would be fresher, and I'd feel more inclined to "have" to pick some up.