Suggestions for an all MN Hefe Blind Taster

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by ZAP, May 21, 2017.

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  1. Victory_Sabre1973

    Victory_Sabre1973 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,445) Sep 15, 2015 Minnesota
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I get it in the St. Cloud area at Westside Liquor in Waite Park. I think the one in east St. Cloud also has it.

    I first discovered them in New Ulm at the Liquor Mart.
     
    #21 Victory_Sabre1973, May 24, 2017
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  2. ZAP

    ZAP Grand Pooh-Bah (4,048) Dec 1, 2001 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Excellent. Easily obtainable for me. I'll add it into the taster..seasonal or year round? Thanks...
     
    #22 ZAP, May 24, 2017
  3. Victory_Sabre1973

    Victory_Sabre1973 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,445) Sep 15, 2015 Minnesota
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Seasonal.
     
    #23 Victory_Sabre1973, May 25, 2017
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  4. Ol_Johnny_Skippelwicky

    Ol_Johnny_Skippelwicky Initiate (0) Feb 13, 2013 Minnesota

    Badger Hill just released a hefe called There's Always Money in the Banana Stand whose name alone is a good enough reason to be included in your tasting
     
    #24 Ol_Johnny_Skippelwicky, May 26, 2017
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  5. ZAP

    ZAP Grand Pooh-Bah (4,048) Dec 1, 2001 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Interesting...tap room only or off-sale too?
     
    #25 ZAP, May 26, 2017
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  6. KiddVideo

    KiddVideo Initiate (0) Jun 19, 2015 Minnesota

    I have tried my fair share of Hefe Weizen's in my beer drinking life time and I have to say Schell's Hefe Weiss is by far the best tasting wheat beer in the state of Minnesota. IMO, nothing really comes close to their beer especially if it's on draft. Also, I found Capital Brewery in Middleton to have an excellent wheat that rivals Schells.
     
    #26 KiddVideo, May 31, 2017
  7. ZAP

    ZAP Grand Pooh-Bah (4,048) Dec 1, 2001 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Used to like Capital's Kloster-Weizen back a few years ago but haven't seen it in ages...

    I've heard good things about Penn Brewery as a legit German style brewery...would love to get my hands of some of their beer fresh..
     
    #27 ZAP, May 31, 2017
  8. morimech

    morimech Grand Pooh-Bah (3,803) Nov 6, 2006 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah

    Roundhouse has one that I tried today. I think it is worthy of inclusion. But I think I could easily pick it out because it has a citrus hop element going on.
     
    #28 morimech, Jun 12, 2017
  9. ZAP

    ZAP Grand Pooh-Bah (4,048) Dec 1, 2001 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    We actually included that one last year and it stood out as the worst of the group....BUT I've had a several times since and I really think that was not a good batch they had on tap at that time. They struggled with inconsistency issues that first summer but seem to have ironed them out.
     
    #29 ZAP, Jun 12, 2017
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  10. mnhopfiend

    mnhopfiend Initiate (0) Feb 5, 2016 Minnesota

    Can confirm, Jack Pine has never done a Hefe. I've also found Roundhouse's Hefe to be hit or miss. The couple times I did enjoy the taste, it was still crystal clear.
     
    #30 mnhopfiend, Jun 12, 2017
  11. hopb4fg

    hopb4fg Initiate (0) Nov 8, 2016 Hawaii

    Any MN breweries do a decoction on their Hefe, like Harriet did?
     
    #31 hopb4fg, Jun 12, 2017
  12. sean_mpls

    sean_mpls Initiate (0) Sep 11, 2012 Minnesota

    I believe Bad Weather does.
     
    #32 sean_mpls, Jun 12, 2017
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  13. ZAP

    ZAP Grand Pooh-Bah (4,048) Dec 1, 2001 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I'm not positive but I think Fair State does.
     
    #33 ZAP, Jun 13, 2017
  14. LittleGus

    LittleGus Crusader (476) Mar 13, 2008 Minnesota

    Northbound's is pretty decent this year, as good as Town Hall's imho. Sadly, agree with those who think Sommer Vice isn't worth the trouble. Love the brewery, don't care for the beer. Really liked Fair State's offering last year, but I haven't had one yet this year. If you're willing to throw a weizenbock in for comparison, Schell's Bananas Foster is mighty tasty!
     
    #34 LittleGus, Jun 13, 2017
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  15. ZAP

    ZAP Grand Pooh-Bah (4,048) Dec 1, 2001 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    We finally did this but were unable to acquire some of the good suggestions here. The four we had were:

    -Fair State
    -Schells
    -Town Hall
    -Utepils

    You know the routine. We poured for each other and had no idea what was what. We each scored the beers on a BA scale. We didn't break it into sub categories, just an overall score we felt it deserved.

    What we found were three excellent Hefe's and one that was borderline average if that. For the first time in the many years we have done this in the summer Schell's was finally topped, but by the slimmest of margins. The top three were all outstanding. All three had nice banana esters as well as cloves and lemons to varying degrees. Here is the final order with their scores (an average of both of our scores).

    1. Fair State (4.7): Been getting reports of this being weak tasting this year but we found it far from that. Probably the most full flavored. Outstanding.

    2.Utepils (4.65): Excellent version of a hefe. Very similar to Fair State with just a slightly softer estery flavor. Very slight difference.

    3. Schell (4.6): Like the other nice banana. A little more spritzy and a touch more lemon.

    4. Town Hall (3.0): Darker colored than the others and really seemed slightly off style to a point....more peppery if anything. Not good. Barely average. Belonged in a taster with Summit maybe. And I'm one of Town Halls most vocal supporters.
     
    #35 ZAP, Jul 12, 2017
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  16. LittleGus

    LittleGus Crusader (476) Mar 13, 2008 Minnesota

    Psyched to hear that you liked Fair State's. Gonna pick up a four pack this weekend!
     
    #36 LittleGus, Jul 12, 2017
  17. MNAle

    MNAle Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2011 Minnesota

    Almost the exact opposite of my tasting of the Fair State hefe ... interesting. Would they have that much varibility?
     
    #37 MNAle, Jul 12, 2017
  18. ZAP

    ZAP Grand Pooh-Bah (4,048) Dec 1, 2001 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Yes anything is possible. Different batches? I see varying consistency with a lot of these newer places. I wouldn't expect that with Fair State. I'm not positive but I think their brewer has some chops and worked at Live Oak which is known for its hefe excellence (never had it personally). With that said we did have it in our taster last year and it was not as full flavored as this year. Definitely lighter style last year, or at least the four pack we had.
     
    #38 ZAP, Jul 12, 2017
  19. Ish1

    Ish1 Initiate (0) Feb 25, 2010 Minnesota

    Thanks for the update. I always look forward to hearing your thoughts on these tastings! With Schell's 12pks priced at $10.99-$13.99 its hard for me to branch out, but clearly I need to grab a 4 pk of Fair State. I've been distracted with Barrel Theory lately, but I need to make a point to get to Utepils.

    I wonder if TH also has significant batch variations? I'd be interested in other peoples thoughts, but when I had it on tap a few weeks ago I thought it was right up there with Schell's.
     
    #39 Ish1, Jul 12, 2017
  20. SipIt

    SipIt Pundit (752) Jul 18, 2013 Minnesota
    Trader

    There must be batch variation, bc we had the Fair State next to schells and weihenstephaner it didn't hold up to well. FS might be my favorite local brewery, so I certainly have nothing against them. It was very weak in overall flavors.
     
    #40 SipIt, Jul 12, 2017
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