Boundary Waters Box Beer Rankings

I've been enjoying the Summit BW box. Of course, not all of the Summit selections are "stars", but it did lead me to explore a couple of styles I have not typically purchased (Kölsch and Witbier) and to take a slightly broader look at the other two (German Pilsener and Hefeweizen). In particular, I sought out and included selections from the style's native country plus at least one other local Minnesota selection.

This is not a review, but a mash-up ranking considering 3 aspects:

1. How well the beer represents the style (caveat: I am not a style expert by any means)
2. How enjoyable the beer is to drink, even if it is off-style
3. How well the beer fits as a crisp, refreshing summer beer (which is the intent of the Summit BW box set, after all).

I individually reviewed each of the beers, and then did a side by side comparison to rank them according to my 3 aspects. Beers were ranked for each aspect 1-3 (for the wit) and 1-4 for the others, and then the rankings added (no weighting) to come up with a final ranking.

Here are the results:

German Pilsener
This was the closest of the bunch, with not a huge distance between #1 and #4, IMO.

1. Summit Keller Pils
2. Weihenstephaner Pilsner
3. König Pilsener
4. Schell's Frost Hop #3: Pilsner

Kölsch
The German beers (especially the Reissdorf) took a hit in the "how enjoyable" ranking (fairly or unfairly) but dominated the "true to style" rankings by default. (By that I mean I used them as the benchmark of the style and compared the 2 MN beers against them for the style ranking.) The "how enjoyable" part is because I did not particularly enjoy the "sour bread" taste of the German Kölschs (which was more dominant in the Reissdorf than in the Sünner).

1. Sünner Kölsch
2. Schell's Frost Hop #4: Kölsch - Style
3. Summit Summer Ale
4. Reissdorf Kölsch

Witbier
Not being familiar with this style, I pretty much considered the Hoegaarden to be the definition of the style (yeah, a macro beer, but it was the only Belgian wit I could find easily, and I wasn't willing to drive all over looking for others... and, besides, I found it a very enjoyable beer!).

1. Hoegaarden Original White Ale
2. Summit Wit Bier
3. Blacklist Classic Wit

Hefeweizen
The Schell's and the Weihenstephaner Hefeweizens were a joy. The Fair State was not. The Summit was not particularly true to style, but I found it to be an enjoyable summer beer nonetheless. That pretty much sums up the rankings.

1. Schell's Hefeweizen
2. Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier
3. Summit Hefe-Weizen
4. Fair State Hefeweizen

 

Thanks.

I actually thought about that when I was having difficulty with finding MN-brewed wits and/or a second Belgian wit. I finally decided, though, to go with only 3 in the wit category.

From my notes during the side-by-side: "Weak aroma, weak taste, no head to speak of, a bit sour. The only one of these I wouldn't buy again." I have a more complete review, but I haven't posted it yet.

 

Yeah, these are not new sentiments, and it was these views that incentivized me to do the comparison, especially since I was not familiar with wits at all and with little experience (at least recent experience) with the native versions of ANY of these beer styles.

So, I tried to get the best native examples I could find here (principally relying on F44 and Blue Max) and some MN examples (I bought a Schell's Frost Hop box for another Kölsch, and since I then already had it, used it also for another Pilsener) to both educate myself a bit and compare the MN beers to a standard for the style.

Focusing on the hefe and the wit, here are my notes when looking at / smelling / tasting the beers in glasses side-by-side (as opposed to stand-alone reviews):

Hefeweizen:
Schell's - Strongest banana flavor and aroma. Nice look with tall white head. Not bitter at all. Smooth, malty and yeasty.
Weihenstephaner - Lots of white head, good aroma and flavor, banana & clove. Slightly bitter finish. Smoothest taste.
Summit - Strongest aroma. Best head retention; most attractive look of the 4. Taste is a bit off-style without a lot of banana, but lots of other fruit flavors. Enjoyable summer beer, but not particularly true to style.
Fair State - Weak aroma, weak taste, no head to speak of, a bit sour. The only one of these I wouldn't buy again.

Witbier:
Hoegaarden - Best aroma, banana & spices, pale gold color. Hardly any bittering, strong banana and spice.
Blacklist Artisan Ales - Strongest aroma, a lot of banana. Darker golden color. A bit astringent, bitter mixed with the banana/spice flavor
Summit - Aroma almost identical to Hoeg. Again appearance almost identical to Hoeg, taste more bitter than Hoeg, but with the banana and spice also strongly there.

After that, it is hard for me to call either of these Summit beers "absolute duds", although with the hefe I guess it would depend on if you are looking for a prime example of the style or an enjoyable hot weather beer.

 

I agree with your assessment of both.

But I enjoy both on their own merits. As with your hefe taste test thread, I would never suggest the Summit for that. It just would not measure up against the Schell's (for example) as a hefe.

The Summit wit is true to style (IMO), just more bittering (which I actually liked for a summer beer). And, note that my tasting showed the Blacklist to be even MORE bitter, bordering on astringent.

 

FWIW, my 3rd can of the 4 pack does seem to have the same level of bitterness / near astringency as the first 2. Probably wouldn't change my rankings, but it would not be as much of a clear #3.

 

Oops... to late to edit...