A Spring Hefe-Weizen Shootout

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by ZAP, May 16, 2015.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
Page 1 of 2
  1. ZAP

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

    Decided to have a little hefe taster today.

    The field (with dates):

    -Town Hall Hefe (Bought growler two weeks ago)
    -Schell (7/26/15)
    -Sierra Kellerweis (3/9/15)..Not sure if this is date brewed or best by?
    -Hacker-Pschorr (4/15)
    -Paulaner (6/15)

    Method: Same old same old...wife poured in marked glasses and kept key. I drank, rated, then key was revealed.

    Overall thoughts: Two different levels of beer here. Kind of like a major leagues and a minor leagues. Top two were far and away on their own level. The bottom three were all bunched together in mediocrity.

    How they rated:

    1. Schell: As good as ever. Wonderful banana/bubble gum aroma and a soft, quenching banana lemon flavor. Highly drinkable. (Guessed this as Schell)

    2. Town Hall: You could make the argument the aroma is better on this one than Schell but we are splitting hairs. Much more prominent bubble gum smell combined with a nice banana aroma. Taste is just a little sharper than Schell. Maybe a bit more boozy. Definitely a stronger clove dimension. (Guessed this as Sierra). Glad I have the rest of the growler left of this one.

    3. Sierra Kellerweiss: Big drop off to this one. Bright and lemony but also skunky on aroma and taste. Not sure on the date whether it is born on or best by but it was the new packaging. Even if skunked or old I can't see this fresh topping the top two. I could see it being a solid third maybe in its own tier. Got five more of these that I am not real excited about but will be downed when real thirsty.(Guessed as Town Hall)

    4. Hacker-Pschorr: Overripe mashed banana aroma. Taste brings a touch of lemon but more neutral than anything. (Guessed Paulaner). Glad I bought just a single.

    5. Paulaner: Toffeish aroma, not much flaver...muted...mashed overripe banana. (Guessed Hacker). Glad I bought just a single.

    Final Thoughts:

    Not sure what is going on with Hacker and Paulaner but it tasted like damn near the same beer but with maybe slightly different aging on them. These tasted nothing like I remember them tasting a few years back. Dates weren't great on them but not horrible and Paulaner was still good for another month.

    I haven't had Sierra Kellerweiss since I bought an old sixer a few years back before they were dating clearly. That was 1+ years old. This one was not near that but maybe not as fresh as I'd hoped for. I really think with hefe-weizen freshness is very key. Still even on its best day I don't see Kellerweiss nearing the top two.

    Town Hall I have not had for a few years so I was happy to see it score so well. Great aroma to this one and really a top notch beer right up there with Schell.

    Schell is still the king for me though....so highly drinkable with great hefe-weizen flavors. To me drinking their hefe is like being in Germany and drinking the top stuff fresh....it is that good.
     
    #1 ZAP, May 16, 2015
    jakemn91, Redrover, SipIt and 5 others like this.
  2. garymuchow

    garymuchow Pooh-Bah (2,878) Aug 31, 2001 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah

    Surprised how early Schell Hefe is out this year. Always good, but esp. so when the heat kicks in.
     
    #2 garymuchow, May 16, 2015
    SipIt, Chaz and ZAP like this.
  3. morimech

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

    We take Schell's Hefe for granted. I know I bypass it at times for something different to get my wheat fix when I should just stick to what is pure class. Also surprised how poorly you found the German ones. I have not had the Hacker in many years but I did have some old Paulaner over the winter. Definitely not great but still highly enjoyable.

    The one new Hefe I have had this year was Fair State Hefeweizen. To me it was heavy on cloves and lacked a bit of body. Definitely good though. I would put it above Steel Toe but below Town Hall and far behind Schell's and Harriet.
     
    #3 morimech, May 16, 2015
    garymuchow likes this.
  4. mnbrewery

    mnbrewery Initiate (0) Feb 28, 2008 Minnesota


    Hefeweizens are also meant to be drunk young. It is hard to find a German Hefe in a bottle, that is young. Maybe one of the reasons that the local hefeweizens are tasting better.
     
    #4 mnbrewery, May 17, 2015
  5. mjryan

    mjryan Pooh-Bah (1,571) Dec 22, 2007 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah

    I pretty much avoid European bottles as a rule. The boat ride over does them no favors, and the months on the shelves kills them dead. Fresh beer rules, and anything we get from Europe is almost always far from fresh.
     
    #5 mjryan, May 18, 2015
  6. DoctorRock

    DoctorRock Zealot (631) May 13, 2010 Minnesota

    Easily took down a 6'r of Schell's this weekend. Man I love that beer.
     
    #6 DoctorRock, May 18, 2015
  7. SipIt

    SipIt Pundit (752) Jul 18, 2013 Minnesota
    Trader

    $12 for a 12 pack of Schell's is damn hard to pass up on when looking for a hefe. I grab the Sommervice from Steel Toe once in a while, only to remind me to go back to Schell's and Town Hall.
     
    #7 SipIt, May 18, 2015
  8. KV12482

    KV12482 Initiate (0) Oct 24, 2010 Minnesota

    I havent had Schells yet this year but I did have Fair State's Hefe on Saturday. It was great! They had tallboys available this past weekend for Art-A-Whirl, so hopefully they'll start distributing it.

    Edit: As per facebook, Fair State's Hefe tallboys will be rolling out to liquor stores starting this week.
     
    #8 KV12482, May 18, 2015
  9. muck1979

    muck1979 Zealot (555) Jul 3, 2005 Minnesota

    FWIW, Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr come out of the same brewery in Munich, so that could be a reason for their similarity.
     
    #9 muck1979, May 18, 2015
  10. pdoran10

    pdoran10 Initiate (0) Jun 30, 2009 Minnesota

    Yep. Fair State Hefe tallboy four packs are coming this week at least for stores that did well with them. We should be getting a bunch on Thursday. I'm excited. The beer's damn tasty and the packaging is slick.
     
    #10 pdoran10, May 20, 2015
  11. LittleGus

    LittleGus Crusader (476) Mar 13, 2008 Minnesota

    Anyone had Summit's one off for the Black Forest? It looks beautiful in the pictures.
     
    #11 LittleGus, May 20, 2015
  12. HammsMeASAP

    HammsMeASAP Pundit (931) Jun 14, 2012 Minnesota

    I really need to try Town Hall's hefe.

    And Enki's. Some people on here have said it's awesome.

    Hmmm...... hefes.
     
    #12 HammsMeASAP, May 20, 2015
  13. ZAP

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

    I've been drinking a ton of the Schell Hefe this summer. I chuckle at the middling reviews for this beer on this site recently(95 % without comments of course). It's where we are at now in this day and age. This is world class .....no if ands or buts about it. Right there with the best of Germany.
     
    #13 ZAP, Jul 5, 2015
    KarlHungus, budgood1 and JMN44 like this.
  14. morimech

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

    My hefeweizen glass is being underutilized this summer. Besides Schell's, just not many hefeweizens worth a purchase are out there. Did Harriet ever get to brewing Wodan Weizen this year? I would head to the brewery tomorrow if I knew I could buy a growler. God I love that beer. Nothing really available on-tap around here either. Just Enki's Hootenanny which I don't like.
     
    #14 morimech, Jul 5, 2015
  15. SlightlyGrey

    SlightlyGrey Maven (1,480) Apr 4, 2011 Minnesota
    Trader

    Wodan Weizen has been on for about three weeks - Harriet isn't real good about updating their website or FB pages. I'm on my second growler and it's damn tasty.
     
    #15 SlightlyGrey, Jul 5, 2015
    morimech likes this.
  16. morimech

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

    Dammit! Three weeks that I could of been enjoying that wonderful elixir. I expected to find it on-tap somewhere by now at least.
     
    #16 morimech, Jul 5, 2015
  17. ZAP

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

    Shit...I've been watching their website to see if I should make a swing over there when in town...thanks for the info..
     
    #17 ZAP, Jul 5, 2015
    KV12482 likes this.
  18. dundeestalacerveza

    dundeestalacerveza Initiate (0) Jul 2, 2015 Michigan

    Ummmmmmm... pardon me.. I live in Michigan and I would love to join in on what seems to be an all Minnesota line up of HEFEWEIZEN lovers...
    MY ancestors are all Norwegian and I happen to love lefse and hockey don't ya know?

    Please tell me where I might find some of this Shell Hefe. Or am I too late?
    I would even be willing to trade a MI beer or two for some WI beer... Interstate taste anyone?
     
    #18 dundeestalacerveza, Jul 8, 2015
  19. gfournier

    gfournier Initiate (173) Jun 12, 2015 Minnesota
    Trader

    You made it sound as if this is not your first hefe tasting (I'm sorry if I'm wrong, I'm new to the site) but have you tried inserting New Glarus Dancing Man into the line up? I know it's not available this year :slight_frown:, but it is my favorite Hefe.
     
    #19 gfournier, Jul 11, 2015
  20. ZAP

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

    Yes we have included Dancing Man a few times before and the last time it kind of stood out with its booziness. We liked it a lot but it was just a different cat last time we had it. Didn't finish as high was we expected it to last time. A few years back I did not seem to notice that boozyness as much with it. I was not aware they were not making it this year. That is too bad.
     
    #20 ZAP, Jul 13, 2015
Page 1 of 2
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.