Suggestions for an all MN Hefe Blind Taster

That sounds a lot more like the 4 pack I bought.

 

I have been buying some FS 4-packs recently to see if I was missing something. I had a couple that were comparable to what you had in your blind tasting, and I had a couple that were not good. The sub par ones poured like they had soda pop type of carbonation with no head. I thought I was just unlucky and got some old stuff from the first batch. Did not taste anywhere close to a top 5 MN hefe.

 

Bizarre! I've never had a bad Fair State Hefe. I had it on tap last year, and I thought it was at least as good as Schell's. Sounds like there may be quality control issues? At any rate, I'm drinking a can of Ewald the Gold (Utepils' Hefe), and it's damn tasty. I have some Dancing Man and Bubbler in the fridge. My cup runneth over with excellent hefes. Life is good!

 

New Glarus Bubbler is A#1!

 

the boys and i can't get enough schell's weizen. i should have bought a 1/2 bbl and saved some $$$. this has been our beer of choice all summer. I had a Utepils weizen on Saturday and still think Schells is my favorite.

 

An Alt, a Hefeweizen, and a Kölsch. A nice start!

 

... and thus Ewald the Golden begins its reign as the best canned or bottled hefeweizen from a Minnesota brewery.

 

If anyone wants to stock up on the Schell's Hefeweizen, Westside Liquor in East St Cloud are closing them out at $7.99 for a 12 pack.

Yeah I picked up one.

 

Now that Utepils is canning, I picked up a 4 pack of their hefe (along with a 4 pack each of their alt and kölsch as well) and another 6 pack of Schell's hefe.

I'm interested in seeing how my comparison tasting of these two turns out compared with yours, @ZAP. I won't bother with making it a blind test, though, so it won't be as cleanly unbiased as your tasting.

I'd compare the alts of these two, also, except Schell's alt is a winter seasonal. And, sadly, Schell's no longer brews a kölsch.

 

It is August. Gotta get Oktoberfests on the shelf ASAP!

 

Just had this years version of Sierra Nevada's Oktoberfest and it is damn tasty! Love the variable and collaborative nature of this beer!

 

Just had one last night and it has a ways to go before it reaches Schell's IMO. But it is good to see more offerings of MN Hefe's!

 

I've tasted the Utepils & Schells side by side (NOT blind, though).

Appearance: identical. Would be great for a blind test!

Aroma: Both have the expecteds for the style, but the Schell's has a "sweeter" aroma and the Utepils a slightly sour tinge to the aroma. Utepils aroma is very good, perhaps even stronger than Schells (I find aroma difficult to discern in a side by side; it doesn't stay confined to the glass, unfortunately.)

Feel: Schell's is definitely more substantial. Utepils a bit thin.

Taste: Both have the expected tastes for the style, banana and clove. Schells is much smoother with the yeast tastes lingering on throughout, very nice. The Utepils also has the requesite yeast flavors, but it also has much more "bite"; not bitter, but sour. Some tartness is OK for a hefe but the Schell's has virtually none and the Utepils is overdone. The tart/sour taste of the Utepils lingers into the finish.

Utipels is better than the Fair State hefe, but still not quite up to the challenge of Schell's. I look forward to trying the Utepils again, though.

 

Just chiming in here because I am currently drinking a Schell's hefe. It has been a long time since I have visited this beer.. since before I was dorky enough to track my beers and really pay attention. Damn. What a magnificent example of this style. Very very well done. I was recently in Austin, TX and beer folk tend to hype up Live Oak hefe. It was good, but it has nothing on this, IMO.

 

With the new availability of Utepils Ewald in cans, I did an impromptu tasting comparison among four Heffeweizen beers - Fair State (F), Schells (S), Utepils (U), and Weihenstephaner (W). Here are tasting notes.

Head:

• (F) 1/4 finger, larger bubbles, no lacing
• (S) none, no lacing
• (U) 3/4 finger, some pillowing, good lacing
• (W) pillowing, long lasting, good lacing from top to bottom (best of the four)

Color:

• (F) yellow gold, third darkest, hazy
• (S) yellow, clear
• (U) golden yellow, second darkest, hazy
• (W) golden yellow, darkest and hazy

Smell:

• (F) thin, least aroma
• (S) more banana, less cloves
• (U) robust, bananas and cloves
• (W) robust, richest, bananas and cloves

Taste:

• (F) thin
• (S) solid, banana and cloves
• (U) brighter
• (W) broader, on point and developed

Mouth Feel:

• (F) thinner
• (S) refreshing
• (U) more coating
• (W) more coating

My ranking:

• 1st, Weihenstephaner
• 2nd, Utepils
• 3rd, Schells
• 4th, Fair State

Subsequent to this tasting, I have one Schells Hefe at Grizzly's in Plymouth and the body was hazy. The Schells in the tasting comparison I had in the frig for about a month. I picked up another sixer of Schells and the first two bottles have been more clear than hazy.

 

One quick question - how did you pour the beers and how large of a glass did you use? The reason I ask is because I'm always impressed by the head on Schell's (even older bottles) and was shocked you found none.