yup, we decided to mix it up with another beer tasting, this time hefeweissen and flanders red beers. this was an excellent excuse to try out some summer-ish beers before the hot weather hits, to figure out what will work best on the beach/rooftop/fire escape on those lazy weekend afternoons and sultry evenings.
says wikipedia about hefe weizen and wheat beers
says wikipedia about flanders red ales
here are some cool sites i found in the process of research:
beer tutor
brew wiki
let's get to the beer-ing!! all beer purchased at bierkraft
hofbraü hefe weizen, $2.00/bottle
-> thin, even, average tasting
*this was voted one of our top four of the tasting!
st. bernard's wit, $3.49/bottle
->belgian white beer, tastes of black pepper
*this was voted one of our top four of the tasting!
harpoon's UFO, $2.00/bottle
->made in boston, sharper taste, creamier
schneider wisen edel weissen, $4.49
->more carbonated, has much more personality than anything thus far, this is what i really want when i ask the bartender for a hefeweissen!
*one of my personal favorites!
blanche de namur - belgian wit, $8.95/bottle
->french belgian, smells like pez, tastes of violets/flowers
excelsior - white gold, $12.95/bottle
->this is 8% alcohol! has an alcohol-y taste, hoppy aftertaste, sharp, not carbonated, decent tasting beer
1809 berliner weiss, $7.25/bottle
-> i didn't realize it, but this is also put out by weihenstephaner! sour, raspberry + strawberry taste, refreshing and light, a hot weather/by the pool beer
*this was voted one of our top four of the tasting!
weihestephaner (weizenbock), (forgot to write down cost, sigrid says it's like $1/bottle in germany, so must be like $4-$5 here?), this is the oldest brewery still in existence ANYWHERE!
->maltier, sweeter, tastes like it already has lemon in it! banana flavor
weizenbock means is is a darker, stronger seasonal beer for spring
*one of my personal favorites!
duchesse de bourgogne, $12/bottle - this is a flanders red
->tastes of balsamic vinegar, sweet, very peculiar, interesting as a taste, but couldn't drink a whole glass of this - squid describes as salad beer (nice as a dressing)
rodenbach - grand cru, $11.99/bottle - this is another flanders red!
-> tastes of sweet tarts! fruity, berry, strawberry, vinegar, tart, tastes like a wine spritzer or sparkling wine, has a red colored malt
*this was voted one of our top four of the tasting!
aecht schlenferla rauchbier, $5.95/bottle
->rauchbier style is a smoked style, smoked wheat beer, bacon-y, tastes like a wood burning stove
middle ages - swallow wit, $9.95/growler
->violet/lilac
thanks to lars for leading the discussion and letting us swarm your home, and to everyone for coming out to share in the drinking! for those curious about the alcohol infused cheeses, here they are:
-all cheeses purchased at the coop-
port salut (france)
drunken goat (spain)
cahill porter (ireland)
red dragon - cheddar cheese with wholegrain mustard and ale (wales/UK)
bergumer swiss (switzerland) - no alcohol but still tasty!
