So for my first review I decided a home brew was called for. Also a nice celebration of kicking off this blog live today! This is my Sauer Weizen, basically I took a straight forward Hefeweizen that I brewed and soured a gallon with the dregs of a Jolly Pumpkin beer. The inspiration for this was actually Jolly Pumpkin's Weizen Bam. The base beer is as basic of a hefe as you can get, 63% Wheat, 37% Pilsner and about 11 IBU's of Hallertauer hops. The yeast I chose was Safebrew WB-06, I know a lot of folks aren't into brewing hefeweizens with dry yeast but I've always had good results with this yeast in my hefe's. It has leaned a little more toward clove than banana and for me that's a good thing.
Now this is the part that will show how much improvement I am going to need as a blogger. The actual review! I've always loved good food, beer and wine but have not been able to conjure up the essence of a dew soaked tobacco leaf from southern Virginia on a summers day. So for me I hope that this is going to help me get better at identifying positive attributes as well as flaws in my own beers and others. I do have a copy of Randy Mosher's Tasting Beer that I'm looking forward to reading. This however is just one of many great books in the queue. Well here goes nothing.
Appearance: Straw yellow with a classic hefeweizen haze. As it's poured the head is brilliant white and about a 1/4". It dissipates quickly but can be brought back with a quick swirl. There's no lacing in this beer as is typical with sours.
Smell: The aroma is very faint on this one. I can pick up some yeast and a light lactic note with just a hint of fruit. I really couldn't pick up on any specific notes.
Mouthfeel: The body is nice and thin, moderate carbonation that goes down smooth.
Taste: This is where the beer got interesting for me. On first impression you think hefe but after your first sip you instantly think Berliner Weisse. There is a definite lactic presence in this one but not overly so.
Overall: Although Berliner Weisse comes to mind while drinking this it has much more complexity in all arenas. This beer weighs in at 6.5% ABV but drinks as though it were much lower. This would be a great intro to sours for the uninitiated as well as something enjoyed as an easy thirst quencher on a hot day.
Nice write-up. Couple questions:
ReplyDeleteDid you add the dregs at primary? Did you build them up first?
Also did you get any Brett character in the flavor or aroma?
Thanks! I fermented the beer fully with the primary strain then at bottling time I took a gallon off and added the dregs straight from the bottle. I think for a five gallon batch I would like to build up the dregs a little and add them at primary though. I don't recall a strong brett presence.
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