As you know, I get offered a lot of beers from the brewer, or from their PR people, to sample. Since I think one should never turn down a beer, I have received them and written about them as “Previews” instead of “Reviews.” Well, with a backlog of these beers waiting for my attention, I tried to clear through by writing up my impressions while grilling up some weekend dinner.
The first is this series is Hacker-Pschorr Weisse, a Bavaravian Wheat beer, made by Hacker-Pschorr in Munich, Germany. It has been available in the states as a bottled beer, with 5.5% alcohol by volume, and a low 13 International Bitterness Units.
This a bottled with light filtration, letting off a hazy body under a big, fluffy head. The malt is darker in color a bit cloudy. Though they want to position it as a summertime Hefeweizen, this is a bit more substantial than that. It has a slight smell with just a little bit of fruity yeast esters, and a slightly spicy complement from wheat malt.
The taste does have a little bit of bubblegum and a slight touch of banana, but not as much as the Hefeweizens were usually see. It is pretty close to an American wheat beer in taste and in its thicker mouthfeel. The sweetness is subdued so there’s not as much need for hops to balance it. But my impression is of a slightly heavier beer, a bit more chewy, and suitable for cooler weather, like we’re having now. Some yeast sediment at the bottom, that you might be able reserve and decant toward the end for different tastes, like you would with a unfiltered Belgian beer.
