Burleigh Brewing HEF

HEF, the label boldly proclaims. I've got to say I like the moustache on there too. Subtle but persuasive, like a well practiced pool boy.

Hef here also won gold at the world beer cup in 2012 - quite the achievement in what is a class filled with competition both new and ye olde. I'm not one to place too much store in these awards overall but drinking this, it's easy to see how it's done so well.

Perfectly on style it seems with all of the elements you'd expect from a hefeweizen, the beer also manages a lovely mouthfeel to ensure you experience it all as you drink. Typical banana, cloves, sweet yeasty notes, creamy head. Nothing radical, just a bloody good hef. Trust in the mo.

Good stuff, needs a retry, looking forward to slamming back a 6-pack over the summer sometime.. 8.0

Haandbrygerriet Bavarian Weizen

Unfortunate dark photo. These beers cost money y'know so it's the power that has to go.

This beer is Haand's effort at producing a Bavarian Weissbier with a wheat yeast, yielding in their words less banana, and more tartness than usual. Sounds like a nice approach to me with the potential to combine the strengths, and assuage the weaknesses of a couple of promising styles.

This bottle while in code was not the freshest, but the pour performed nicely with an opaque body and lemon / citrus / coriander head. It may be the age but I found a really pleasant malty quality to this beer, slightly unexpected from a weizen. The wheat yeast does its job too to keep it crisp and clean but still characterful.

Carbonation got in the way a little bit here, too strong front of mouth before the comparatively heavy body arrives, but again could be a symptom of the less than fresh bottle. Regardless, this is not your typical sort of Weizen perhaps but I find I kind of like it. 7.5

Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier

Finally .. a beer on the tracker from what appears to be the world's oldest still operational brewery.

Yes yes wrong glass again but regardless this pours well for a hefe with a big solid head, and right off the bat gives a balanced aroma that doesn't lean too far in any direction. There's an assuredness in execution that's evident just from the pour, and it comes through on the taste also.

It's a light but satisfying mouthfeel with no real blank spots, and without really surprising or doing anything above and beyond, it just hits all the notes that you want from this style. Not much else to say - a classic, and very passable indeed. 7.5

Thoughts on Duckstein

Time to post a few thoughts on Duckstein as it's now the third time I've sampled through their range.

Can't have been too bad considering how quickly the tasters evaporated!

These guys do a good range throughout but oddly it's the Pilsner that's probably the most accomplished of the lot, great taste in this, highly drinkable, a fine example of the style fresh off the vat. Dunkel goes down ok with malty character, and the Altbier sports nice peppery spice notes at the end. The other stalwart from the tasting range is a Hefeweizen that is traditional to the style, predominately banana and lemon, pretty drinkable.

The one seasonal drop this time was a Pale Ale - ie, the only non-German beer in the lineup, and interestingly it was pretty poor, falling well short both of other pale ales, and of the quality found in Duckstein's offerings. As a comparison I found their seasonal oktoberfest beer to be far superior in the past.

So if there's a lesson here it's stick to what you're good at. But all in all a reliable and faithful German brewery, more than respectable. Massive bloody roast pork meals they do there too.

Paulaner Hefe-Weizen (Hefe-Weissbier Naturtrüb)

Can Paulaner put flavour in a beer? Let's find out.

My first impression of the aroma from the bottle was frankly, 'a bin with a banana in it'. Others call it earthy. I call it not a great start.

Pours darkish, lovely frothy white head, takes well to a cold glass. In the wider format there's more fruit salad in the nose, quite nice.

I can't claim to be an expert on this style and there's a reason - most I've had have been fun for 100ml then novelty banana acts .. not really to my taste. This is far better for mine - light carbonation, good mix of fruity flavours with the wheatbeer mouthfeel makes it really easy to put away and a fun journey getting there too.

As an example of the style it's a winner for me no doubt. 7.5

Mad Brewers' Hoppy Hefe

After looking down the row of taps at this place and asking in vain for a porter, I ended up with the hoppy hefe brewed by Squires basically under a different name.

Bar staff said "it's 7% .. is that ok?" .. I almost laughed.

Hefeweizen is typically an unfiltered wheatbear with an often banana dominated flavour. This came out quite dark though oddly. Very little aroma either.

There's just a hint of banana in this one too but it's buried under sour citrus and possibly the insane carbonation also. I'm not sure where the hops were supposed to be. Not a lot of character throughout in fact.. just a kind of oddly placed bitterness. Can't think this is what the brewers were aiming for? I feel ripped off more than anything.

I didn't really get on with this beer at all. Sounds harsh but I can't think when I'd choose it again. 2.5