Capsule reviews – Magic Hat Odd Notion Irish Red Ale; Southern Tier Heavy Weizen
I ordered the Magic Hat on the general principle of always trying something new.* It came across as unexpectedly thin for the amber color and substantial head, and the added-in spices were a bit forward for my taste. It reminded me of what would happen if I stirred cinnamon and nutmeg into a Yuengling Black & Tan.
Southern Tier’s Heavy Weizen sat on the other end of the spectrum. Instead of a thin mouth feel like most hefe’s, Heavy is relatively huge for a hefe-wiezen at 8% ABV and chewy in the mouth like a Belgian. The beer nonetheless has that shyness that turns me away from most hefe’s; I normally prefer the emphatic character of barley plus a healthy fistful of hops, yet the combination worked here. I would strongly recommend Heavy Weizen for people who a) don’t like hefe’s, especially (spit) Blue Moon, and b) don’t plan on putting away seven or eight like you can with Hoegarrten.
***
(*) I make an exception for Southern Tier’s Un Earthly. New stuff will have to wait when that magic brew is on tap.
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Chat about whatever.
Jake
McCain’s latest gaffe. It’s a ballbuster, and Obama’s already put the dagger in.
Awesome. Just awesome.
Incertus
Hillary’s campaign acknowledges that Florida and Michigan did indeed break the rules.
Gus
I know Tim says to chat about whatever, but shouldn’t this be a beer thread? Bell’s Oberon: great summer beer or the greatest summer beer?
Punchy
Tim, 2 questions:
1) What’s a “hefe”?
2) are you still home-brewing, and if not, why?
cleek
that write-up is very confusing
a wheat beer.
Tim F.
1) Hefe-weizen is a style of beer made using half wheat grain and half barley grain. It’s usually a bit too shy, flavor-wise, for my taste.
2) I have been brewing up a storm. Graduating forced a break of a couple of months, but there’s a big stout due to get brewed as soon as I wrap up some lingering responsibilities.
We’ll just have to see about that. I’ll post a review when I get my hands on a few.
g-rant
Teh funny
Dan
I want to spend the summer sampling. What’s wrong with the Blue Moon?
Other recs? My taste so far runs to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, but I don’t have that much experience beyond that and the Millers and Budwiesers.
Incertus
I don’t think there’s anything at all wrong with Blue Moon. Depending on what part of the country you’re in, Dan, if you can get your hands on anything made by the New Belgium Brewing Company, you’re probably doing pretty well, and I’m a sucker for anything brewed by Anchor Brewing out of San Francisco.
Jake
Isn’t it brewed by Coors? I’d say that’s about as wrong as it gets.
Jake
Highland Brewing Co’s Gaelic Ale is, ahem, teh awesome.
Dan
Anchor Steam, right. I’ve had that in SF. I’ll have to look for that in NYC. NYC is actually not too friendly to off-brand and micro brews. I will have to hunt.
Any other recs?
Tim F.
My problem with Blue Moon:
1) It’s made by Coors.
2) It tastes like it’s made by Coors.
jibeaux
I like Hefeweizens. I like any beer that you can put a citrus fruit in.
A challenge: I spend a lot of time at the pool in the summer. The pool allows beer, but does not allow glass containers. So far the pinnacle of canned beer I have been able to find is Tecate. You can, of course, add lime to Tecate, and I do like it just fine. But are there any other good canned beers out there, for variety?
Jake
This article sums up the problem nicely. They really have thinned it out by my tastes.
Kevin
I like Hefeweizens as well, although the American ones really aren’t nearly as good as Franziskaner.
cleek
you can find Anchor Steam anywhere. it’s in every grocery store in NC – it just costs $10/6.
and, if you’re throwing a party, you absolutely must buy Blue Moon – chicks can’t get enough of that stuff.
jibeaux
It’s also just occurred to me that boxed wine might fit the bill. White trash summer, here I come!
kindness
I’m telling you, if you like Belgian style ales, the Anderson Valley Brewing Co’s Brother David Triple is one of the best you can get brewed here in the states w/o it becoming a Barleywine. The Double is good to, more of a stout though.
Tim F.
Get some Dale’s. No contest.
Jake
More evidence that there is something fundamentally flawed with the brew.
The Disgruntled Chemist
I’m telling you, if you like Belgian style ales, the Anderson Valley Brewing Co’s Brother David Triple is one of the best you can get brewed here in the states w/o it becoming a Barleywine.
I’m a huge fan of beers from Mendocino County in general, but there is an American made Belgian-style triple that is much better than Brother David: Three Philosophers from Ommegang Brewing (Cooperstown, NY).
Andrew
A boss cow?
The most interesting new beer I’ve had recently is a hybrid belgian/ipa, Chouffe Houblon. It actually succeeds in combining the great attributes of each style.
The Disgruntled Chemist
And if we’re talking about good summer beers, I have to suggest New Belgium Springboard Ale (if you’re somewhere you can get New Belgium beers).
jibeaux
I have never seen that here and don’t recognize the picture and the intertoobz are not helping me w/r/t where to buy. But if one stumbles into my path, I will try it.
Neal
I actually reallly enjoy their Liberty Ale, moreso than the Anchor Steam…but I did have an Anchor Steam last night…and it was lovely.
This is demonstrably true but I’m still not a huge fan. My fiance and her parents love the stuff…so I do buy it here and there.
I would recommend anything by Kona Brewing Company. There’s a lager and an IPA that I have had and they are stellar.
Alas, more than anything else, when it comes to daily drinking, I’m a Yuengling guy. I want that shit in an IV.
jibeaux
Upon further research, it appears that Dale’s is only recently available here due our lege raising the cap on alcohol %age just a year or so ago…but still can’t find where to buy. I’ll keep looking.
cleek
yup. all their stuff is good, frankly.
The Disgruntled Chemist
I second this. Liberty Ale is what Fat Tire would taste like if they threw in some hops. It’s delicious.
Jesus, moving to the East Coast is going to suck. All the beers I like are out here in CA!
jibeaux
I’m pretty sure interstate commerce still exists. Heck, with what you’ll save on your mortgage you can probably have it FedExed, if not.
The important thing to check will be whether there’s a cap on the %age like we used to have. We have way more interesting beers now.
Punchy
Sounds German. Like something Obama’s great uncle would have drank with Hitler at
the concy camp Auschwitzhappy-fun summer camp Buchewald.Incertus
What I love about the Liberty Ale is that it’s not overhopped. It’s balanced. Too many microbrews today seem to be trying to make hop tea instead of beer. I like hops, but they’re a flavor enhancer, not the flavor itself.
Blue Raven
I recently tried Anderson Valley Brewing Co’s Summer Ale, AKA the Cervesa Crema. Not for someone who wants to chew their beer and have it bite back, but also not weak in the least.
Andrew
It’s rough. I have to go all of the way to the local supermarket and reach all of the way up to the top shelf to get Anchor Steam and Liberty Ale here.
brendancalling
not a big fan of magic hat. the names are too cutesy and the taste is… meh.
I’m enjoying a Philadelphia Brewing Company Newbold IPA. Hit’s the spot!
Breezeblock
ALERT!
Stock up on Saranac and Brooklyn. The FX Matt Brewery has/had a serious fire in the bottling plant. Apparently the stuff is flying off the shelves near Utica.
The Disgruntled Chemist
I’m more worried about the beers that I’m pretty sure don’t have national distribution. Stone, for example, or Lagunitas. Hell, I don’t even think you can get most of the New Belgium stuff in a lot of places (I’ll be in Maryland).
Gus
Depending on where you’re moving on the East Coast, you’ll probably find something to love. If you’re in New England, I like Smuttynose and Magic Hat. Oomegang, as a couple people have pointed out is incapable of making a beer that isn’t excellent. Harpoon IPA is pretty darn good. Brooklyn Brewing makes a number of great beers. That’s just what I’ve had on a couple trips out there. And of course as others have pointed out you can get Anchor everywhere. It’s really a great time to be a beer drinker. And if you’re ever jonesing for a taste from home, join beeradvocate.com and trade with someone from home.
Best beer in a can is the Twin Cities own Surly Furious. Unfortunately for those of you who don’t live here, it’s not readily available outside the area.
Andrew
Yeah, I really want Lagunitas to get distribution in NC, but it is available (bottles, on tap) in a number of East coast states.
You can absolutely find Stone and New Belgium pretty easily too.
Andrew
You can get all of these basically anywhere on the east coast.
The Disgruntled Chemist
You can absolutely find Stone and New Belgium pretty easily too.
Good to know. I’m a fan of Magic Hat, too, at least the ones I’ve had. I’m sure I’ll be able to find a bunch of stuff that I like out there; as Gus says, it’s a great time to be a beer fan.
Whammer
Is that what’s wrong with Fat Tire, not enough hops? I just can’t seem to grok Fat Tire…….
Red Hook Longhammer IPA is pretty much my “house beer”.
On another note, I see that Michelob now has several “micro-style” beers, however I never actually see them in stores. Once upon a time there was an Anheuser Busch amber ale product that was test-marketed in Berkeley that I thought was quite good (circa 1994), but it never seemed to catch on.
kindness
Digruntaled Chemist:
Sorry, No one out here carries any of the Cooperstown beers but when you are back east I recommend
The Ginger Man 34th ST NYC. They have all the good stuff, but it is a yuppie place….Ahh well, have another beer and who cares what idiots some folks are.
tom.a
If you’re near San Fran you can get Anchor Steam in plastic bottles, need to get it at the brewery, though it’s been a few years since I’ve been there.
tom.a
Forgot to mention, if you’re in the NW, anything from Bridgeport Brewing, their IPA is one of the best beers I’ve ever had.
Billy K
Just start buying stuff at random. You’ll never know what you like til you try it, and you may be surprised at your tastes. It’s a long, but enjoyable journey.
Billy K
Just start buying stuff at random. You’ll never know what you like til you try it, and you may be surprised at your tastes. It’s a long, but enjoyable journey.
Billy K
Damn it – I swear I only hit “sumbit” once!
tom.a
sumbit eh? Some bit of beer sampling going on already is what I think!
Mazareth
I agree that Bluemoon is crap. Although my tastes go more toward the hoppier ales, Maibocks and the like, I still like a Weissbier every now and then.
My benchmark Weißbiers are Augustiner, Erdinger and Maisel’s out of Bayreuth. As far as domestics Wießes go, most of them are on the weak side for me. I’m fortunate to live in Wisconsin, so I have a good selection of micros to choose from.
My current faves–in no particular order–are Washington Island Wheat from Capitol and from New Glarus, Dancing Man, Copper Kettle and the latest “Unplugged.” A few years back Capitol brewed what they called “Klosterweizen,” which I understand to have been their take on a monastary style Weiß…
zoe from pittsburgh
Heh, whydontchalayoff the women don’t drink good beer crapola. There are as many women who like GOOD BEER as there are men who exclusively drink Budweiser or Coors Lite or whatever else people mistakenly classify as beer.
I’m currently drinking a Bell’s Special Double Cream Stout– yum!!! It’s a Michigan label and I don’t think I’ve tasted a bad beer from them yet. Great Lakes Brewing out of Cleveland is another favorite– Edmund Fitzgerald Porter rocks!
As for CA beers– Anchor Steam is yummy although Marin Brewing Company is yummier, albeit harder to find. Their San Quentin BreakOut Stout is delicious. (The brewery is a few miles from San Quentin, hence the joke.)
I prefer rich, darker beers– stouts, porters– but nothing says summer like a hefeweizen with a nice citris kick.
The Grand Panjandrum
TP is a quadruppel but it does rock. They also make a saison (Hennepin) that is my choice for Best. Summa. Beer. Evah.
Thanks for the tip on the Heavy Weizen. My brother has been drinking it since Uncle sent him on his European vacation 25 years ago. I never acquired a taste for it for the same reasons you don’t care for it. Your write up is intriguing so I will have to try it.
Ska Brewing Company make a pretty good Imperial Porter (Nefarious Ten Pin) and Imperial IPA (Decadent) that isn’t bad either. Well worth a tasting, and remarkably good considering most Colorado microbrews are overrated.
If any of you ever make it to the Albuquerque metro area I highly recommend Turtle Mountain Brewing Company over in Rio Rancho. The brewmaster knows his stuff. They don’t distribute but they have decent bar food and the brews are excellent.
cleek
that sucks.
FX Matt makes some of the Brooklyns, too (which are also yum-o).
Gus
If you get a chance try Steamworks Brewery’s Third Eye Pale Ale. Same thing, nice malty sweetness balanced with (not overwhelmed by) hops.
Whammer
Mazareth, those are some fancy fonts you got goin’ on……..
tom.a
Stopped in the grocer after reading all these comments and the Redhook Longhammer IPA was in. I agree it’d make a good house beer, not as heavy or strong as most IPA’s I drink. I’m not a Fat Tire fan either, that chocolately undertone is too much for me and oddly enough, my neighbors are from London and they absolutely love it, of course they serve it at near room temperature which doesn’t help that beer at all.
Keith
Their x-mas ale is my favorite of theirs, although I drank all of the bottles I was aging in a drunken fit of not feeling like driving to the store…also drank two year-old bottles of 120 Minute IPA that way :(
I still have yet to find Sam Adams Irish Red anywhere, and I’ve been all over the place trying to find it. It kills me because I love reds, and SA is my favorite
Perry Como
a) Blue Moon is ass, but it isn’t a hefe “style”. It’s a bad imitation of a Belgian white.
2) There are some nice breweries on the East coast (Victory – specifically Golden Monkey if you like high ABV wheatish beers), but West coast beers are in general better. I’d kill to get a Fat Tire as a well beer again.
Math.sqrt(-1)) Ommegang Witte is some fine beer, if you like that sort of thing (I do!). So is a Hitachino White.
Hops are overrated.
metalgrid
If that was your first intro to Magic Hat brews I can see how you’ll be disappointed. On the other hand, my first intro to them was via a growler of their seasonal Feast of Fools stout. As a result, I encountered similar disappointment when trying their other options which fell short of expectations after FoF.
It all comes down to taste I guess, despite liking most of their offerings and thinking FoF is their crowning achievement, I have many friends who think FoF ain’t all that compared to Braggot or Batch 622.
Dan
I just read an ad for Blue Moon. It is distributed by Coors, but manufactured in Canada.
RodeoBob
I’m confused. Both Blue Moon and Hoegarrten are whitbiers (or “Belgian White” style), not ‘wheat-beers’. (Hefeweitzen) Whitbeers are pale and cloudy, with sweet citrus and spice flavors, while hefeweitzens are golden and cloudy, and frequently have sour citrus flavors added. (i.e. slice of lemon) Comparing the two styles is like comparing oranges to lemons… doesn’t really work well.
Beerwise, I’d offer up the following considerations:
1.) If you liked Anderson Valley’s Brother David, I strongly recommend Brother Thelonius from North Coast Brewing in CA, and the belgians from Allagash brewing out of Maine. Allagash’s barrel-aged beers are purely sublime, though difficult to find.
2.) For domesticly-produced hefeweitzen, the best I’ve had is the El Hefe, made by Hale’s Ales out of Seattle, though sadly it’s no longer listed as a current beer on their webpage.