After the last two posts being somewhat lackluster, I decided to revert back to my old fail safe - New Glarus beers. This is part of the Thumbprint series, and is only available for about 3 months. With the Thumbprint series, New Glarus turns Dan Carey, one of their owners (and a master brewer, I might add) loose with whatever he wants to create. Dan considers brewing beer his own personal form of expressing himself in art, so cheers to innovativeness and passion in the brewing process!
Vitals:
Name: Imperial Weizen
Style: Hefeweizen
IBU: ??
ABV: 9.7%
Gravity: ~20 deg. Plato
Purchased at: Trixie's Liquor
Descriptions:
Appearance: THIS BEER IS GORGEOUS! Pour reveals an extremely hazy light orange, and probably the cloudiest beer I've ever had. About 2.5 fingers of bone-white fluffy head (I had to skim some off the top because I couldn't finish pouring the beer), which has extremely good retention. All of this makes sense when you think of the hops they've put into this baby, combined with the fact that it's a hefe.
Smell: Bananas and cloves are strong on the nose here; the beer has a very sweet smell. This is somewhat offset (in a good way) by a biting citrus hop smell and a slight burn of alcohol on the nostrils (reminds me of Anchorman and Sex Panther..."it STINGS the nostrils", but most definitely does not smell like "pure gasoline" :-P ).
Taste: This beer is extremely well balanced with sweet vs. bitter. The wheat, bananas, and maybe grapefruit give you all the sweetness you need. There is a certain clove spiciness to the beer, which is nice. Lastly, the bitter citrus hops roll over top of the sweetness about halfway through the taste and continues on through the finish. The ONLY complaint I have is that the alcohol taste is slightly overstated and detracts a little bit from an otherwise amazing taste.
Mouthfeel: Heavy body (as evidenced by the nearly 20 deg. Plato, which is HUGE for a hefe of any sort). The beer is highly carbonated it seems and it tickles your tongue, turning slightly astringent as the bitterness takes over.
Overall Grade: A-
Comments: First of all I need to just sit back and recognize that this is SUCH an innovative beer. A+ on the creativity and effort piece, so cheers to New Glarus and Dan Carey. I love how the wheat is combined with citrus hops to provide a well-balanced taste. Most hefes could not pull off the hop aspect to the degree that this one does. Try this out NOW if you like hefes and hops. The 4 pack that the beer comes in will be more than enough for you; I suggest one per drinking session, and no more than 2 or else it'll put you right on your butt with the 9.7% ABV it boasts. Seriously, go pick up a 4-pack, you know you want to!
Cheers,
Hurls
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