Achtung Baby

At Brew Day 3.0, I had the pleasure of hanging out with Muddy Mo. Muddy Mo is another one of Kansas City's beer bloggers, and an overall cool guy. He had brought some Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweisen, which led to a conversation about German beers. It seems German beers are slightly out of favor with craft beer enthusiasts, even though there are some really great German beers to be had. Perhaps it has to do with American craft brewers "Extreme" beer movement that steps away from traditional brewing. I'm sure we had some brilliant points, but the details of the conversation are a little fuzzy. To my surprise, a better part of a six pack was still in my cooler when I got home. Thanks Mo! I plan on returning the favor next Brew Day.

Kellerweis Hefeweisen is a new addition to the Sierra Nevada year round line up this year. It is brewed with a traditional open fermentation system that allows the yeast to develop additional layers that a closed system would not allow.

12 oz stubby bottle poured into weizen glass. There is a huge glob of yeast at the bottom, so it is absolutely worth it to swirl the last quarter of the contents before pouring into the glass. By doing that you can watch the milky yeast rotate through and mix with the hazy orange/peach colored body.

That extra shot of yeast makes the clove and banana esters just pop. It is a sweet tingly spice in the nose, and that's how you know it's a real hefeweizen. There are a lot of American unfiltered wheat beers that have hefeweizen on the label. An unfiltered wheat without cloves is an unfiltered wheat. Nothing wrong with that, but it is what it is.

Taste comes through with the cloves, but the tartness from the wheat keeps it from getting out of control. Nice light body with a mild creaminess to create a smooth experience. Even though it has a lighter body, I find hefes to be filling. After a couple I feel satisfied.

Let's pair a classic style German beer with some classic German electronic music.