Beer 243/365 – Great Lakes Lorelei Dunkelweizen

Style: Dunkelweizen

ABV: 5.10%

Purchased at: Great Lakes Brewery – Cleveland Ohio

What makes this beer different: One of the doughiest tasting beers ever.

Will I be drinking this again: I wish they bottled the stuff, but they don’t so probably not.

Grade: A

7/9/2010: Decided to take a weekend away with the girlfriend to the great mistake by the lake: Cleveland Ohio. Okay seriously I feel bad for the city though, they just lost Lebron James to the Miami Heat. Lebron was literally the only thing this city had sports-wise. We were there the day after the announcement, and great lakes already started brewing a beer called “Quitness;” A dry hopped ipa that will leave a bitter aftertaste.

I always scratched my head when I read reviews on Beer Advocate describing beer as doughy, but I now understand without question. It smells a lot like when you roll out fresh dough for bread, and a bit nutty. The flavor is like taking a bite into a slice of banana bread right out of the oven. Fresh grains, banana, a little bit of nuttiness, a hint of vanilla, and some fresh hops in the background. The mouth-feel is perfect for the style, medium to medium heavy. Great Lakes doesn’t offer a lot of brewpub exclusives, but this one made up for the lack of selection. Very tasty.

Picture of the day: Haha tell me that this isn’t the truth.

Beer 140/365 – Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel

Style: Dunkleweizen

ABV: 5.3%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman Ohio

What makes this beer different: Banana bread in a bottle.

Will I be drinking this again: Yes when i am in the mood for bananas!

Grade: A-

3/28/2010: This was one of the few times I just grabbed a beer on a whim, without knowing anything about it. To be quite honest I don’t know a whole lot about Eastern European beer really. A lot of that has to do with its sparsity in my area, and when places do have it their labels aren’t instantly recognizable. Luckily on this random grab I picked a winner.

My taste buds must be getting trained pretty well because my take on this beer was very similar to many of the reviews on BA. Smell and taste really are like banana nut bread. Starts with some bready wheat flavor, A lot of banana, a little bit of nuts. Sweeter than your average wheat beer. Nicely carbonated. My only complaint with this one is the mouthfeel is a bit light. A little bit on the watery side. Other than that its a very solid beer.

Picture of the day: The hamburglar has been spotted.

Beer 114/365 – New Glarus Black Wheat

Style: Dunkelweizen

Purchased at: Stillcrazyafterallthesebeers.com

What makes this beer different: Smoke/chocolate flavor in a wheat beer

Will I be drinking this again: Its not brewed any more but I would yes.

Grade: A-

3/2/2010: This beer is one of many sent to me on the house by Guy and Gary Montessero over at Still Crazy After All These Beers. I have been dying to drink some of the beers they sent me but wanted to finish off redesigning their site first. The make a kick-ass weekly show on.. you guessed it; beer. They cover beer shows, interview brewmasters, and give their thoughts on beer in general. Go check their show out, it will be worth your time.

So about the New Glarus Black Wheat. Has the typical wheat beer smell, with a bit of a sour note similar to a wild ale smell. Taste is crazy complex. First thing I get is smoke flavor, some sour (from the yeast), and a tiny hit of cherry and chocolate at the end. Crazy combination of flavors but it works. Its almost like a wheat beer and a porter had a love child. Very very original flavor. Mouthfeel is a bit heavy for a dunkelweizen, but its really good. This one was a borderline A. If you can get your hands one it, give it a try.

Picture of the day: Is the rest of the universe even trying anymore?