Beer of the Weekend #107: Mahr’s Weisse

My parents saved me a bottle of Hefe“r”weissen, and I drank it tonight. It was just a little taste of summer on this -6ºF winter night.

The beer tonight is the last of the Christmas beers my cousin gave me: Mahr’s Weisse brewed by the Mahr’s Bräu of Bamberg, Germany.


Serving type: One 16.9-ounce (.5 liter) bottle.

Appearance: Poured into a half liter weizen glass. I think this bottle was on the shelf a little too long. Poured a clear, deep straw yellow, but I noticed a huge hunk of dark yeast at the bottom as I swirled the remainder. I managed to break it loose and pour it into the glass. After that the color darkened to a diarrhea dark yellow/brown, and larger pieces of the yeast settled to the bottom. Surprisingly little head developed for a hefe. It doesn’t look very appetizing.

Smell: Prominent sparkling apple cider aroma. At first I thought grapes, thinking it was skunked (and I’m far from convinced this bottle is in good condition), but I had to search for the right match from my memory, and, ironically, the Meier’s brand sparkling ciders that we drank as kids on Thanksgiving fit best. It lacks all the other typical scents of a good hefe: no banana or cloves.

Taste: Very weak. The sparkling apple cider from the smell dominates, and it reminds me of flat 7-Up. This is, no doubt, a bad bottle.

Drinkability: I have the glass half empty, and I’m seriously debating whether or not to dump the rest. I may want to stay away from the dark chunks of yeast that settled to the bottom. Yeah — I’m dumping it out. I’ll have to review this one again, as this is the store’s fault for not pulling this from the self.

Fun facts about Mahr’s Weisse:

-Price: It was a gift, so who knows.

-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.

-Alcohol content: The back label reads 4.9 percent ABV.

-Food pairings: BA recommends (when drinking a good bottle, that is) German cuisine, tangy cheeses (like Brick, Edam, and Feta), salad, and most meats.

-This is, unfortunately, the only bad beer (literally) my cousin has given me for Christmas. Don’t worry, Brian; it wasn’t your fault.


The Quiet Man’s grade: D.

Comments

Popular Posts