Beer of the Weekend #152: Haystack Wheat
The students are back in IC, and it was evident last night when I snagged this weekend’s beer at Dirty John’s. I pulled into the parking lot and had a short, Mexican Stand-off with some idiot taking up the entire path to the parking spots. Inside, a keg was being returned, blonde sorority chicks in Daisy Duke’s were carrying sixers of Michelob Ultra Pomegranate Raspberry out of the walk-in cooler, and I had to stand in line at the registers for about five minutes. No worries. It’s IC at its best: ready to drink.
What I’m ready to drink this weekend is Haystack Wheat, brewed by the Left Hand Brewing Company of Longmont, Colorado.
Serving type: Six 12-ounce bottles. The “Bottled On” date is “04 21 10.”
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. Tons of thick, white head, which was my fault. The color is a cloudy, deep straw with an amber hue.
Smell: Nice smell from an American hefe; very true to style. Bananas, cloves, a little apple, and a tingle of hop spice.
Taste: The flavor is not as enticing, which is a surprise given the solid appearance and smell. Weak banana, just a hint of cloves and apple, and no hops. It’s on the sweet, orangeade side, and a little watered down.
Drinkability: Haystack Wheat is decent at best. It’s a nice alternative to the macro hefes and wits sold in the US, but is definitely in a lower division compared to the proper stuff from Das Vaterland.
Fun facts about Haystack Wheat:
-Style: Hefeweizen.
-Price: $8.99/sixer at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: BA recommends the default range of 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: 5 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: Fuck it — I want to drink. Drink it while eating Landjägers.
-IBU: 17.
-Gravity: 12.5º Plato.
-Color: 7 SRM, which Left Hand classifies as “Cloudy Straw.”
-Carrier nerdiness: The bottom of the carrier features this cool info about Left Hand:
Does anyone else think it’s a stretch to say they named the brewery after the chief when they used the English translation? Either way, I suppose it’s cool.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B-.
What I’m ready to drink this weekend is Haystack Wheat, brewed by the Left Hand Brewing Company of Longmont, Colorado.
Serving type: Six 12-ounce bottles. The “Bottled On” date is “04 21 10.”
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. Tons of thick, white head, which was my fault. The color is a cloudy, deep straw with an amber hue.
Smell: Nice smell from an American hefe; very true to style. Bananas, cloves, a little apple, and a tingle of hop spice.
Taste: The flavor is not as enticing, which is a surprise given the solid appearance and smell. Weak banana, just a hint of cloves and apple, and no hops. It’s on the sweet, orangeade side, and a little watered down.
Drinkability: Haystack Wheat is decent at best. It’s a nice alternative to the macro hefes and wits sold in the US, but is definitely in a lower division compared to the proper stuff from Das Vaterland.
Fun facts about Haystack Wheat:
-Style: Hefeweizen.
-Price: $8.99/sixer at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: BA recommends the default range of 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: 5 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: Fuck it — I want to drink. Drink it while eating Landjägers.
-IBU: 17.
-Gravity: 12.5º Plato.
-Color: 7 SRM, which Left Hand classifies as “Cloudy Straw.”
-Carrier nerdiness: The bottom of the carrier features this cool info about Left Hand:
The Left Hand Brewing Company was founded in September of 1993 by Eric Wallace and Dick Doore, with the first batch of beer being brewed on 6 January 1994. [Day-month-year, eh? Someone spent time abroad.]
The name Left Hand comes from the Arapahoe Indian word “niwot” which means left hand. Niwot was an Arapahoe Indian Chief who wintered with his tribe in the Boulder Valley area of Colorado. There is a creek, a canyon, a mountain, and now an award-winning brewery named after Chief Niwot.
Does anyone else think it’s a stretch to say they named the brewery after the chief when they used the English translation? Either way, I suppose it’s cool.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B-.
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