Beer of the Weekend #154: In-Heat Wheat
Tonight my beerware collection lost a member. I accidentally broke my Hacker-Pschorr 300 ml weizen glass in the sink after washing it. I was shaking out the lingering water and slammed the lip into the side of the metal basin.
In the grand scheme of things it’s no big deal — I will get a replacement tomorrow at Dirty John’s — but I feel really bad. Though I bought it here, I took it back to California with me in 2008. It served me well in The Golden State the few times I used it. Each piece of my beerware collection is like family to me, so it’s hard to lose a crystal loved one.
Rest in peace, Hacker-Pschorr glass.
[The sorrowful melody of taps.]
The beer of the weekend is In-Heat Wheat, brewed by the Flying Dog Brewery of Frederick, Maryland.
I chose In-Heat Wheat for the Hunter S. Thompson connection. After finishing Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72 on Sunday, I thought it was fitting to drink a beer from a brewery that takes inspiration from his writing.
Serving type: Six 12-ounce bottles. There is a cryptic code on the label, but no discernable freshness date.
Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. I should have poured it straight because the head was pathetic for a hefe; I only got about a finger of white foam from a careful tip. Including the loosened yeast from the bottom of the bottle, the color is a cloudy gold with a hint of orange or amber.
Smell: Better than the pour. (That, I suppose, is my fault.) The aroma is very true to style: prominent yeast with banana and clove spice. There is just a hint of apple at play, as well.
Taste: Nothing complex and mirrors the smell. Yeast with banana, but the clove spice pairs with pepper and is much more prominent, which is appreciable. It gives the beer a nice flavor kick that separates it from the likes of Blue Moon. There is a salty spritz to the aftertaste, almost like Alka-Seltzer, which I don’t care for much.
Drinkability: Overall not a bad brew. It has a thick mouthfeel, as well, commanding respect. However, I would rather splurge on a genuine Bavarian version any day.
Fun facts about In-Heat Wheat:
-Style: Hefeweizen.
-Price: $6.99/six at John’s Grocery in Iowa City. I realize I’ve been ignoring the vast selections of brew at New Pi and the area Hy-Vee’s, but Dirty John’s is the beer authority. Plus, along with New Pi, it’s locally owned, so I will keep my beer dollar going there for the time being.
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: 4.7 percent ABV. It’s printed right on the carrier and bottle label.
-Food pairings: The In-Heat Wheat webpage on the Flying Dog site suggests fish, chicken, and salads.
-IBU: 12, which is also printed on the bottle.
-I think I’ve mentioned this before, but Flying Dog prints very informative light/dark and malty/hoppy line scales on the carrier.
-HST drank a good amount of beer during his travels for FL ’72, and in a few places he mentions what he drank. He drank a lot of Ballantine on the east coast, and while at a bar in San Francisco, covering a Nixon campaign stop, he drank a Tuborg, a Danish pale lager I had never heard of before. I’ll have to check if Dirty John’s has it.
-You may have noticed I used a different portrait staging area this week. I don’t really care for the bland, mug shot pics I’ve been taking from my end table, so I used the edge of my desk. It looks a lot better.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
In the grand scheme of things it’s no big deal — I will get a replacement tomorrow at Dirty John’s — but I feel really bad. Though I bought it here, I took it back to California with me in 2008. It served me well in The Golden State the few times I used it. Each piece of my beerware collection is like family to me, so it’s hard to lose a crystal loved one.
Rest in peace, Hacker-Pschorr glass.
[The sorrowful melody of taps.]
The beer of the weekend is In-Heat Wheat, brewed by the Flying Dog Brewery of Frederick, Maryland.
I chose In-Heat Wheat for the Hunter S. Thompson connection. After finishing Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72 on Sunday, I thought it was fitting to drink a beer from a brewery that takes inspiration from his writing.
Serving type: Six 12-ounce bottles. There is a cryptic code on the label, but no discernable freshness date.
Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. I should have poured it straight because the head was pathetic for a hefe; I only got about a finger of white foam from a careful tip. Including the loosened yeast from the bottom of the bottle, the color is a cloudy gold with a hint of orange or amber.
Smell: Better than the pour. (That, I suppose, is my fault.) The aroma is very true to style: prominent yeast with banana and clove spice. There is just a hint of apple at play, as well.
Taste: Nothing complex and mirrors the smell. Yeast with banana, but the clove spice pairs with pepper and is much more prominent, which is appreciable. It gives the beer a nice flavor kick that separates it from the likes of Blue Moon. There is a salty spritz to the aftertaste, almost like Alka-Seltzer, which I don’t care for much.
Drinkability: Overall not a bad brew. It has a thick mouthfeel, as well, commanding respect. However, I would rather splurge on a genuine Bavarian version any day.
Fun facts about In-Heat Wheat:
-Style: Hefeweizen.
-Price: $6.99/six at John’s Grocery in Iowa City. I realize I’ve been ignoring the vast selections of brew at New Pi and the area Hy-Vee’s, but Dirty John’s is the beer authority. Plus, along with New Pi, it’s locally owned, so I will keep my beer dollar going there for the time being.
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: 4.7 percent ABV. It’s printed right on the carrier and bottle label.
-Food pairings: The In-Heat Wheat webpage on the Flying Dog site suggests fish, chicken, and salads.
-IBU: 12, which is also printed on the bottle.
-I think I’ve mentioned this before, but Flying Dog prints very informative light/dark and malty/hoppy line scales on the carrier.
-HST drank a good amount of beer during his travels for FL ’72, and in a few places he mentions what he drank. He drank a lot of Ballantine on the east coast, and while at a bar in San Francisco, covering a Nixon campaign stop, he drank a Tuborg, a Danish pale lager I had never heard of before. I’ll have to check if Dirty John’s has it.
-You may have noticed I used a different portrait staging area this week. I don’t really care for the bland, mug shot pics I’ve been taking from my end table, so I used the edge of my desk. It looks a lot better.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
Comments
Post a Comment