RADICLE WHEAT (IDES OF JULY) ~ HENDERSON’S BREWING

Radicle Wheat was Henderson’s limited edition brew for July 2016. It was brewed for Toronto’s 55th Annual Toronto Art Exhibition. The beer uses prairie wheat and Belgian yeast in its recipe. Sampled on draught the beer poured a cloudy golden straw colour. The aroma contained the typical hefe aromas of orange peel, banana and coriander. This was a very nice example of the style and with lots of fruits esters ands spicy Belgian yeast. There was lots of fruit and a subtle sweetness before a crisp tart finish. Very pleasant on a hot day.

5.2% From Toronto 20 IBU

HEFFY ANNIVERSARY ~ MUSKOKA AND HOWE SOUND BREWING

This is collaboration between two breweries, each celebrating their twentieth anniversary this year: Muskoka in Collingwood, Ontario and Howe Sound in Squamish, British Columbia. This collaboration is a limited release. Heffy anniversary is a dry hopped hefeweizen. Sampled on draught the beer poured an opaque rich gold, with a billowy white head. Citrusy and floral hops were dominant in the aroma with more subdued banana, clove, and biscuity malts in the background. The hefe flavours lose some of their nuances, as they are overpowered by the hops. The beer starts with lots of hops, with a touch of grapefruit, and then some of the hefe flavours come through with faint fruity esters and wheaty grains. The beer had a medium mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. The finish was crisp, dry and slightly bitter. I enjoyed this one, but it could have been a little subtler.

5% from Collingwood, Ontario and Squamish, British Columbia 40 IBU

HEY DAY HEFEWEIZEN ~ GRANVILLE ISLAND

Sampled from a tin, this beer poured an opaque honey-amber colour with a generous white head. The head had good retention before fading into a cap and leaving some lacing. The nose was typical of a hefe with lots of clove, bready wheat and banana esters. There is also a subtle lemony citrus and peppery notes. There was not as much banana as I expected on the palette. Bready wheat, lemon and orange citrus are pronounced with sweet notes of pear and apple, clove and coriander are also present. The beer is light bodied, even a little watery at times, with average carbonation and a crisp off dry finish. Very refreshing, mild enough to have at breakfast, but nothing outstanding.

5% from Vancouver British Columbia IBU 15

COLLECTIVE ARTS ~ HEFEWEIZEN

Collective Arts has released three seasonal brews including this hefeweizen, which is a fabulous example of the style!! Sampled on draught, the beer poured a rich hazy golden colour, with fizzy off white head. The head had lots of snap and crackle before receding and leaving scant amounts of lace. The nose contained tons of banana, some bubble gum, wheaty malts, clove, pepper and spiciness along with a faint orchard fruits. The flavour also had lots of banana, some sweet peach, sweet wheaty malt, cloves, yeasty spices and a little citrusy acidity. The body was medium-lights and the carbonation was fine and lively. A fine beer for a summer’s day, I look forward to trying their gose and saison.
5.5% 27 IBU Hamilton, Ontario
Hops: German Magnum hops
Malt: pilsner and wheat

GORDON HILL HEFEWEIZEN ~ ROYAL CITY BREWERY

This hefeweizen is a summer seasonal. Sampled on draught the beer poured a slightly hazy golden amber, with lots of visible effervescence. Sitting atop my beer was a large off white head, which receded fairly quickly, leaving a cap and collar. The nose contained lots of ripe banana and other fruits, yeast, grassy straw, vanilla, clove and other spicy notes. This beer begins with malty sweetness followed by fruity esters, banana, with a subtle grassy bitterness throughout, and a spice at the end. The finish is dry but lingers. The carbonation was lively and the body was medium. A decent hefe.

5.2% from Guelph Ontario

QUEEN OF TARTS ~ JUNCTION CRAFT BREWING

Queen of Tarts is a hefeweizen with raspberries. Sampled on draught, the beer poured a hazy pinky-peach red hue with a small pale peach head. There is lots of tart raspberry on the nose. The raspberry is present but not overpowering, though there is a subtle tartness, I would have liked to see this amped up a little. The raspberry flavour is not overpowering and there is grain and fruit on the back end, before a gentle hops. A refreshing summer sipper.

4.8 % from Toronto (Junction area), Toronto 10 IBU

SCHÖFFERHOFER WEIZEN ~ BINDING BRAUEREI

Cracked open on a really hot day, this wheat beer, brewed in the Bavarian style was a welcome refresher. Sampled from a tin, the beer poured a hazy unfiltered (the live yeast is bottle conditioned) orange-gold with a cloudy white head. The head had good retention and left lacing as it receded. The aroma had a typical hefe notes, though a little subtler than others (clove, coriander, citrus, bananas, wheat, white bread). The taste is crisp and refreshing with the classic flavours of clove, banana, orange, wheat, a hint of herbals and yeasty spiciness. A touch of bitterness finishes it off. The depth of flavour, like the aroma, was gentler than other hefes. The body was on the light-medium side, the carbonation was moderate and the mouthfeel was somewhat creamy. This is a refreshing and very easy drinking beer, though it lacks a little depth.

5% from Frankfurt, Germany

WEST TORONTO WEIZEN ~ JUNCTION CRAFT BREWING

Sampled from a tin this hefeweizen poured a hazy golden straw colour with a good white head, which left some thin lacing. The nose had tonnes of banana and clove, with spice, lemony citrus and wheat. The flavour follows as expected, with lots of banana esters, fruitiness, spice and wheat. Subtle grassy hops finish it off. The beer was smooth, medium-light bodied, with soft carbonation. This is a pleasant example of the style, a good patio beer, but nothing spectacular.

5% from Toronto, Ontario 10 IBU

NO. 13 HEFEWEIZEN ~ DUGGAN'S

Sampled on draught, No. 13 from Duggan’s brewery is made in the traditional German style. It poured slightly murky light amber colour with orange inflections. It was darker than I expected from a hefe. It had a good whitish head that left spotty lacing as it disappeared. There was mild wheat, lots of banana, fruity esters and spicy phenols. The taste is much of what I would expect from a hefe, but really full flavoured - Lots of bananas and clove, with bready malts and spicy yeast. The finish has little bitterness but does have a drying finish (with hints of bubble gum). The beer which is slightly sweet is sweet but dry and does not linger on the taste buds. I really enjoyed this and think it is a superior example of the style.
6% from Toronto, Ontario 14 IBU

BAVARIAN BREAKFAST WHEAT ~ SILVERSMITH BREWING

This German style hefeweizen/weissbeier is another solid beer from Silversmith Brewing. Sampled on draught the beer poured an unfiltered hazy golden colour with touches or amber. It had a long lasting white head and lots of carbonation. The nose contained the classic banana and clove with some citrusy orange and lemon, wheat and yeast. The taste is much as would be expected: wheat, clove, citrus and a touch of banana. Spicy yeasts finish the beer with a spicy finish and a hop bitterness. This is a well executed beer, made with all natural ingredients and is unpasteurized. I have not been disappointed by Silversmith Brewing yet, and this is a lovely example of the style.

5.2% from Niagara on the lake, Ontario 16 IBU

WHEAT ~ SIDELAUNCH

Sidelaunch Brewing in the rebranded and renamed Denison’s beer. This beer was formerly Denison’s Weissbeer, now simply known as ‘Wheat.’ Sampled on draught in a weizen glass, this beer poured a bright cloudy yellow, with a white lasting head. The beer is billed as an authentic unfiltered Bavarian style Wheat beer and has a nose that reflects this. The smell is vibrant and fresh and contains lots of banana, ripe wheat, citrus, coriander and clove. The taste was quite fruity and fresh, as well as the tastes the nose would suggest, fresh fruit, lemon citrus, yeast and wheaty malts all have a part to play. I think this may be one of the better hefes I have had and a good example of the style. It is full of flavour and the extra fruitiness makes it very refreshing. The beer had a creamy mouthfeel and was moderately carbonated. A very enjoyable quaff and paired perfectly with fish tacos.
5.3 % from Collingwood, Ontario

CRANBERRY HOLIDAY HEFEWEIZEN ~ BIG RIG

Sampled on Draught. This one-off beer poured a murky light straw yellow with an apricot hue. It had a sizeable off white head. which dissipated to a cap and left lacy lace. It taste like summer to me. The nose and the taste were very typical of a hefeweizen … lots of banana, and clove and perhaps vanilla. The beer is not ‘cranberry-y” but the berries add a very subtle tartness and hint of fruit and give it a clean fruity finish. Sweet, light, refreshing.

5.5 % Kanata, Ontario 12 IBU

SUMMER WEISSE ~ MUSKOKA 

Muskoka’s Summerweisse is an unfiltered weisse beer available seasonally. It has no preservative an a relatively short shelf life, we sampled this from a tin, one week after the best before date. The beer poured a hazy yellow golden colour with a great white head and good retention. The aroma contained the classic hefe aromas: clove, banana, cloves, coriander, yeasty bread and a slight hint of bubble gum. The taste had lots of wheat, malt with a touch of orange and lemon citrus. Banana and clove were subtler but there. Subtle hops finished the beer. The carbonation was active and moderate. A refreshing summer drinking beer. A solid example of the style, but nothing fancy.

5% from Bracebridge, Ontario

WEISSE O’LANTERN ~ BEAU’S

Weisse O’Lantern is No. 13 in Beau’s Wild Oats Series and was part of the 2015 Oktoberfest four-pack.  It is a weisse beer, brewed with pumpkin (350 pounds of pumpkin go onto each batch), making it a new hybrid, a pumpkinweisse.  All ingredients are organic.  Sampled from a 60 mL bottle, the beer pours an orange hued gold, with a good creamy off white head.  The head lasts for a while, and leaves good amount of lacing as it dissipates.  The aroma is very typical of a weisse beer, with hints of pumpkin and citrus in the background, and in the forefront spices (clove and ginger), yeasts and bready malts.  The taste is also very typical of a weisse beer with bubble gum and banana, but also the spice (ginger, cinnamon, and clove), citrus peel and a very subtle pumpkin.  Cinnamon lingers in the aftertaste.  This is a very interesting hybrid, though if you were looking for a pumpkin beer I may start elsewhere - this tastes much more like a weisse.  Drinkable and much enjoyed, but a little steep in price.

 

5.6% from Vankleek Hills, Ontario    17 IBU

Hops: Wheat, pilsner, carafoam, caramunich

Malts: Organic Hallertau tradition

Other : orange peel, ginger, cinnamon and brewers yeast

AUTUMNUS ~ NICKEL BROOK  

Sampled on Draught.  Autumnus is a hefeweizen and a one-off brew form Nickel Brook   It pours a hazy light yellow with a small white head.  The aroma is quite floral with herbal and earthy-grassy notes.  Flavour is quite similar to the nose with lingering herbal and floral notes, and a touch of citrus and subtle spice.  There were no traces of bubble-gum or banana so often found in other hefes.   The beer had creaminess to it with a clean bitter finish.  Nice mix of wheat and hops.  Good beer for transitioning seasons.

5.7% from Burlington, Ontario

~MAD & NOISY HOP & WEIZEN ~ CREEMORE SPRINGS

“Mad and Noisy” seems to be an offshoot of Creemore Springs Brewing.  Creemore Springs was purchased by macro brewery Molson-Coors a number of years ago.  Someone has excellent lawyers, because from what I can tell Molson’s has taken a really hands off approach, letting Creemore Springs do there thing. (A hundred years behind their time) - there was no mention of Molson’s on the tin at all.

Both a German Weizen beer and American Pale Ale inspired the beer.   The mashups is supposed to blend the grapefruit flavours of the IPA with the bubble-gum and banana of a Weizen.

The beer was sampled out a tin.  It poured a hazy unfiltered pale yellow colour with a lasting white head.   The aroma contains citrus, bread dough, mild spice and banana.  Flavour begins with a little banana and bread, followed by citrus (especially lemon) and a very subtle spice (cloves?).  The beer finishes with a little hoppy bitterness.   An enjoyable light wheat beer, great for summer.

 

4.7%  Creemore, Ontario    17 IBU