Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/288975
50 / the tasting panel / april 2014 Hale's Ales El Jefe Weizen Ale to the chief! El Jefe has a beautifully rich blond-haze color and a soft, foamy mouthfeel. The lovely white-fruit flavors jazz it up with plenty of refined spice on the palate. A very accomplished ringer for a Bavarian brew from this Seattle outfit. Only 4.8 abv, so quaff away. Schneider Weisse Original From what purports to be Bavaria's oldest wheat-beer brewery (dating back, not to the Middle Ages, but to 1872), Schneider Weisse is a drink- able piece of German brewing history, a throwback to the 19th century of Bavaria's mad King Ludwig and based on the original recipe of founder, Georg Schneider. (The sixth Georg Schneider is now in charge.) Dusky hue, the color of overripe apricot pulp. Romantic-era flavors make it strangely haunting. MANNEKEN BRUSSEL IMPORTS Franziskaner Weissbier Naturtrüb Naturtrüb is German for "naturally cloudy," but this crisp, deep stunner is a beer for a bright sunny day—at once serious as a Jesuit, yet as playful as St. Francis on a romp with a pair of chipmunks. Notes of woodfire, rancio, wheat chaff and complex hops. A world- class brew full of providential goodness. A-B INBEV Tucher Kristall Weizen A bit shy on the nose, on the palate this creamy Bavarian is softer than a goose-down featherbed, so lusciously sensual you hardly want to swallow. Subdued malt tones with a hint of citrus and a dry, mineral fin- ish. Not quite on a par with Bavaria's greatest brews, but the superb mouthfeel keeps me coming back for just one more mouthful. TUCHER USA Widmer Brothers Hefe Now that the zephyrs of spring have started playing around the old hammock, one wishes for a warm-weather brew. This American hefeweizen comes readily to hand. More grainy and aromatic (like Cream of Wheat) than citrusy on the nose, this appropriately cloudy hefe surfs onto the palate with sweet malty tones and a velvety mouthfeel. Rich and yet entirely thirst-quenching, it leaves a trail of bitter hops in its wake. CRAFT BREW ALLIANCE, INC. GADD'S SIXPACK Bavarian Blowout HOWEVER YOU SPELL IT, HEFEWEIZEN IS EASY TO DRINK by David Gadd CELEBRATING 4/20 Sweetwater 420 Pale Ale It's not a hefeweizen, but how could I resist including this in the April sixpack? The iridescent copper-shellac color is damp- ened only by a gathering of languid brown yeast cells suspended in Brownian motion (just Google it) within the enticing body of this Atlanta brew, now available in cans in the Southeast. Assertive but not aggressive hops give it just enough oomph to send the papillae into overdrive. A superlative East Coast version of a West Coast pale ale. TP0414_034-71.indd 50 3/21/14 2:41 PM