Advent Day 2: Hoamat Weissbier

It’s Day 2 of the Brewer’s Advent Calendar that I bought from Costco back in September. The box I should mention is pretty big and heavy considering it has 24 500ml cans in it. I find trying to break the cans out of their little Advent prison cells is a bit challenging. They are pretty snug in the honeycomb box. I had to turn it on the side and give it a shake which almost caused Day 21 to try and break out.

Today is a Weissbier or to us Americans Wheat Beer. This can is pretty much all in German except for the ingredients being listed in english but only after giving it in german. I think this beer is actually soldin Germany. Me and others have speculated that some of the beers in these large packs might not be found in Germany. That theory is being tested here. But there is still that nagging part of the label that says that it’s imported into the US by International Distillers of Everett Washington. Plus the “don’t drink if you are pregnant” is in english. Hmmmm. Do other countries have that warning? Do other countries care that California, Michigan etc have cash refunds for returning the can? But that’s all crazy thinking on my part. This is a German beer you can buy in Germany (but probably in a bottle). If you want to sell your beer in the US you got to make every state’s ABC board happy with all those warnings. It’s German beer provided in American-dictated packaging. I digress.

Once again the BeerTasting app was pretty worthless. It found 10 beers, one of which was this beer in a bottle. It did provide the IBU, which is 9. The app and the label says it was “Top Fermented.” I have to be honest, I’ve never heard of that term. I turned to my handy copy of The Oxford Companion to Beer (edited by Garrett Oliver) to read that Top Fermentation occurs with warmer ale worts (60 to 77 degrees) where the yeast rises to the top of of the open vat and you can actually scoop some out for the next batch. The yeast in top fermenting is described as being hydrophobic. It hates all of the water and stuff in the wort and gets away from it. It “flocculates” which is a word I spent hundreds of dollars and hours of time to learn. I now know how to “floc” my pool. Basically the yeast clumps up and rises. My pool is like Bottom Fermenting which is where the yeast goes to the bottom of the vat and does its work at lower temperatures. My pool is a bottom fermenter. I wish it fermented money rather than suck it out of my pocket. I digress.

I like this beer. It is a very nice wheat beer. The color is straw. My comment on German beer on day 1 about probably always being filtered to be nice and clear to reduce sediment is tossed out the window with this beer. Light passes through and that’s about. A very cloudy brew. But there was no sediment. An even pour from start to finish. Only a slight head that disappeared before I could take a sip.

The brewer is Wieninger which according to the label was established in 1666. They have a Winter Festbier I would love to try. Maybe that’s hiding later in the calendar.

It’s got a nice yeasty flavor that I like. Lemony at times. I’m trying to think of an American Wheat that I like better but can’t. Smooth and crisp at the same time. I guess the low IBU makes that possible. That takes some doing. I would also swear I taste on a few sips a little Belgian Sugar flavor but I think it’s the yeast. Maybe a hint of banana but I’ve always said with some beers each sip is different.

The ABV is 5.6% so it’s not over the top when drinking 500ml. The website describes it as “earthy, full-bodied, aromatic.” I agree. Actually they have lots of different wheat beers I wish I could try. I was a bit shocked to see a Light Weissbier. I figured that a light beer to a German was be akin to drinking water. Despite setting the standards of brewing for centuries I guess it shows that Germans are just like us. Sometimes someone wants a light beer.

The label says Hochste Braukultur aus Teisendof which Google translates as “Highest brewing culture from Teisendorf,” which is where this beer is brewed. Gebraut mit Rohstoffen aus Bayern means “Brewed from raw materials from Bavaria.”

It was also Day 2 of our cheese advent calendar. We sampled nice Applewood Smoked cheddar. It says it’s smoke flavored so I guess that means they add the flavor, not smoke the cheese. It was smooth and creamy. Mrs. Dan like it. I did not share my Hoamat Weissbier with her. I enjoyed this beer with some grilled pork loins we made for supper.

Tomorrow’s Friday. Can’t wait to say goodbye to the work week with the Day 3 beer.