As a lot of you know, Sly Fox released their Royal Weisse in cans in April. As many of you probably don't know, they thereby became the second east coast micro to release a canned hefeweizen. Butternuts Beer & Ale, of Garrattsville, NY, has had a hefe called Heinieweisse for a while now. The brewery contacted me a few weeks ago, and sent me some samples. Tonight I got to taste the two of them, the only two canned American hefes I know of, with some delicious veal sausages I got at Rieker's Prime Meats in Northeast Philly.
I'll cut to the chase: the Heinieweisse did not come off well in the head-to-head comparison. The depth of flavor was not there, the classic hefe character was not there, and there was an unpleasant mineral component to the beer. The Royal Weisse was very impressive, full-flavored, würzig, and refreshing. I'm going to try some Heinieweisse solo, maybe tomorrow.
Interesting that Butternuts call their Hefe a German Hefe and a Farmhouse ale all in the same lable. A bit schizo?
ReplyDeleteWell, from what I understand, Butternuts is a farm, and of course German hefe is ale-fermented, so...schizo? No, more like belt-and-suspenders.
ReplyDeleteMany would argue (I get my support from Jackson) that while ale *is* top-fermented, but not all top-fermented beers are ales, but I see your point.
ReplyDeleteBy the Butternuts Farm reasoning, would all beer brewed in Wisconsin be Farmhouse beers? ;-)
This argument sounds wickedly geeky.
ReplyDeleteYour urban prejudice is showing!
New Glarus calls Spotted Cow an farmhouse ale.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a farmhouse ale.
ReplyDeleteOr an an ale, farmhouse.
Stan...
ReplyDeleteDon't you have work you could be doing?
A wise man once quipped: "Is it a true Farmhouse brewery? Or another one located in yet another industrial park?".
ReplyDeleteI don't mind REAL Farmhouse beers (and breweries)...but cashing in on the chicness of the name after the success of Phil's book seems to be rampant, with this moniker.
Cheers!
I have to say I like the Butternuts one but it is a lighter take on the style but not as light as for example, the Sam Adams White Ale is of what ever it is supposed to be. Of Butternut's three it is my favorite and at 5.99 a six it is priced right.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I have never had a Sly Fox version of nuttin' due to the crazy laws of and governing distribution - which is probably your winning argument in whatever disagreements we may have ever had.
Alan
A Good Beer Blog
Loren,
ReplyDeleteDunno much (though I do know who you're really taking a shot at here, you naughty boy), but I damn sure know that there's no industrial park anywhere near Garrattsville!
Alan,
ReplyDeleteThat's why I want to try Heinnieweisse solo. Royal Weisse is a damned good weissbier, and side-by-siding them is tough on the Butternuts contender. We'll see how it does on its own.
"This argument sounds wickedly geeky.
ReplyDelete"Your urban prejudice is showing!"
I was reading Jackson and being geeky about beer looong before there was an internet! ;-)
Wisconsin. Illinois' biggest state park. ;-)
(and home of Baumgartners's)
"New Glarus calls Spotted Cow a farmhouse ale."
ReplyDeleteExactly my point! :-D
Haven't tried anything from Butternuts, but, for me, a lot of hefes suffer if compared to Royal Weise.
ReplyDelete