Adirondack Headwater Hefe Beer

Brewed by Adirondack Pub & Brewery
Style: German Hefeweizen
Lake George, New York USA

Serve in Weizen

Bottle from Paula. Pours pale gold with a foamy 3 finger white head. Light banana and clove aromas. Near med body. Banana and clove indeed, but rather light. There is also some citrus. Finishes mildly the same. Really, really light hefe.

I poured a 12oz bottle into a wheat beer glass.

Appearance: Bright yellow hue, mostly clear but slightly cloudy. Plenty of carbonation visible at first, but dies down quickly. Forms a large, bright white, frothy head which retains and laces very well.

Smell: Banana fruit, light clove and floral notes and earthy lemonpeel. Not very strong overall, but inviting.

Taste: The beer claims to be brewed in the "classic Bavarian style," and upon first impression Headwater Hefe definitely has a lot of German characteristics to it. Up front is the banana fruit with a lightly sweet, almost candy taste following. The second half ends with mild clove spice and distinct tobacco and smoke flavor. It’s sharp, like an extra sharp cheddar cheese, and the aftertaste is short and clean. These flavors keep repeating until the end making for a tasty, satisfying beer - but nothing that goes above and beyond.

Mouthfeel: Medium thickness with slight fizziness across the tongue.

Drinkability: Drank cool to cold, Headwater Hefe is a very refreshing beer on a summer’s day or night. The mild palate makes it quite refreshing, although I’m not sure it would stand up to any real food pairings other than salad or finger food. The ABV is not listed on the bottle, nor on the brewery’s website, but I’m estimating it’s less than 5% due to the light palate and accompanying body.

Overall, Headwater Hefe is a good attempt at an authentic German style hefeweizen, but just isn’t the same thing in the end. Certainly a commendable effort and a very drinkable beer.

Bottle - "Headwater Hefe". Poured a hazy golden with a creamy white head that was lasting nad left good lace. Aroma of wheat, light banana, clove, and lemon. The flavor found wheat and yeast. Light body with a light lemon, clove, and wheat aftertaste.

Bottle labeled "Headwater Hefe." Pours hazy yellow with a small foamy off-white head. Aromas of orange, wheat, citrus, clove, yeast, and light esters. The flavor is wheat, banana and clove, sour/funky orange, and butter. Medium carbonation and body. Eh. [746]

12 ounce bottle listed as Headwater Hefe Beer. Pours a very cloudy orange color with a small white head. The aroma is sweet oranges, cloves and banana. A nice sweet but also grainy brew, some orange, lots of sweet yeasty banana esters, smooth. A nice brew, simple.

Sampled from the tap at the brewpub. Poured a hazy pale gold with a white head that dissipated to the edges and laced slightly. Aroma was full of strong sweet citrus with light flora and a wheat backing. Flavor was similar with a combination of citrus and wheat with a bit of a sweet finish.

Dégustée en fût sur place. De couleur jaune foncée et voilée. Nez de levures fruitées (bananes sucrées, léger de citron), d’épices (clou de girofle, léger de coriandre), moyen de blé avec des notes de gomme balloune et des traces de houblon herbeux. Moyenne-mince en bouche avec un pétillement moyen et une texture aux notes crémeuses. Goût de levures fruitées (bananes sucrées, léger de citron) accompagné dun goût épicé (clou de girofle, léger de coriandre) lors de lentrée en bouche auquel se rajoute un goût de blé légèrement asséchant et aux notes sûres puis en finale lon retrouve des notes amères de houblon herbeux avec un léger regain de goût de levures. Post-goût moyen-court et aux notes sèches, très légèrement amer de houblon herbeux avec un goût fruité (pelures de bananes, notes de zest dagrumes), un léger goût de blé et des notes épicées (clou de girofle). (juin 2008)

Draft at brewpub:Typical hefe decent white head, clove & citrus aroma cloudy gold color. The taste was somewhat off. It had the classic hefe taste but something was off. Not horrible, just not right.