Dundee Summer Wheat

Dundee Brewing Company
Brewed at Genesee Brewing Company
Style: Wheat Ale
Rochester, New York USA

Serve in Shaker, Weizen

Bottle. Not a fan of the style, but I thought this was particularly shitty. Fuck this crap.

Is this seriously a wheat beer? It LOOKS like one--sort of; it’s not nearly cloudy or yellow enough--but it tastes like a pale ale. Low head, high hoppiness/bitterness, no coriander/clove/banana/estery-ness. Yes, it’s not a Hefe but an American Wheat, and thus lower standards for Hefe distinctiveness, but still, highly bizarre categorization--and of course, a very unpleasant beer (K.Kullen, R. Pkwy 10312)

Terrible beer. Taste of skunky wheat and water. Just a dull, flavorless beer.

The Hefeweizen style of beer is known to be rather sweet and smooth, but if one of those key elements is missing, the whole novelty of the wheat beer is gone. Such is the case with JW Dundee’s Hefeweizen. It has all the makings of a beer of the style, but it comes up short in the taste department.

POUR, COLOR AND AROMA

One thing I like about the Hefeweizen style is the smoothness to the pour. JW Dundee’s Hefeweizen pours extremely smooth and forms a nice layer of head. It does evaporate rather quickly, but it leaves a constant lacing on the glass. Not surprisingly, the beer is light gold in color and extremely cloudy. There isn’t a lot of carbonation happening and the beer looks like a tall glass of tropical fruit juice. However, if I ever encounter a Hefeweizen that does NOT have such characteristics I’d be highly suspicious.

There isn’t much to say about its aroma, which is sweet but weak. At least it doesn’t smell like your typical beer, and that’s a good thing.

TASTE

After two bottles of JW Dundee’s Hefeweizen I have to admit I was rather disappointed in its taste. Not that it was harsh or unbalanced by any means, just that its flavor was virtually non-existent. Hefeweizens are known for being smoother and sweeter than your average mass-market brew, but this particular beer leaves much to be desired. If you really concentrate you can make out a faint, almost citrusy seasoning, but otherwise it has little effect on your palate.

BODY

The best thing this beer has going for it is its smoothness. Although its flavor is fairly weak, it’s very easy to drink and finishes clean. Ales tend to be a bit heavier in body than lagers and I’d say JW Dundee’s Hefeweizen definitely is full-bodied. It’s easy to drink and isn’t too filling, so you could easily go through many if you so choose. However, this is unlikely do its weak taste.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Drinking JW Dundee’s Hefeweizen I couldn’t help but think its brewers skimped at little. There’s definitely a great taste inside this beer, but why is it so suppressed? I think with just a few tweaks this could go from average to outstanding. As it stands, it’s easy to drink but there isn’t much appeal.

Light amber and hazy, good head. Just can’t find a banana or bubble gum aroma in there. Not sure what it is I smell - yeast something else. The flavor has just a touch of wheat beer flavor, but otherwise is very light and I would even say watery. I’d say there isn’t even enough flavor there for a beginner.

pale yellowish pour with a slight offwhite head. Aroma is wheat, citrus, some light yeast. A little bland smelling and, as it turns out, a little bland tasting as well.. Flavor is light honey and citrus.

Bottle: from a variety pack. Light, easy to drink. Food Pairing: Three cheese Calzone.

Clear light yellow color with no head. Aroma has faint wheat and citrus. Flavor is light bitterness, some light wheat. Bland.