Millstream Big Honey Hefe

Brewed by Millstream Brewing Company
Style: Weizen Bock
Amana, Iowa USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Stein, Weizen

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Bottled. Poured medium amber with a short-lived off-white head. The aroma picked up almost sickly sweet honey, maple, and molasses notes with banana and vanilla accents.. just the slightest peppery alcohol present. The flavor was at least as sweet, with banana ramping up to join the honey.. berries toward the back.. some wheaty tartness and earthy character around.. extra-sweet on the finish with an alcohol kick right at the end. Medium-bodied and too sweet on the palate.. this was hard to drink.

Picked up from John’s Grocery in Iowa City, IA. A mostly clear, orange-colored pour with a medium sized, off-white head. Decent lacing on the glass. Smell is slightly sweet and bready. Banana is very present with a bit of bubble gum as well. Flavor is about the same, maybe some clove thrown in there. Somewhat unique, glad to see some aggressiveness from Millstream.

(bottle) Pours a hazy dark amber color with just a very thin off-white head that rings around the glass. Right away the aroma is very, very, sweet and it reminds me a lot of port wine. When I swirl however, the scent quickly changes to plenty of honey and wheat. A bit like Honeycomb cereal. There’s also plenty of bananas and booze in here too. The booze intensifies with warming and begins to dominate the other aromas. Further warming yields the fleeting scent of yellow mustard. Flavor’s fairly similar, with caramel showing up right away, but it’s quickly followed by a lot of honey, bananas, and wheat. The finish is a bit boozy and the honey really lingers on after consumption. It’s nice though as it provides an unexpected floral character. The mouthfeel is substantial, but the lively carbonation does well to cut the stickiness. Overall I had this beer rated fairly high initially, but as the beer continued to warm, the score continued to drop. I could suggest drinking it cold, but that wouldn’t be too wise given the high ABV.

12oz bottle from John’s Grocery in Iowa City, IA. Pours a mostly clear, orange-copper colored body with a thin, frothy, off-white head that dissipates slowly and leaves a moderate lacing. Aroma is slightly sweet wheat bread and cereal grains, banana, a touch of clove and hay spice, a few yeasty esters, a hint of bubble gum, and a light honey sweetness. Flavor is similar. More clove up front with some bubble gum, banana, and sweeter cereal grains. Some wheat bread, a sweeter honey, and a touch of hay. Clove grows a bit towards the end as this finishes sweet from the honey and only slightly dry. A bit of an alcohol warmth in a medium length aftertaste. Medium, slightly sticky body and a moderate carbonation. Overall, an interesting take on a hefe. Fairly sweet with a bit of a stickiness, but there is a decent clove spice to balance. Not bad, just not my favorite.

Draft at Three Squares in Maple Grove. Sweet aroma. Small notes of banana. Dark, hazy gold/amber color. Tasted like a sweeter, boozier version of a hefeweizen. Medium body and carbonation. I would definitely try this again. A unique take on a hefe.

12oz bottle. Murky reddish-tan. Thin head that fades out into a tiny oily trace after a few minutes. The honey sort of rounds out the sweet banana aroma, pretty mild. There is some noticeable alcohol, I’d guess 8%+. More honey notes than anything, has some mead characteristics. An interesting concept beer maybe, but has too much sugary sweetness going on, not enough balance. An interesting beer to try, but sort of a mess.

Bottle shared by DalzAle (thanks Greg). Hazy bright copper with a quick off white head that dissipates to a ring. Aroma is wheat bread and artifical banannas and bubblegum. Taste is more the same with a bitter spice finish. Palate is slick and some what creamy with a warm dry finish. Decent beer would like more.

Bottle. Dark orange pour, thin carbonation and a very sweet banana and honey aroma. Flavor is similar to the aroma, slick/sweet honey, alcoholic bananas and finished warm and a little spicy. Decent offering in the post 6.2% era of Iowa beer laws. I look forward to seeing what else they come up with in the future.

Bottle. There is a haze with a thin khaki head. The nose has lots of banana as well as a little bit of clove. There is also the honey sweetness and a little bit of dough. The taste has loads of honey, but it didn’t dry out the brew. There is still the hefe clove and banana peel, but it is in the finish. The main flavors are dominated by the honey. Overall, this is ok, but definitely geared toward the wheat beer lover.

Aroma has the banana element a good hefe should have but there a candy sweetness that seeps in that isn’t good. The flavor is much the same, the bananas get put in the background in favor of candy sweetness. This didn’t taste like it had gone bad or that it was poorly made, but the honey made this far too syrupy and overly sweet for a hefeweizen.