Rogue Half-E-Weizen (MoM Hefeweizen)

Tasted in Toronto. Part of LCBO summer collection. Tasted from a 650ml bottle, tasted in 650 ml ’Frakenmuth Michigan’ stein. Appearance was darker than expected, almost close to Schneider Weisse. Aroma was subtle, light aroma of fruity esters, banana, cloves, typical of the style. Falvour was more like a ginger beer, light, slightly sweet, with a ginger and spice finish. Not powerful enough to really denote anything terribly interesting.

Bottle. Pours a cloudy dark yellow with an average frothy white head. Aroma of malt, honey, ginger and mild hops. Palate has a medium body, average carbonation and is bitter. Flavour of grapefruit, hops, pepper, ginger and other fruit and spices. This is quite different as far as Rogues go and I would rate it on the lower end of their line but a lesser Rogue is still better than many other beers. I did notice I enjoyed it less as it started to warm up. Still, I liked it more than the average wheat beer.

Bottle (650ml). Pours brassy, somewhat cloudy but even, quite a bit of almost white head (’ware the foam plug!). Bubbly for a while, flattens out quickly. Nose of cascade(?) hops, hint of citrus-y malt, bit of ash. Flavour is like a milder standard wheat with a fair bit of extra hop bitterness, a lemony finish chimes in against the hops at the end. I’m not a hop-head, so not enitrely my thing, but better than the "real" hefeweizen I tried last week. Quenching.

Pours a hazy gold colour with a thin bubbly head. Aromas of citrus, malt, hops and some coriander. Light in body. Medium carbonation lends a bit of a tingly mouthfeel with some lemonaid-like taste uo front and a good bitterness to finish.

650ml brown bottle. Poured a medium shade of gold, small uneven head of soapy bubbles. Interesting aroma, ginger is really noticable giving it a bit of spiciness, fruity notes - pear, pineapple. Flavours are similarly spicy - ginger makes an appearance, slight citrus and spicy/grassy hops. Lightly fruity start. Finish toward the dry side with some wheaty flavour.

I rated one bottle very recently but on further review I find this Half-E-Weizen (now I get the concept) a very refined and interesting beer, certainly in the class of the Juniper Ale if not the Stouts Rogue is praised for.Good lesson, we must judge on a few samples if the style is fairly new. It’s rather good for a beer with a loose frame of reference, a chance-taker! A tad pricey for the light palate/body yet still a great & unique summer companion, and who else but them would make this stuff? <P> Looks fine. Nice herbal fresh aroma. Green grassy palate, hops jump out a bit but not in a way I enjoy. Feels light and watery for a premium & has a slight metallic dryness on finish. Added ginger is too cheaply prominent and not evocative or warming, while other flavorings don’t add body or mystery to the taste. Not really defective, just lacks integration... tastes gimmicky for a five dollar beer. 7/4/4/2/8 for overall 2.5.

This beer pous a gold that resembles a standard lager, but it is quite a bit deeper, hazier, and the head lingers longer--it is defined and not swampy. The nose is standard Rogue fair, meaning it neither adds nor takes away from the beer and it mimics the flavors. The primary taste is of apricots and they linger throughout. The sweetness is above medium and the bitterness is medium as well. This has very little "wheatiness" to it as the fruitiness stands out more than in a standard American wheats. Overall this is a very good beer in a style that strikes me as so so.

Bottle: Lemon cough drop aroma with some extra sweetness and spice. Pous a hazy orange with a small and quickly diminishing white head. Watery lemon candy flavor with a touch of hops and even lighter spice in the finish. Wish I would have passed. Suprised to see such low quality from Rogue.