23 November 2008

Beer Review, Circus Boy

Magic Hat Circus Boy: The Hefeweizen!
South Burlington, VT

As usual with American-made "hefeweizen," this is actually an American Pale Wheat Ale rather than a true hefe. You can tell because they don't use a true German yeast strain that a real hefe would have, and therefore change the flavor significantly. I'm a huge fan of true hefeweizen, not so much for American Pale Wheats.

That said:

Appearance: Clear yellow-white body, nonexistent head. No effervescence, no yeast in glass. 3.0/5

Smell: A very mild sweetness, slightly yeasty. Some notes of citrus, mostly lemon-lime. 3.5/5

Taste: Very citrusy, strong notes of lemon and orange. Slighty dry on the finish, leaves a cloying aftertaste. 3.0/5

Mouthfeel: Moderate, but coats the mouth well. 3.5/5

Drinkability: There are only a handful of American Pale Wheats really worth the time. This isn't one of them. If I hadn't gotten it out of a multi-beer pack I wouldn't have bothered with it at all. It's not unpleasant, and it goes down cleanly enough, but overall it's just not a beer I can feel strongly about. It's less objectionable than plenty of other APW's, for sure, but I won't be buying it again. 3.0/5

Overall: 3.15/5

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