Comments on: 100 Beers, 100 Days: Day #3 http://reallylongword.org/2009/04/100-beers-100-days-day-3/ Difference Engine Diary Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:19:33 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: David http://reallylongword.org/2009/04/100-beers-100-days-day-3/comment-page-1/#comment-261 David Sun, 12 Apr 2009 02:37:40 +0000 http://reallylongword.org/?p=755#comment-261 Both the Magic Hat website and wiki (which has different information on the hops, for some reason) say that it uses "Hefeweizen yeast," so the lack of any spice or fruit (other than the orange taste from the hops) is still a bit of a surprise. Maybe they just arbitrarily slapped a hefeweizen label on some other strain of yeast, I don't know. It does fit your description, though: clean, simple and pretty uninteresting. Both the Magic Hat website and wiki (which has different information on the hops, for some reason) say that it uses “Hefeweizen yeast,” so the lack of any spice or fruit (other than the orange taste from the hops) is still a bit of a surprise. Maybe they just arbitrarily slapped a hefeweizen label on some other strain of yeast, I don’t know. It does fit your description, though: clean, simple and pretty uninteresting.

]]> By: Chris Lumens http://reallylongword.org/2009/04/100-beers-100-days-day-3/comment-page-1/#comment-260 Chris Lumens Sun, 12 Apr 2009 02:15:38 +0000 http://reallylongword.org/?p=755#comment-260 You've pretty much got Magic Hat's number. I've seen plenty of tap handles with their name on it up here and been to their brewery, and it's definitely more of a lifestyle focus than a beer focus. I just don't see a whole lot of variety in their beers. For instance, every single variety pack they sell contains #9. It's too bad because they could be a really great little brewery and it's a small enough operation that I'd like to be pulling for them. After all, their bottling line is a couple guys sticking bottles into boxes that have been put together by machine. It's no industrial process brewing conglomerate. Regarding hefeweizens - American wheat beers typically use similar recipes to German wheat beers, but use regular old pale ale yeast instead of funky wheat beer yeast. The result is a much cleaner, simpler, and (in my mind) blander beer that lacks all the fruit and banana flavors you expect from a German hefeweizen. To me, those banana and clove flavors are what make it a wheat beer. It sounds like Magic Hat's gone the common American route here and stuck with the pale ale yeast. Oh well. You’ve pretty much got Magic Hat’s number. I’ve seen plenty of tap handles with their name on it up here and been to their brewery, and it’s definitely more of a lifestyle focus than a beer focus. I just don’t see a whole lot of variety in their beers. For instance, every single variety pack they sell contains #9. It’s too bad because they could be a really great little brewery and it’s a small enough operation that I’d like to be pulling for them. After all, their bottling line is a couple guys sticking bottles into boxes that have been put together by machine. It’s no industrial process brewing conglomerate.

Regarding hefeweizens – American wheat beers typically use similar recipes to German wheat beers, but use regular old pale ale yeast instead of funky wheat beer yeast. The result is a much cleaner, simpler, and (in my mind) blander beer that lacks all the fruit and banana flavors you expect from a German hefeweizen. To me, those banana and clove flavors are what make it a wheat beer. It sounds like Magic Hat’s gone the common American route here and stuck with the pale ale yeast. Oh well.

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