Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen

This is the last of the Harpoons in my fridge, one of the more popular brews they put out.

Appearance: A very light golden yellow color and very cloudy, typical for an unfiltered brew. It has about a half finger of slightly lacy head that disappears pretty quickly.

Smell: Lots of different types of fruitiness and spices, some orange, apricot, lemon peel, and other indistinguishable scents.

Taste: A couple of light fruits that are gone in an instant, really leaving you with a bland kind of taste. It goes so quickly that its real tough trying to nail down which of the fruits you can taste, not really impressive. The aftertaste is kind of wheaty, if that makes any sense.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied, dry, high carbonation, a little bitterness but no traces of alcohol.

Drinkability: If there is one real positive, its that it is extremely easy to drink and refreshing, which makes it a great summer beer. Beyond this, there isn't much to talk about. The smell is good, but the taste is forgettable. There isn't much else to grab your attention, and even though its 5.1% abv, you might not want to drink more than a couple before you get bored. I do see its appeal as an easy drinking summer beer, so it still gets a 7.5/10 from me, but there are definitely more complex and better hefeweizens out there for those looking to expand their palates.

Serving type: Bottle
Glass type: Weizen glass

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweizen

Alex and I made a stop at Shangy's in PA and picked up a case of this beauty and Founders Double Trouble. We were stoked to see both of these cases and decided to split them between the two of us. After enjoying most of the case in one afternoon between us, we found it only appropriate that we do a collaboration review of this newly released, highly anticipated brew.

Appearance: Pours a golden cloudy yellow/orange with about a finger of fluffy head, sticks to the glass.

Smell: A strong orange/fruitiness and some lemon zest with a hint of spicy esters, along with a natural yeast scent.

Taste: Banana and clove flavors as the label would suggest, along with the lemon zest that we smelled, and the subtle spiciness that doesn't overpower this wonderful combination of flavors.

Mouthfeel: We have two complete opposite interpretations of mouthfeel; Alex feels that the unfiltered nature of this open fermentation brew gives it a thick quality but not overpowering, however I feel that it is pretty light despite it being unfiltered. We both can agree that there is zero alcohol aftertaste, providing us with a smooth summer drinking experience.

Drinkability: A perfect summer session brew, we could drink this all day (and did), and at 4.8% abv, have the ability to move on to the heavier stuff once the sun goes down. We could not be happier with Sierra Nevada's continued inventiveness, and love that they are moving that creativity to their new year-round brews like this hefe and the Torpedo Extra IPA. We give it an 8/10.