Blue Hills Dunkelweizen Makes the Nice List

Style | ABV
Dunkelweizen | 6.90% ABV
“Wampatuck Winter Wheat” by Blue Hills Brewery
Brewed in Canton, Mass. (for me = SUP-ah fresh)

Now this is a wheat beer I can sink my teeth into this time of year. This 8th beer of xmas is everything I want a winter beer to be. Warming and friendly, not overfilling, but powerful and reminds me sip after sip – you are drinking craft beer.

This is a dark German Heffeweizen, better known as a Dunkelweissen (I learned that dunkel means dark in German) After a quick visit to the Blue Hills website (a brewery that is on my list to tour this winter) I learned that they brewed this with generous amounts of dark roasted malts, a grain bill that’s more than 60% wheat, German Noble hops and fermented it using a Bavarian yeast strain.

At 6.9% ABV, they describe it as a great balance between strength and grace, I’d have to agree. I grabbed this as a bomber from my local liquor store, but apparently you can get it on draught around here as well, which I am sure just kicks up the freshness and flavor.

The pour is a cloudy, maple color, darker that I imagined. I was thirsty and impatient, so the aggressive pour left me with a three finger white head. (Even now, I am halfway through the beer there is still a slight rim and some lacing on the glass)

The nose is fresh baked bread and malt, sprinkled with cocoa and burnt caramel.

The mouthfeel is on the heavier side of medium – (if that makes any sense), though not overly carbonated. It’s creamy and coats your tongue and wants to stay. I get a big bisquity taste with a spicy dark-dry finish. This is an easy drinking fireside winter brew for certain, my cheeks already feel flushed.

This beer has me craving salt, so I’d say a parmesan or asigo cheese would be great. Or let’s get crazy, a burger and fries. This beer screams pub food all the way. Nachos anyone?

Blue Hills – thanks for getting me out of my holiday beer drinking downward slope!
I’ll drink to that.