Cider is made from fermented apple juice. As with wine, the character and quality of the resulting product will bear heavily on the variety and quality of the fruit used. The cooler climate of Vermont is well suited to high quality apple production, and produces a sizeable amount of quality sparkling hard cider. The finest ciders in North America may well emanate from the province of Quebec in Canada, which has an established artisanal cider industry with historical ties to Normandy cider. These Quebecois ciders are slowly starting to appear on the U.S. market.
94 Signature Ale, De Proef Brouwerij (Belgium). 8.5% ABV (8/07) Lightly hazy pale amber color. Grilled citrus, fruit caramel and
88 Cypress Honey Lager, Granville Island Brewing Co. (Canada). 4.5% ABV (8/07) Brilliant golden amber color. Creamed honey and toast
97 Bourbon County Stout, Goose Island Brewing Co. (IL) 2006. 12% ABV (8/07) Opaque black with a saffron rim. Rich
92 Paradox Islay, BrewDog (Scotland). 10% ABV (8/08) Murky brown-black color with a bubbly head. Peaty Islay whisky, toffee and
95 Samuel Adams Utopias 2007, The Boston Beer Co. (MA). 27% ABV (8/08) Reddish, deep copper color. Warm caramel, baked
Weizen bier is a top-fermenting beer style that originates from southern Germany, particularly Bavaria, and is brewed with at least 50% wheat in the mash. Hefeweizens are refreshing, highly carbonated beers ideal for quenching summer thirsts. They undergo secondary fermentation, often in the bottle, and the yeast strains used for this purpose impart a spicy, clove-like flavor. Hefe (the German word for yeast) on the label denotes that the bottle contains yeast sediment. Alcohol content is typically 5-5.5% ABV, giving these beers a medium to medium-full body. Hop flavors play a very insignificant role in the flavor profile. The best examples to be found are still authentic Bavarian imports, although some good domestic examples are produced and are often available as a draft option.
Generally, I find myself enjoying a wheat-based beer during the summer months: hot weather and wheat beer go hand-in-hand, after
A kristall weizen is a non-hazy weizen ale. “Kristall” on the label of a weizen specifically denotes that a weizen has been filtered prior to bottling to remove the protein haze and yeast often suspended in such beers. Kristall weizens lack the yeasty and spicy complexity often associated with hefeweizen beers, and have a cleaner and more delicate flavor. Floral, fruity aromas are often noted in classic examples of this style, though healthy alcohol content of 5-5.5% will give a medium to medium-full bodied character.
These dark wheat beers derive their character from the use of darker malts in the non-wheat ingredients, so that a richer, darker-colored beer can be achieved, along with fuller malt flavors. Dunkel weizens still display the floral, estery qualities of a pale weizen. Dark weizens are produced with or without a secondary fermentation in the bottle, with the corollary that these styles can be yeast sedimented or unsedimented depending upon the preference of the brewer.
