Doc Bird’s Heffe
So for this week I went outside of the readily available beer cases and reviewed something only a SELECT few may have…this is my review of Doc Bird’s Heffe. This is my good friend’s father’s home-brewed hefeweizen. So thanks to Kim and her dad, Dr. Bird.
Hefeweizens are a wheat style of beer that are often cloudy (unfiltered) and have a distinctive banana/clove bouquet as well as taste. Overall refreshing, are a candy-shop of aromas and tastes that you too can find at your local packie. While a predominantly German style of beer (although recently Long Trail and Magic Hat have given it a try), Belgian white/wheat ales are also wheat beers that have more of a citrus flavor (think Allagash White or Blanche de Bruxulles). Often both styles of beer are served with a citrus slice caddy on the glass, BUT BEWARE! Don’t treat your beer like a piece of fish! Discard the fruit, suck on it if you must (those coming down with a cold or scurvy will be excused); just keep it away from the beer!
The classic German hefeweizen breweries include Ayinger, Schneider, and Erdinger. Doc Bird’s Heffe, home-brewed in the Berkshires, is most reminiscent of Ayinger’s Brau Weisse, a lovely golden amber color with a classic banana aroma. Doc Bird’s rendition then has a subtle clove taste at first, but as you venture further, a light ginger ale flavor. The carbonation is slight, as not to a create ping-pong match on your tongue, but enough so that the head is retained until the last sip.
If the hefeweizen style of beer seems to be something you’d like to try, I think I’ve done enough brewery name-dropping to give you some places to start. But if you were looking for the closest approximation to Doc Bird’s Heffe, then I would go for the Ayinger Brau Weisse. Not enough suggestive suggestions for you? My favorite heffe? Schneider Edel-Weisse, it’s light, full of clove, and it’s certified organic…so it’s like you’re saving the world one beer at a time!
As always, have a cold one,
Bill
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