hefeweizen tidbit

Interesting tidbit about hefeweizens. I’ve thought for years that I don’t like Blue Moon, an American made Belgian Witt, or wheat beer. Turns out I don’t like it in bottles. On tap it’s great! I’ve also discovered over the years that I’ve only really liked hefeweizens that were brewed at the restaurant I drank them at. I thought maybe it was a matter of freshness, so some time last year I brewed one of my own. Mine was good, but didn’t have the full fruity character that is characteristic of a true hefe–often described as a taste of banana and clove. Then I re-read something in a brewing book about Germans rolling bottled hefe on the table before opening it to mix the yeast in. I tried it with mine. What a difference! There was the flavor I was missing! If only I had re-read that before we were half way through drinking the batch!