Kellerweis Hefeweizen, crafted and bottled by the Sierra Nevada Brewery, was announced March 6th 2009 and began slowly trickling out unto the world. By mid-May stacks of the beer could be seen on prominent display in area stores. It replaced the year-round Wheat Beer and is 4.8% ABV.

Kellerweis is discribed by the brewery as "a light and refreshing beer with deep complexity of flavor. The yeast provides hints of fruit flavors and spices, including ripe banana and clove. This hazy-golden beer glows with suspended yeast creating a velvety texture perfect for a sunny California day."

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Comments

2009-05-20 07:22:07   I had this out of the bottle the other day at The Banshee. It had notes of citrus and vanilla. Pretty tasty although I don't understand why Hefeweizen is the United States' latest beer fad. —RyanMikulovsky

2009-05-20 11:03:34   Places like Pyramid have made it as such. All of my gf's family (her dad works at SN) says it has a slight banana flavor. I don't really taste it myself but whatever. I've had a lot of hefeweizens over the years (Ryan- check out sudwerks' hefe) and this is in the top 3. —JohnNash

• So after a few bottles I can now taste the "banana." It certainly doesn't beat you across the nose, though. Wonder if there are trace amounts of Isoamyl acetate in the beer. Well, I'm certainly no organic chemist so beats me if that's even possible during the brewing process! —RyanMikulovsky
• Well the story behind it is a bit unusual. The inspiration for this beer came from Germany where though still not law, the Reinheitsgebot is very common at most breweries. However, talking to people from the brewery, SN felt no need to try and stick with the main 4 and most likely used other chemicals/compounds to get their flavor. —JohnNash
• My understanding of the Reinheitsgebot is that technically no wheat beers would fall under it, since wheat was not one of the allowable ingredients. Still, I know that German brewers will say they are in compliance with it, even when they make wheat beers, so it's more of a label for making a traditional beer than anything. Germany has always been pretty strict on beer in terms of quality and ingredients, and when my host parents and their friends came to visit several years ago, they first said they refused to drink the garbage beer that Americans were known for. I told them to try Sierra Nevada (obviously, this variety wasn't available yet, but they tried several others) and they agreed that it was not just acceptable, but good. They actually bought a bunch and took it along the way for their road trip through California, stopping to pick up more at supermarkets along the way. Slightly off topic, but SN definitely gets a thumbs up from the four German tourists I brought to town. —StaceyEllis
• My understanding of Reinheitsgebot is purely scholarly, I have never been to Germany, but from what I remember from Beer and Brewing (Best UCD class ever), hefeweizens were originally illegal under the Reinheitsgebot as they did not contain the main 3 (later 4) ingredients. Wheat beer was finally allowed in the 1800s (1848 pops into my head but I don't know why) but it was still supposed to follow the Reinheitsgebot, substituting wheat for barley. It's probably all fooey anyway, from what I have heard from German friends, underground breweries were as much the norm and rage as speakeasys were in prohibition. To further add to your note Stacey, beer elitists are EVERYWHERE in Europe. I had a friend come over from Sweden with the same misconceptions regarding American beer (probably only get Bud Light, so who's to blame him?) and he was amazed at Sudwerks and we bought some SN too and he loved those. So go USA! Ha! —JohnNash

2009-06-07 15:51:25   I have to say, I've never really enjoyed the flavor of Hefeweizen. I first had it while living in Germany, and it just didn't suit my tastes at all. This beer is no exception, but I can say of the many American Hefeweizens I have tried, this one is pretty authentic (so maybe that's why I don't like it?) to the German style. I'm glad to see SN offering it, though, because several companies make a mediocre version of Hefeweizen and SN is at least doing it well. I wish I liked it more, but at least they have so many other varieties that I enjoy. Although some of them are awfully hard to find outside Chico sometimes... —StaceyEllis

2009-11-07 16:19:03   I am not a fan of this variety but as Weises go it is one of the betters I have tried in hopes of liking —RobinMowery

2009-11-07 16:31:35   I never did say if I like this beer or not. I like it a lot. It is remarkably similar to those in Germany's state of Saxony. But I don't have the right glass to serve it in so I don't buy it. Lame excuse, I know. But the good news is, the SaveMart in Davis now stocks it. So I may well get a proper glass. —RyanMikulovsky