Audacious Apricot Ale

The last sixpack I bought from Binny's before going back to school. Fortunately for some reason it had both hefe and apricot in it? As I was about to finish them all off, and as I was halfway down into the glass for this one I realized i hadn't rated it yet! Luckily there was enough to review.

Appearance: Clean golden orange (I left the dreggs in the bottle). Some carbonation present, but still a haze shrouds total clarity. There isn't any head aside from the white foam ring lining the glass.
Aroma: Sweet and tart. There is a cirtusy fruitiness about it, which should be quite obvious. I find that the tartness and aroma of this beer reminds me of a fruity tropical drink. Strong green apple and apricots.
Taste: Taste is exactly what the aroma presents. A huge sourness that rounds itself into the finish. What starts sweet, not malty, but perhaps more wheaty, but nevertheless plain basic sweet. The carbonation then hits and the tart fruit flavors emerge and define itself. From there the sourness cleans out the mouth and leaves little for an aftertaste.
Mouthfeel: Very crisp and light in body. The carbonation is high making it have a strong bite to the tongue that encourages the sourness. Carbonation makes it bite, but then foams up making one think the body is bigger than it really is.
Overall Impression: A girly drink in the least. It accomplishes the apricot flavor, but to the extreme, near lambic/kreik sourness. Not much complexity to it under the apricots. Even the label hints towards more of an alternative drink than a beer.


74/100

Heywire Hefeweisen

I tried this for the first time with Neil Driscoll in LAX at the bar while we were waiting for our next flight to Australia. Therefore this was one of the first beers in my original beer journal. We got this in at Binny's so I had to try it to see just how much my tastes have changed.

Appearance: A mostly clear golden color. Dreggs weren't added so the transparency was retained. Slight filmed white foam head. High carbonation visible throughout the glass.
Aroma: Yeasty but sweet. Breadiness as well a a bit of biscuit come through to the nose as it mingles with a apricot sourness. Smell is a little grainy as well.
Taste: Very sweet, and more so in the form of candied sweetness than anything else. Beer still retains an element of wheat citrus with an accompanying light fruit tartness. Yeast and bread follow up in the mid taste, reminding one that its still a wheat beer. The finish is somewhat dry and especially incorporating some hop character as well. The beer also incorporates somewhat of a fruit juice element that gets me thinking about concentrates or extracts and not so much the basic beer ingredients. Some lemon zest, coriander and even peppery notes are also noted with the hop finish. After burp really gives a lemon taste to accompany the dryness.
Mouthfeel: More of a heavy body, though the carbonation really helps disperse it as it goes down into a smoother texture. Swished around, the beer does administer quite a sting to the tongue. Definitely a thicker hefeweisen.
Overall Impression: I think it was the label that caught my eye the first time, it's really cool. The beers label exhibits some pretty cool, almost energy drink like artwork. The beer isn't bad, and certainly exhibits a lot of complexity, but as for a wheat beer, its quite heavy and sweet, perhaps with other fruit adjuncts added. Nevertheless it is for sure one to please an individuals sweet tooth.


80/100