So today, I'm coming at you live and direct from down the road at my friend Jonathan's house. It's not much of a trip, less than 100 yards from my house, but it is a change of pace, and will hopefully get me used to writing in strange surroundings. I intend to do a lot more writing from local restaurants and breweries to get more of a local feel. Maybe I can even get some comps, if anyone is out there reading in a position of power...

The head is very, very creamy, but that's pretty standard for a Dunkel like this. The color of the body is just gorgeous. It is a dark caramel color, and honestly, the head is about the color of nougat. Nothing really stands out in the scent; just the normal black olive and citrus smells that accompany a Bavarian hefeweizen. A bit of banana and clove as well. The dunkel just adds a bit of heft to the body and taste. Honestly, I have drank too many hefeweizens in a row. They are all so similar, it just comes down to who does the same basic tastes better. And Franziskaner does this one well. They've been around for awhile, so they have had a lot of practice.

But in comparison to other upscale wheat beers, the Franziskaner Hefeweizen Dunkel is just ok. I think I like the regular hefe Franziskaner does better. Honestly, if you want a dunkel and you have the ability, get the Julius Echter. It's pretty spiffy. Nothing really stands out to me in this. It's not like it is bland, but it is a little boring. 84/100.

5.5% Alcohol by Volume
Color of Body #BC7000

My hopes are up really high with this beer. I've read some wonderful things about this beverage, and I get the vibe that they know what they're doing. I'm looking for a good end to my night with a drink that won't give me nightmares. Oh yeah, while I'm drinking this I'm watching “It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia”. It is an amazing show. I highly recommend watching it. It can be found streaming online at Hulu or on TV on FX. They are all such terrible people, it's great. Oh yeah, and I just got done drinking the DogFish Head Palo Santo Marron beer. Drinking it was a life changing experience. There's a great article on it and the state of craft brewing in the New Yorker you should definitely check out. But, it is not a wheat beer so I will discuss it no further.

The hefe pours a small but creamy head (teehee, dirty). It has a nice, rich brown color that is about the same as a caramel apple. And now that I said that, I can't help but get a whiff of Granny Smith in the smell, mixed with the usual olives and fresh bread. I think I'm getting a slight bit of pear from the yeast as well. The beer is surprisingly thick. I can't even see the shadow of my hand through it. It's gonna be delicious, I just know it.

Mmm. It is very nicely carbonated, and very, very traditional. It's weird going back to the Bavarian styles after I get used to the American versions. It's not that the American styles are bad, it's just that the old style tastes so damn good. They have had centuries to perfect their recipes, after all.

And that's what this is. A perfected Hefeweizen. You won't find anything here that knocks your socks off, but it is damn good. It's a little on the expensive side though, which sucks. 88/100.

4.9% Alcohol by Volume
Color of Body #CE963E

So today, the only thing I have accomplished is a few sets of sit-ups, and playing through the first three episodes of Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. Now I'm ready to be productive. Today, I am reviewing the Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen. The brewery is the 11th largest in the nation in terms of beer sales, which is really surprising. I had no idea Widmer Brothers were this large, as they only have three year round beers they produce. Also, Anheuser-Busch owns a stake in the company, so hopefully that wont negatively affect the quality of the beer.

The head is pretty flimsy, and disappears quickly, but has a nice smell. Nothing really unusual about the smell, just the normal citrus and hops elements. A tiny bit of olives, too. If it makes sense, it actually smells like there isn't much carbonation, which could explain the lack of a head. Nothing really bites at your nose. This beer has been in my fridge for a while though, so I'm chalking it up to that. A brewery this large normally has really good quality control, so I doubt I got a bad batch. Also, I just looked at the bottlecap, and inside it says “A Prost: To Sleeping In!”, which is kinda cool. I always like little surprises like that. And in case you didn't know (because I didn't), “prost” is German for toast. Easy enough.

The taste is nothing out of the ordinary. Bits of lemony hops and malt come through strongest, with a little bit of pine thrown in. It's a little on the under-carbonated side but I already covered that. The hefeweizen is slightly more bitter than I am used to, but it works for this beer. It also has a deep brownish-gold color that is very aesthetically satisfying.

You know, I swear I've had this before on draft and thought it was terrible, but this time out of the bottle it is really pretty good. Maybe it was the whole Anheuser thing that biased my opinion. The Hefeweizen is nothing unique, but it gets the job done. It actually reminds me a lot of the Sam Adams Hefeweizen I drank yesterday. And it's way cheaper than the competition (normally around $6.75 a six pack) which is a huge bonus. Get this beer if you know what you want and aren't looking for any surprises. You won't be disappointed. It gets bonus points for the cheap price, too. 83/100.

5.4% Alcohol by Volume
Color of Head #FFE7BE
Color of Body #FFB734

Man, there is nothing like visiting a state with relaxed alcohol laws to make you realize how boring your state is. I just got back from visiting my brother in Kentucky, and they have this place called the Liquor Barn there. It's kind of a combination the Fresh Market, and well, a place that has a whole lot of alcohol. It was the most overwhelming experience of my life. For those of you who don't know me, I love more than just wheat beer. I like whiskey, sausage, cheese, boar (in general, manly food), and every kind of beer. In the food section, there was a a block of cheese that totaled over $100 that had been cut up in huge chunks for samples. I made soooooo many discreet passes by that thing to munch. And there were probably a good 300 breweries represented there. Like I said, overwhelming. I really hope Tennessee loosens up so we can get a place like this. Anyway, one of the beers I got was Sam Adam's hefeweizen, which is what I am drinking tonight. It should be pretty good, as they don't put out a bad beer (with the exception of the Cherry Wheat).

The hefeweizen pours a nice, creamy head which smells very crisp and citrusy. The beer has the color of a golden lager, and is not very cloudy at all. There are a few wisps of yeast floating around in there, but the beer is so bright that it looks really clear. It hits the sides of your tongue with a little bit of bitterness, but finishes smooth, with little aftertaste. The Samuel Adams hefeweizen has an unusual taste that is fruity. It doesn't taste of olives at all, which is unusual for a hefe, at least to me. The hops give it a little bit of a pineapple taste. The rest of the fruit flavor is a mix of lemon an orange, with a bit of lime thrown in. but what stands out in this beer is how much the hops stands out without being too bitter.

I wasn't disappointed at all drinking this. A lost a little faith in Sam Adams after the last brew I tried, but this one brings me back to the flock. It's a bit of an unusual take on a hefeweizen, but not a bad one. And while it's not my favorite hefe out there, I'd definitely grab it to try if I were you. It's a solid beer with a lot of good, unique qualities, and is a nice departure from the norm. 80/100.

4.2 Alcohol by Volume
Color of Head #FFEDB7
Color of Body #B79328

I've had a long, soggy day at Dollywood and now I'm ready to unwind with my trusty relaxation combo of Digg, Stumbleupon, and the delicious nectar of the Gods that is wheat beer. Tonight, we look at yet another fruit flavored wheat beer. I've had the Abita Purple Haze before and didn't like it, but I think it was before my taste in beer had fully matured, so I'm hopeful. Plus, I always like a change of pace. I think that's why I like trying the fruit flavored stuff. They are never perfect, but they are definitely unique. And I would much rather have a beer to review that is either great or terrible than one that sits in the middle. It's hard for me to write when I am inspired by neither anger nor enthusiasm. Here's to hoping for more than mediocrity! *DING*

Purple Haze pours a nice, relatively thick foamy head that dissipates over about two minutes. No lacing around the glass, but that is to be expected. The head smells, of course, of raspberries, but also heavily of yeast. It reminds me almost of fresh baked bread, which is really odd. But then again, I could also swear I smell some leaf spinach, or some kind of vegetable in there. Yeast is such an unusual part of the beer. It gives it so many unexpected flavors and smells that are all so relative and particular to each individual person. Oddly enough, I see no hint of a purple color in the beer. On first taste, I get more of that bready yeastiness and surprisingly little raspberry taste. It's also very thin with an extremely minimal aftertaste. I've found with the Purple Haze that if you hold your nose while you drink it, it seems exactly like carbonated water. It's that smooth and even. And that is a good thing to try and do with a beer, but it is done just a little too much here. There's no character to it! It's just sort of bleh, which saddens me.

Regarding the raspberry flavor, it seems to be an ongoing problem for me that I have a really hard time finding a fruit flavored beer that really reconciles both the smell and the taste. By that, I mean you smell so much of a heavy raspberry smell that you are expecting a mouthful of berries when you take a sip, but when you get that sip, you get only a hint of the raspberry taste you were expecting. Now I'm not asking for raspberry syrup to be thrown in here to make a Shirley Temple-like concoction, but there are better ways to accomplish what Purple Haze is trying to do (see Sweetwater Blue). I really hope Abita discovers Sweetwater soon.

This is a slightly better than average tasting beer that does have some really strong points. The biggest ones being that it is very smooth and even, very summery, and ridiculously easy to drink. The downsides are that there isn't a lot of flavor, what flavor is there is boring, and that you experience cognitive dissonance from trying to reconcile the raspberry smell with the taste. 77/100.

I don't know how to begin this post. There are so many things I want to say all at once, it's just getting jumbled up. I could start by talking about the excellent food that was served, the copious amounts of alcohol present, or the kick ass atmosphere of the place. I guess I'll just do it in chronological order so as to talk about everything at once. And once again, I apologize for the lack of pictures in this post. My friend left his camera at his apartment that had all the picture on it, so this post will have to be updated later. Until then, I'll just have to paint the pictures with words.

ARRIVAL

My homeboy Adam and I arrived at Sunspot at about 6:15 which proved to be a poor choice, because they didn't start the dinner until 7. The reservations said 6:30, but I guess they wanted to make sure everyone was there before the evening commenced. I almost died of thirst and starvation leading up to that time because I had decided it would be a good idea to refrain eating for several hours before. I can't go more than about 3 hours at a time without eating. That's just how my body works; I have a fast metabolism. And as for the no drink thing, that's just because I was too cheap to buy a beer knowing that there would be unlimited free beer in just a few minutes, and boy were those minutes long. But finally, our emcee for the evening, a pleasant fellow by the name of Jeremy Walker from Eagle Distributing Company, began to prepare us for the first course.

Course #1: Circus Boy paired with Camembert en croute, garlic and apricot gremolata, and a balsamic reduction.

This was probably the best pairing of the evening. Imagine the dish as a sort of flaky croissant filled with a mozzarella textured but havarti tasting cheese, topped of a salsa made of garlic and apricots, and surrounded perfectly by a tangy balsamic reduction. Both the beer and the reduction cut through the richness of the camembert cheese, and went extremely well together. It really was incredibly good. At this point, Adam and I were both about three Circus Boys in. The beer was much better this time versus when I had drank and reviewed it previously. It was much more mellow and tasted more like a traditional hefeweizen, though I honestly don't remember too much else about it. It was a long night.

Course #2: #9 paired with Braised rabbit, oyster mushrooms, daikon radish, and a lemon grass and #9 gelee.

This was my least favorite course, and I think everyone else's too. I think the chef did a good job with it, but it was a tough dish to prepare. It was a little watery and bland, though we could have thought that because we had just come off of the high from the first course. The #9 is probably my favorite beer from magic hat. The yeast they use gives it a nice, apricot smell and fruity taste that doesn't have too much of a bitter aftertaste. Had the flavor in the rabbit been a little more pronounced it would have been a better pairing, but as it was it was just ok. At this point, things were starting to get a little more rowdy. The people beside started heckling our emcee. The guy was new to this whole hosting thing and looked exactly like what you imagine someone heavily into microbrews would look like; artsy, beard, glasses, and a happy smile. The guy to my right shouted, “Jeremy, I'd like to buy your hat and glasses! How much for the beard?” I don't know why I found this so funny.

Course #3: Roxy Rolles paired with Sugar cured Ahi tuna, Parmesan potato hash, grated horseradish, and a cherry tomato confit.

This is where things start to get fuzzy. I remember really liking this dish, but it could have just been because I love tuna. This was basically sashimi with some awesome sides thrown in. the sugar really brought out the amazing flavor of the high grade Ahi tuna. The Roxy Rolles beer, while being an excellent, hoppy beer on its own, did not pair too well with this dish. But then again, I don't know what beer would go well with it. The tuna just gets overwhelmed too easily by the strong flavors from the beer. The seasonal Roxy brew was a tangy, wintry beer that would be very easy to enjoy beside a fire. Or on a motorcycle, like is displayed on the label. The damn waitress just kept bringing us beers at this point, like she wanted us to die. She brought Adam and I a beer each and made the four people beside us ration one. I started donating my brews to their cause, as I had a final at 8 a.m. the next day and had to slow down or risk falling asleep on my desk during the test and choking on my vomit.

Course #4: Lucky Cat paired with Pistachio crusted wild boar tenderloin roulade, baby carrots, sweet potato pudding, and fig and apricot jam.

This was the dish everyone was waiting for, and with good reason. It was freaking amazing, and probably the best pork tenderloin I have ever had. It was an excellent, comfort-food like dish. Sadly, I don't remember too many details about the dish, or the beer, besides that both were really good and paired nicely. Much apologies. I do remember that things were starting to go south for my friend, as we had just learned that he and the guy beside me were both celebrating their birthdays from the day before. They ordered him a shot of Jack Daniels. Adam did not want this, for whiskey is his one true weakness. Fortunately, it would not remain in his system for long.

Course #5: Braggot paired with Smoked chocolate cake, chocolate and cayenne anglaise, and salted cream.

This one is a little hazy too. I remember the braggot being a nice, malty brew that did not have the hoppy bitterness of the other offerings of the evening, which I guess is why it was paired with the cake. The cake it self was generous and tasty, but the salted cream was off putting. To me, it was gross and very unappetizing. It tasted exactly like the description; whipped cream (no sugar) that had salt thrown in. The chocolate cayenne sauce on the other hand, was fantastic and unique. It wasn't spicy at all and had an interesting smoky flavor that went well with the cake. Adam finished his and retreated to the bathroom for about 15 minutes or so which was kinda odd. He has a unique way of dealing with excess amounts of alcohol, and that is to find the nearest shower and just sit in there with the water on for about an hour, or until he feels better. There was no shower in this particular restroom, so I still have no idea what he was doing in there for so long. He was not went when he came out.

I'm so disappointed that I didn't find out about these beer dinners sooner. Evidently Sweetwater and Sam Adams were already there. This was a great experience overall. Every single dish was unique and exciting, and it really made me think about the possibilities beer has to open up flavors I never knew food had. I fully intend to attend any similar event that is held that I find out about, and would encourage you to do the same. Mad props go out to Sunspot, Magic Hat, and Eagle Distributing for putting on this event!

4.9% Alcohol by Volume
Color of Head is White
Color of Body #F6C547

I'm done with finals! And to top it off, I think I may have actually gotten good grades, so that's cool. Go me. I would like to sincerely apologize for the lack of updates to Whootbeer! over the last week. I would have loved to take the time to sit back and write a review, but I just didn't have the time. Well, I probably had the time, but I couldn't do it without feeling really guilty about not doing something more constructive. But the wait is over, and I'm back now so let the drinking commence! Also, I'd like to preface this by saying that I am not actually sure if this is a wheat beer. It really tastes like one, but I'm not positive. Either way, this is happening.

Now this is how to do a fruit flavored beer. The head fades away really fast. Very thin, sadly. In the nose, you obviously get a bunch of blueberries, but also light bubblegum finish. There aren't a whole lot of other smells to the beer, but that's ok. It doesn't need them. This has been one of my favorite beers for a while now. It's just so damn fun to drink. Very light, not too complex, but very satisfying. Unfortunately for me, it's much better out of a keg than out of a bottle. I mean, its still great out of the bottle, it just doesn't taste quite as crisp. When you drink it out of the keg, the aftertaste actually seems like you just got done eating a handful of blueberries. The bottle seems like half a handful. But by saying that, in no way do I want to imply that the taste is overpowering. It's not. It's just a big part of the beer.

Other brewers really need to look at this beer and see what they did with it. So many other brewers craft these fruit beers, and they just taste like it was an afterthought. It's as though they took a lager base and just threw in some fruit flavoring and slapped an a wacky name. But not Sweetwater. The blueberries are a part of this beer. They really did a remarkable job in creating an incredibly consistent and easy to drink beer. It's not too sweet, not too bitter, and it doesn't overdo the fruit thing. It's perfect. Definitely get this if you have the ability. And you owe it to yourself to get this on tap if you have the chance. 93/100.

P.S. Check out Sweetwater's site. It's pretty awesome. Very nicely designed, though the music is a tad annoying.

I'm taking a few days break from reviewing, just until i get done with finals. It pains me, it does. But, i should have a good amount of stuff to report when i come back. I'm actually going to a beer dinner Magic Hat is putting on at Sunspot in Knoxville on Monday, so i'll definitely be covering that, though there is really only one wheat beer that will be there. And i still have a lot of beers in my fridge that need to be drank, so bear with me until i get done with school. After Thursday, everything is gonna be allllllright...

Color of Head #F6DBC5
Color of Body #EBB54D

OK, I'm done with my first round of finals and am ready for a beer. Normally, it's pretty hard to go wrong with a Sam Adams beer, but I'm not so sure about this one. Something deep in my subconscious is telling me that I've had this beer before and hated it, but I hope my subconscious is wrong. There's only one way to find out...

This smells like Cherry Juicy Juice, straight up. Very sweet and malty smelling, and hardly smells like beer at all. It tastes very crisp, and is highly carbonated. A bit too carbonated for my tastes. The smell really had me hoping, for some reason, that this would be a super sweet beer. But it's not. In fact, the beer smells much more like cherries than it tastes. The taste of cherries only really comes out in the aftertaste. My roommate just pointed out that it tastes a little like cough syrup, which it does. But even so, it's really all I can taste. The rest of the beer just tastes like carbonated water. It's really very thin.

My subconscious was right. Well, almost. I didn't hate Cherry Wheat, but I didn't like it at all either. The beer is not very complex, and the one flavor that really comes through doesn't come through enough which is unfortunate. And I would have liked a little more sweetness, too. Normally, you can't go wrong with a Sam Adams beer, but this is really not one of their best. 65/100.

P.S. Sorry about the lack of an actual picture of the beer. I still don't have a camera and don't want to infringe on copyrights, but i should get one in the next few weeks.

4.8% Alcohol by Volume
Color of Head #FFFCE4
Color of Body #F9E750

Whoot! It's final time in Tennessee, and I'm ready for a break from studying. I've been studying for my intro to Electronic Media class for a while now, and I'm a little burned out. The class is all about the history and progression of different forms of media with an emphasis on the internet, which I'm pretty into. The class is taught by an awesome guy by the name of Ed Spray, who besides having a massive list of credentials like teaching at Syracuse and being broadcasting director at CBS in LA, was the former president of Scripps Networks, which created networks like HGTV and the Food Network. Needless to say, I have an A in the class. And the best part is, he's a fan of my blog! But because i have these finals, updates to Whootbeer! might be a little sporadic for a bit, so bear with me. That said, it's time to do a review.

Great White pours a bright, white head that fades away after only a few seconds. Not very viscous. For an unfiltered beer, its really clear with a bright pilsner color. It smells of coriander, sage, and the usual citrus elements that come with the American Belgian White style beers. It actually tastes like a Blue Moon lite, if such a beer existed. It's got maybe a little too much carbonation for my taste, but not enough to burn. It tastes pretty thin, too, and is not very filling. But, the beer does have a lot of tastes floating around in it, which is nice. And it has all those flavors without anything being too overpowering.

I'm not a huge fan of this beer, but I can appreciate what it does right. It has a bunch of nice full flavors and would really be a nice beer to sit and relax on a beach with. The problem for me is that I'm separated from the beach by the Great Smoky Mountains. I also don't really like that it tastes like a slightly modified Blue Moon. I bet it gets better about three beers in, but what beer doesn't? To close, I would say get this beer if you are hot and like the Belgian White stile, but otherwise it isn't that great. I probably won't get it again, unless my purchasing options become extremely limited. 73/100.

5% Alcohol by Volume
Color of Head #F7F3C9
Color of Body #DFD25E

I feel bad about drinking this beer tonight. I came back from several pounds heavier from Thanksgiving, and I don't really need the extra calories, but oh well. To find today's beer, I stopped by this new place call The Market in Maryville, TN, that is kinda like the Fresh Market. They had a nice little Belgian beer section there that wound up making me pull about $25 out of my moth ridden pocket to try this stuff, but I don't care because it looks delicious! Wittekerke is the best selling Wit Bier in Belgium, so I'm pretty amped to try it. The Belgians know what they're doing when it comes to beer. Oh yeah, and would you like something extra to think about? This popped into my head the other day, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. Just take a second and really sit back and think about the amount of naked people on the Internet relative to the population of the world. It's staggering! In my days of using StumbleUpon alone, not to sound pervy or anything, but I have seen a countless amount of naked women online. I really don't think I have ever seen a repeated face. I mean, it's gotta be thousands, right? Then I started thinking about how most of these women were from America, which has only about 5% of the worlds population, so that's 95% of the world's supply of women that I'm not seeing naked. Add to that the roughly equal amount of naked dudes online to up the number. What makes this even weirder is that I know a whole bunch of people, and I'm pretty sure that none of them are naked online. At least I hope. I don't know, it's just something weird to think about. Anyway...

Man, this smells a lot like Heineken or Grolsch It's not what I was expecting at all. I guess that's because of my damn perception of a Belgian White coming from the likes of beers like Blue Moon and Shock Top. This is one of the most yellow beers I've ever had. It really looks a lot like the Leinenkugel Summer Shandy, which actually has lemonade in it (or at least tastes like it does). It's cloudy, but on the light side of cloudy, like there is some heave condensation on the side of the glass. The head was pretty bubbly and dissipated quickly. Very white. The most obvious smell coming off the top is of lemon, but more lemon grass than lemon zest. A little orange scent, too. And I swear there is the faintest hint of rosemary. But underneath it all is that skunky scent of a pale lager like Heineken. That's not a bad thing, it's just not what I was expecting. Like I said, my perceptions might be a little off base because of what I'm used to.

I'm not too wild about this beer. It has some nice flavors to it, and has a pretty crisp finish, but there just isn't much there. It's not that complex. I probably won't get it again. If I lived in Belgium where I bet it's cheaper, I would probably drink it a lot more, but I don't. I live in Tennessee where it is over $10 a six pack, so it just isn't worth it. Later on, after I have a little more experience with genuine Belgian White's, I may change my opinion on Wittekerke. But for now, I am just not a fan. 70/100.