Schneider Weisse Original

**Aroma:** “The aroma is pretty faint, but there is a touch of candy fruitiness and light hops. Some honey, burned sugar, and a sweet malty undertone. Medium fruit esters of banana, pineapple, coconut, and kiwi. An indistinct spicy phenol as well, but it isn’t clove.” **Flavor:** “A cornucopia of fruits: kiwi, watermelon, cherry, pineapple, and lychee nut. Bready malt is more Pilsner than wheat, with toasted bread verging on coconut, caramel, and burned sugar. While the impression is sweet, the beer isn’t all that sweet. Crisp hops bitterness, with a bit of grass. Some spiciness emerges in the middle of the sip and fades quickly to a finish with light bread and herbal hops flavors.” **Overall:** “This was a fruit bomb with the tropical and stone fruits and perfume. It’s hard to think of this as any kind of regular wheat. With a bit more date, raisin, heavy body, and alcohol warming, you might have a nice old ale.”

**Aroma:** “Wheat bread, crust—the light malt character is something you really have to look for. Some of the expected clove and banana elements, and smoky phenolics. No hops aromas to speak of.” **Flavor:** “The flavor is better than the nose, with definite wheat malt and bread character. Still some of the smoky phenolics and some plastic balloon, but not as strong as in the aroma. As it warms, some caramel flavor comes out, with some butterscotch. Some banana esters and clove.” **Overall:** “This beer could be a bit out of date, perhaps, but it’s right down the middle for style. As it warms, the plastic balloon flavor diminishes, and the light wheat and fruitiness come out, but not enough to fully recover. It’s sort of a funky wheat beer. Yet, some nice flavors remain, and the banana notes are spot on.”

**Aroma:** “Sulfur dominates up front, and gives way to a bright banana sweetness. Some bready, grainy wheat emerges, with some lemon and floral hops that begin to build as the beer warms. Not a lot of clove to be found.” **Flavor:** “The wheat malt is like crackers, but with just a touch of bread. It’s creamy, with a bit of grainy astringency, but it’s not off-putting. Spicy hops with some lime and citrus, a tad high for a typical German hefeweizen. The clove is pleasant, with a trace of banana and cherry, low phenols, and a bit of sulfur. A nice, dry finish favors the hops, but not excessively.” **Overall:** “The banana and fruit esters are a nod toward the Germans, but this beer stays on our side of the Atlantic. The wheat, spices, and light banana mix with the sulfur in the background. The flavor has a crisp hops finish, making this beer very crushable.”