Posts Tagged ‘Saphir Weiss’

Mahr’s Saphir Weiss

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

Mahr's Saphir WeissFrom Mahr’s Bräu in Bamburg, Bavaria, comes an amber-colored wheat beer brewed with a metric ton of Saphir hops. Longtime readers know that I am a fan of this unique strain of Hallertauer hops.

The Saphir Weiss is an opalescent copper color with a fair bit of creamy off-white head. The nose is full of classic weizen yeast character: banana and clove. This one has just a bit of an uncommon fruity hop aroma, something of a tangerine dream.

The bitterness of this beer is genuinely surprising; after the aroma you would expect a sweet banana bread flavor. A richly herbal hop bitterness takes its place. Grassy green and citric hops yield to cloves, which have an easier time breaking through than the banana. A bready malt sweetness supports the hops, and bananas echo in the background. There is just a bit of a lingering physical sensation on the tongue, accompanied by faint notes of banana and cloves.

+Saphir Weiss

3.8 (4-8-7-3-16)