Mahr’s Saphir Weiss

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)

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2 Responses to “Mahr’s Saphir Weiss”

  1. Ernie says:

    Banana and clove? that sounds redonk. I have to try this, can you get it at Jon’s?

  2. couch says:

    Banana and clove is the usual flavor combination of German hefeweizen, a particular kind of wheat beer. For straight up hefeweizen I would recommend Weihenstephan or Ayinger for Germans (both available at John’s), or New Glarus Dancing Man Wheat if you can get a hold of it.

    I did get this one at John’s. In terms of hoppy weizens, though, I would go with Gumballhead from Three Floyds.

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