Sunday Night Suds - Lake Placid Hefeweizen

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Lake Placid's Hefeweizen.

I know that summer is long gone, but sometimes I get a craving for a summer type beer. So looking at my beer shelves before shabbos, I eyed the Lake Placid Hefeweizen that I had bought during the summer at Beverage World in Peekskill. I put the Lake Placid in the fridge with the intention of having it shabbos afternoon and then promptly forgot about it. Midway through shabbos, Mrs KB reminded me that we were invited out for a birthday party by a friend who likes good beer, so I mixed a sixer of the better beers from my refrigerator and brought them over to P&P.

Which brings me to this evening when I sat down to review the Lake Placid Hefeweizen, only to discover that I had given away the brew I had intended to sample over shabbos or this evening. After triple checking the fridge, I remembered that I had given the beer away, but I did not panic because Hefeweizen are equally good cold or room temperature (no I am NOT British).

As an intro to Hefeweizen, I present the style definition at BA, which explains that it is:

A south German style of wheat beer (weissbier) made with a typical ratio of 50:50, or even higher, wheat. A yeast that produces a unique phenolic flavors of banana and cloves with an often dry and tart edge, some spiciness, bubblegum or notes of apples. Little hop bitterness, and a moderate level of alcohol. The "Hefe" prefix means "with yeast", hence the beers unfiltered and cloudy appearance. Poured into a traditional Weizen glass...

Often served with a lemon wedge (popularized by Americans), to either cut the wheat or yeast edge, which many either find to be a flavorful snap ... or an insult and something that damages the beer's taste and head retention.

The good folks at Lake Placid (OK, the Saranac people, since all the 12 oz bottles of Lake Placid beers are brewed at the Matt plant in Utica) have kept a firm hold on the traditional Hefeweizen style. The beer has an instant snap of banana/clove which lasts through every sip. Unlike some other "doctored" Hefeweizen brews, the Lake Placid version is not overwhelmingly spicy and holds its dryness well - perhaps another reason why it can be consumed equally well when served at room temperature.

Lake Placid Hefeweizen is under the kashruth supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit and bears a kosher certification on the bottle. For the experts' take on Lake Placid Hefeweizen, please click here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1888/11786.

As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.If you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).

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