Lips of Faith - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

elchivito · #1 07-31-2011, 12:54 AM

New Belgium Brewery, maker of such mundane fare as Flat Tire and Amber Ale, has several small batch offerings that are kinda hard to find. One series is for some reason called Lips of Faith and one of the beers in that series is a Dunkel Weiss, a dark wheat beer. Very dark, malty, not a lot of head, with hints of black peppercorn and fruit on the finish. 9 percent ABV and only available in 24oz bombers.
Dark wheats are sort of hard to come by. Gordon Biersch has a good one they offer sometimes in their brewpubs but don't bottle. If your only experience with wheats is those insipid coriander and citrus infused Hefewiezens, this one is worth looking for. Splitting one this evening with the spouse. Very tasty. I'm going to buy a case.

Chas H · #2 07-31-2011, 01:04 AM

Hefeweizens are not infused with any spices, as far as I know.
I like to drink my beers, not eat them with a spoon.

MTI · #3 07-31-2011, 11:31 AM

I think you meant "Fat Tire"

elchivito · #4 07-31-2011, 11:43 AM

I call it Flat Tire so often I guess I wrote it that way.

Regarding the flavors, I know that true Hef's aren't actually infused, I used the term incorrectly. Those fruit and spice notes come from residual yeast esters. There are a number of American craft brewers however who do in fact infuse their wheat beers. Blue Moon, for example, has 3 or 4 different seasonal wheats, all of which are infused. I don't care for any of them. As far as the Dunkel Weiss is concerned, the black pepper notes are nicely noticeable, but I'm not sure if they've actually used pepper in the fermentation or if it's a result of the yeasts. Don't really care. Interesting stuff. It won't be my cool off beer at 5.75 a bottle though.

sjh · #5 07-31-2011, 12:16 PM

Decades ago I was a hard-core home brewer. I'd buy 75 pound sacks of malted barley and have it shipped from Minnesota to Florida. I came to love malt and its variants and derivatives.

Every wheat beer I have had has had those insipid fruity esters you mention that I cannot stand.

Now, 65 pounds lighter and drinking less than 5% of what I use to I have avoided all weizens.

I will keep the Dunkel Weiss in mind. I can't imagine encounter a rich malt taste, as you describe, in a weizen. I look forward to trying it.

Maki · #6 07-31-2011, 12:26 PM

New Glarus in Wisconsin makes a similar limited brew, Imperial Weizen. Aroma like cherry licorice, about 10% alcohol. Very tasty, but one'll do ya.

Spaten Dunkel makes the beer coolers here once in awhile. Not bad for a mass market wheat.

elchivito · #7 07-31-2011, 12:59 PM

I'm not much of a lager drinker, preferring ales, but Spaten Dunkel is a favorite. Easy to get around here but pricey too. For the record, it's not wheat beer. Dunkel merely indicates "dark".

elchivito · #8 07-31-2011, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjh

Decades ago I was a hard-core home brewer. I'd buy 75 pound sacks of malted barley and have it shipped from Minnesota to Florida. I came to love malt and its variants and derivatives.

Every wheat beer I have had has had those insipid fruity esters you mention that I cannot stand.

Now, 65 pounds lighter and drinking less than 5% of what I use to I have avoided all weizens.

I will keep the Dunkel Weiss in mind. I can't imagine encounter a rich malt taste, as you describe, in a weizen. I look forward to trying it.

I don't need to lose 65 pounds, but I know this pesky extra 10 my doctor's always talking about would melt away "sin cerveza". Life is just one choice after another I guess.

Maki · #9 07-31-2011, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elchivito

I'm not much of a lager drinker, preferring ales, but Spaten Dunkel is a favorite. Easy to get around here but pricey too. For the record, it's not wheat beer. Dunkel merely indicates "dark".

Oops, right you are. It's Franziskaner that's their dunkel weizen.

Oddly, the craft brewers up here are generally outpricing the mass market imports like Spaten. The exceptions are the major crafters like Adams and Sierra Nevada. I suppose they all have the advantages of scale, whether they're in Germany or the US.

elchivito · #10 07-31-2011, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maki

Oops, right you are. It's Franziskaner that's their dunkel weizen.

Oddly, the craft brewers up here are generally outpricing the mass market imports like Spaten. The exceptions are the major crafters like Adams and Sierra Nevada. I suppose they all have the advantages of scale, whether they're in Germany or the US.

It's all pricey here, the best buys are New Belgium's regulars like 1554, Sierra Nevada, Adams etc. at around 8 bucks a 6 pack. Adams now has a high end high ABV 4 pack line that's real pricey and the ones I've tried are good but not worth the money. The smaller more exclusive craft brews go up from there. Dogfish Head has some that are in the 16 dollar a four pack range.

Full Sail has done well with their low end 12 pack beers they throw out there. Session Lager and Session Black are quite drinkable and at 10 bucks a 12 pack really good buys. I like the little 11 ounce stubby bottles too.

My wife likes the Franziskaner a lot.

sjh · #11 07-31-2011, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elchivito

I don't need to lose 65 pounds, but I know this pesky extra 10 my doctor's always talking about would melt away "sin cerveza". Life is just one choice after another I guess.

They weren't all lost voluntarily. But, since this is the new me I'll learn to live with it.

Soluble, non-fermentable carbohydrates though sure contribute to a tasty ale. I think a nice porter with a good blend of crystal and chocolate roasted, germinated barley is hard to beat.

Unfortunately I can't tell you when I had my last one!

elchivito · #12 08-01-2011, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjh

They weren't all lost voluntarily. But, since this is the new me I'll learn to live with it.

Soluble, non-fermentable carbohydrates though sure contribute to a tasty ale. I think a nice porter with a good blend of crystal and chocolate roasted, germinated barley is hard to beat.

Unfortunately I can't tell you when I had my last one!

I had my last one a few minutes ago. But it's only my last one for about another 5 minutes.

Guinness Foreign Export tonight. Tasty with the top sirloins and garden succotash. It's making it hard to finish editing the photos I'm trying to work on though.

sjh · #13 08-01-2011, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elchivito

I had my last one a few minutes ago. But it's only my last one for about another 5 minutes.

Guinness Foreign Export tonight. Tasty with the top sirloins and garden succotash. It's making it hard to finish editing the photos I'm trying to work on though.

Sounds mighty good!