Posted on 09/09/2004 8:58:40 AM PDT by Happygal
Never had that on tap. Schneiders I have tho.
Red
I have a couple of bottles at home, and I will check.
The label does not look like the ones I have. When I have consumed one (this evening ;-), I will soak the label off the bottle, scan it in, and post it ;-).
From Epinions.com:
Weisse is Nice: Maisel's Weisse Beer
Feb 18 '02
The Bottom Line One of the better German hefeweizens.
Though many beer enthusiasts consider Bavarian-style Weissbier to be a hot weather specialty, I’m here to tell you that it’s a treat to be enjoyed year-round, as much during a February chill as during the dog days of August. The Germans, who invented the stuff, will corroborate my testimony. Sure, the tart, quenching wheat character lends the style well to summer imbibing, but the complex flavors make it a good beer for winter, spring, and fall too.
Lately, I’ve been drinking a lot of Maisel’s Original Weisse from Bayreuth. Sold in half liter brown glass bottles, Maisel is bottle conditioned like most wheat beers. It is reasonably priced at $2.49 to $2.99 per bottle. I have seen it available in many states, especially here in the south (the importer is located in South Carolina.) Maisel uses it’s own special strain of “cellar yeast”, though the esters and phenols it throws off plant it firmly in the traditional Bavarian camp of strains.
Maisel has been brewing wheat beer since 1887 when the brewery was founded by brothers Hans and Eberhardt Maisel. Today, the company has become one of Germany’s top producers of wheat beer. In addition to their Original Weisse, a dunkel (dark) version is also brewed, as well as a Krystal (clear with no yeast in the bottle), a light weisse and an alcohol-free version. A seasonal Winter’s Dream Weisse is also released in Germany.
Maisel’s Original Weisse pours to a cloudy orange amber color with a huge foamy head formation and a big banana and clove nose. Actually, huge does not adequately describe the head formation on this beer. Towering, prodigious, colossal, enormous, and immense might be better descriptors. The bottle cap will actually float atop the head (try it). The palate is refreshing and tart with suggestions of apple, vanilla, banana, and clove. There are cracker-like wheat notes too. The finish is balanced, refreshing and crisp, tart and quenching, complex and spicy.
Maisel’s Weisse has an original gravity of about 1.051 and a slightly above average alcohol content of 5.7% by volume. The yeast in the bottom of the bottle is rich in flavor and B-Vitamins, which are ironically depleted from the body by alcohol. They are an essential part of your wheat-beer drinking experience and will help give your brew its traditional cloudy appearance.
For best results, pour about two thirds of the bottle into your glass, then swirl the remainder around the bottom of the bottle to rouse the yeast. Then pour into your glass. I recommend an authentic Bavarian wheat beer glass, thin and tall and wide-mouthed at the top. It is well suited to holding not only the beer but also the large head it forms.
Try this with a snack of Weisswurst sausage and a hunk of black bread. It goes equally well with hot from the oven cornbread and home-made vegetable beef soup brimming with okra, corn, peas, beans, potatoes, onions, carrots, celery and beef.
EPINIONS CRITERIA:
Overall Rating: Five Stars
Beer Rating: A must - sensational
Weight: Medium Body
Flavor: Tart
Complexity: Complex
Price: $2.99 per bottle
Please add me to the Republican reptile ping list, thank you.
I live in the Austin Texas area, and do not recall seeing Maisel around here.
If I cannot find it here at the Central Market, then probably no distributor here carries it.
Beamish! One of my favorites.
Beamish is better ;-).
Um, I'm not sure hellinahandcart would let me smack him! ;-)
I'm out of town at the moment, so if he needs a good smackin', somebody else will have to do it...:D
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