After all the doubles I’ve been drinking I came across one which immediately struck me as unusual. For all of you who have wondered what a double Hefeweizen is, Hermitage Brewing may not be able to help with this mystery.

This beer pours a lightly opaque orange-y gold with a quickly dissipating head. Though the color is similar to an average Hefeweizen, I generally anticipate more cloudiness from the yeast. In fact, there is little yeast to be detected here. There is a hop presence, but the wheat malts are in focus and their strength contributes to a thick body and light carbonation. The wheat malts are nice, but this beer is missing the banana, citrus and clove scents and flavors most often attributed to Hefs. Instead, it smells and tastes a little smokey with a faint muskiness from the European hops. This one might best be paired with fried or spicy finger food just because it’s light and strong, but I don’t think any certain foods will bring out any hidden flavors.

This beer is definitely drinkable at it’s 8% and could be enjoyed on a laid-back, sunny day but it’s not what you might expect. Fortunately for Hermitage, there is no standard for a double Hefeweizen, though regardless, I think they should experiment more with this one. I’d give it a 2/5.

Photo credit: www.betterbeerblog.com

• Tag: beer, double hefeweizen, hefeweizen, hermitage brewing, light beer