St. Louis Brewing is an up- and- coming craft brewery and it ranks in the top 50 among craft breweries nationally. Its name, St. Louis Brewery, is not very well known as its products instead use the name “Schafly.” The company tends to play it safe with its beers and a good example of this tendency is Schlafly Hefeweizen.
Beer Bio:
Beer Style: Hefeweizen
Calories: 125 per 12 oz. serving
Carbs: 16 grams
Bitterness Rating: 16 IBU
Alcohol by Volume: 4.1 percent
Schlafly Hefeweizen pours to a yellowish color with a cloudy body and a decent head of foam that leaves some spotty lacing as you drink. The nose on this beer is weak but the scent of wheat malt is obvious.
Schlafly Hefeweizen is a direct type of beer with a flavor that combines wheat malt, wheat flour, bread, yeast, and a touch of lemon. The body is light and there is little hop character or bitterness.
This beer reminds me of many other Schlafly products in both body and taste. There isn’t much complexity and the taste is acceptable, although not particularly memorable. The flavor of wheat malt and flour make this beer very standard in overall taste and this could be why so many people choose to add a slice of lemon. I don’t normally like to add fruit to my beer, but with such lack of complexity, it almost begs for something additional.
One thing I did notice with this beer that is important to share with others is the importance of proper pouring. St. Louis Brewing recommends pouring out most of the beer into a glass, but then swirling the last third (or so) of the bottle in order to get the yeast sediment mixed in with the beer, then pouring the remaining beer into your glass. If you do not do this, you will end up with beer that is less cloudy and not as flavorful. I did this with my first bottle and noticed quickly that something was wrong with the taste. I then noticed the instructions on the bottle to swirl and pour at the end and the taste did improve.
Still, even with the swirling and possibly an added slice of lemon, Schlafly Hefeweizen is a very basic hefeweizen that is fine for a craft beer newbie, but will likely prove dissatisfying to most everyone else. The wheat flavor is what you notice more than anything and the direct/non- complex taste is a little on the boring side. Try it, but don’t be surprised if you come away unimpressed.
Rating: 5 cheers out of 10
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