Julius Echter - Hefe Weiss

I had just finished a long day at the office.  I needed a beer, and some of my friends were meeting at Christopher's in Porter Square for beers.  I joined them.  One of my co-workers had been singing the praises of Julius Echter, a Barvarian ale brand, and so I ordered the Hefe-Weiss Premium by Julius Echter, part of the Wurzburger Hofbrau family of beers.

This ale boasted a clouded amber-honey color with a firm head of tight bubbles that did not leave you wanting.  It was a generous head, with slow dissipation.  The nose was light, slightly yeasty, and had hints of allspice.  I took a sip and immediately grabbed the bottle from which it was poured, looking for ingredients.  It is a handsome bottle with old-tyme lettering, weighing in at 16 ounces as opposed to the standard 12.  The ingredients listed as water, wheat malt, barley malt, hops, and hop extract.  They did not list the overpowering flavor of cloves that I tasted as I sipped the ale.  I took another taste.  Cloves.  Another taste.  Cloves again.  The ale was smooth, creamy, and had some slight citrus notes, but overall, the flavor of cloves started and finished this beer.  I finished the beer, but was a bit confused.  Was this spice attack intentional?  Later, I bought a bottle of this selection by Wurzburger Hofbrau from Downtown Wine and Spirits in Davis Square to see if I had just been served a bad bottle of Julius Echter or if the flavor was the same as the bottle from the bar.  I opened it up and tasted it.   Sure enough, cloves.  I noticed a slightly butter aftertaste with flowery hints this time, but not enough to change my opinion of this Barvarian Ale.

If you like cloves, drink this beer.  If you like a well-balanced beverage that tastes like its namesake, a hefeweitzen, don't drink this beer unless you are just plain curious what clove beer would taste like.  This ale should be reworked by the company to be more balanced and less of a one-trick pony.