Review: Cavendish & Cloves Collide

Yes, this review is long overdue, like, 14 months overdue.  I brewed this Hefeweisse the last weekend in March of 2011.  First double batch, first step mash, first time culturing yeast from bottles, first open fermentation.  Lots of firsts.  Also a last... the last bottle.  I enjoyed the last bottle of my hefe on 4th of July with breakfast: Chocolate Clove French Toast.  The pairing was heavenly.  As I enjoyed the aroma and flavor of the beer, and paired it with the meal, I decided it needed a review, something to compare with when I rebrew this beer, as I will do soon.  I had forgotten how much I loved the beer, and was glad to get the itch to brew a new one.

Look: Pours a crystal clear goldenrod with a huge billowing white head until the yeast get swirled in and it goes murky and the head turns light beige with flecks of brown in it.  Carbonation roles up the middle of the hefe glass and keeps the head lasting to the very end.  Faint lacing.

Aroma: Smells of over-ripe bananas and clove.  The esters and phenols are balanced and very prominent as they should be.  Hints of vanilla and strawberries come up as well, mild bubblegum.  Sweet malt.  No hops.

Taste: Taste mirrors the nose with lots of banana and clove, touch of cinnamon, a little strawberry and bubblegum, fresh cereal, sweet malts, grainy.  Tart.  No hop presence.

Mouthfeel:  Rich and creamy, big carbonation dances on the tongue keeping it light, dryish finish, sweet, just enough bitterness to balance.

Overall:  Very impressed with how this beer turned out and how it held up since everyone says they have to be drank fresh.  Big banana and clove, both in balance, light vanilla and bubblegum, tart finish, big carbonation and great head, light malt sweetness and graininess.  Biggest problem (not from age, it was in the beer 14 months ago as well) is the lack of protein haze.  Without swirling up the dregs and adding them to the glass this beer is crystal clear.  The lacing is lacking as well, but could be from the age.