The next in the Sampler pack I received from Michelob. I’ll give them credit for going with a Bavarian style weizen rather than the American style (à la Widmer) that other macrobrewers have done—not that there’s anything wrong with the American wheat style (I like it fine), but an authentic German weizen is more of a challenge. And the macros tend to go for the low-hanging fruit…

On the bottle it says “unfiltered,” though I have my doubts; I think it’s at least partially filtered. But maybe not.

Appearance: Slight haze when I swirled the bottom of the bottle (at the end of the pour). [Not as much haze as it should have been.] Nice golden color, not much head.

Smell: There is a nice spicy weizen aroma here—estery-phenolic and a hint of cloves. Yeasty and a bit sour.

Taste: Light, wheaty with yeast overtones. A bit of that spiciness lends a crisp edge to the beer. A bitterness is there that doesn’t seem quite appropriate. Overall it is in the appropriate style though, which I admit I’m pleasantly surprised by (signs of preconceived prejudices vis-à-vis macro wheats). Enjoyably sour with green fruits.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied, crisp and just sour enough to be refreshing—would be good on a hot day. I actually think mouthfeel is pretty right-on for the style.

Overall: I think my surprise at finding a decently crafted Bavarian is evident. Definitely a nice change of pace for a macrobrew.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores 81 out of 100, with 87% approval—I think the highest score for an American industrial brewer I’ve seen. On RateBeer, it scores 2.83 and is in their 32nd percentile.