A couple weeks ago fledgling brewery Brauerei Fahr (you can read my profile of the brewery here) announced that it had released its first beer, for now contract brewed at Tool Shed while they build their brewery in Turner Valley. I haven’t done a news round-up recently so that news had not yet graced these pages.

For those who have not hear of Brauerei Fahr yet (read the profile!), owner Jochen Fahr is commited to brewing traditional German styles. The first beer is Fahr Away Hefeweizen, and it is based upon Fahr’s award-winning homebrew recipe. As it turns out I had a chance to try a pint over the weekend. As it has only been out two weeks, it really is about as fresh as you can get it – which is a good thing for weizens, which don’t age particularly well.

It pours a cloudy pale yellow, cloudier than many hefes sold around here, and forms a big bubbly, frothy white head. The aroma is soft grass, bubblegum and banana mingling with soft, earthy clove and a general all-around fruitiness. I must say I am enticed by the aroma of this beer. It smells EXACTLY as I want a hefeweizen to smell.

The front of the taste offers a stalky wheat character, a bit of a silky sweetness and a light citrus fruitiness. The middle picks up some grassiness and a touch of earthy clove. A ripe banana character rises in the mid-palate as well, creating a tension between estery fruit and earthy clove. Hints of clover honey dance in the background. The finish is light, not too dry and fairly refreshing. I find the body overall to be a bit too light for my tastes, verging  on watery. Hefes should be light, but I wonder if this one goes a bit too far on that scale.

I want to be careful to not be too critical at this stage. This is the first batch from a contract brew. This beer will morph and change over time, in particular when Fahr gets his own brewhouse up and running. Still, it is interesting to examine where it is starting. All new brews can afford being tweaked and adjusted to land where the brewer wants it. I haven’t spoken to Fahr, but suspect he has his own points of critique of the beer. For me, I think it needs a sharper edge to the flavours and a touch more body to give the flavours something to rest upon.

That said, there is no question I enjoyed the pint, and would happily order another soon. A fine first effort from Fahr. Can’t wait to see what he has coming next. I do know he is collaborating with Wild Rose on a maibock for the 500th anniversary of the Reinheitsgebot later in April (more on that in a future post).