Schell's 30th Anniversary Hefeweizen Series Weizenbock

This beer is part of the 30th Anniversary Hefeweizen Series from the August Schell Brewing Company of New Ulm, Minnesota. They were established in 1860 and I believe they are the second oldest family owned brewery in the United States, behind Yuengeling (this is the 30th anniversary of their original hefeweizen release, not of the brewery itself). This sampler pack contained the 1984 Recipe, the 2014 Recipe, a Weizenbock, and a Dampfbier.

The beer pours a hazy yellow golden in color, nearing a dark lemon meringue. There is about an inch of white to off-white head that disappears to a single level quickly. The aroma is tart and yeasty, bananas and cloves, lemony, some toasted wheat. The taste follows the aromas, this is the most yeasty and the most lemony of the bunch, with a bitterness on the end that doesn’t quite jive with the taste. It has a moderate carbonation. Nice enough, but initially to me it was the weakest of the four, but only by a hair. It did grow on me as I made my way through it.