A Mid-Week Wheat Beer

When was the last time we had something new from Ale Asylum come into Oshkosh? Seems like a long time ago, but I guess it was just May. That’s when Ünshadowed first hit the shelf at Festival Foods. A couple days later, though, it was gone. Now it’s back. This time it should be here to stay.

Ünshadowed is a Bavarian-style wheat beer that will join the Madison brewery’s year-round line-up. It does everything a good German wheat beer should. This is a hefeweizen; “hefe” being German for yeast. And this is certainly a yeast driven beer. It pours out to a bright straw color with a hefty dusting of yeast still in suspension creating a pretty haze swirling in the glass. As the massive, meringue-like head begins to fall, you get the classic hefeweizen aromas of banana and clove. That, too, is a product of the yeast. The beer has a wonderful mouthfeel. It’s highly effervescent, yet still soft on the tongue with a mild lemon-fruit flavor over a sweet and creamy wheat-malt base. Ünshadowed finishes quickly and slightly dry; just enough so to encourage you to come back to the glass. This is an ideal summer beer. I could drink gallons of it. At 5.50% ABV that might be somewhat of a challenge, but I’m willing to try.

Aside from all of that, why aren’t there more Wisconsin breweries producing hefeweizens? New Glarus Dancing Man Wheat is the only other Wisconsin-brewed, German-style wheat you see around here with any frequency (or am I forgetting something). Considering the German influence in our state, you’d think you’d see more Wisconsin breweries producing this style as a summer seasonal. Perhaps it’s because this beer is ill equipped to carry a massive hop load. And hops seem to be what we’re all about these days. Take a break from the bitter and check this beer out. Ünshadowed is available at Festival in Oshkosh where they sell it in 6-packs for $8.49.