Fair State Brewing Cooperative has incredibly dynamic and well-crafted beers from their Lactobac Sour Series to their Pils. Earlier in the year, I w rote an article focusing on the brewery as a whole. During my first visit, one of the owners, Evan Sallee, made it a point to tell me about their Hefeweizen and how special it is. That was back in early February when it was still butt-cold and warm weather seemed about as far away as decent social skills to a seventh grader. Now, it is a nice Saturday in April. The sun is shining and the Fair State Cooperative taproom is bustling. The aforementioned Hefeweizen was released a few days ago and I have been pining for the opportunity to taste this brew.

I hunkered down at the corner of the bar and mentally prepared myself to try this beer. Incidentally, if you haven’t been down here to try a beer and bask in the laid back atmosphere of the taproom, you should make that a priority. I ordered the Hefeweizen and it arrived in all its cloudy goldenrod glory. The head is white with small dense bubbles that almost look like frothed egg whites. The head dissipates slowly and leaves behind a very nice lacing on the glass.

The aroma of this beer is a delicate mix of banana and citrus with a hint of yeast. It tastes refreshing and has a nice lemon peel-like tartness that seems to balance out the sweet citrus notes. The mouthfeel is very smooth at first with a subtle dry tartness that stays on the back of your tongue.

This is, in fact, a delicious brew to usher in spring and summer. For all the anticipation and build up, I was definitely impressed. Hefeweizens, as a style, can be polarizing beers because of the use of wheat. In my opinion, a Hefeweizen brewed well, is the epitome of what summer in a glass should taste like. The Fair State Brewing Cooperative hit this one out of the park. Luckily for us, the Fair State Hefeweizen is delicious, aromatic, refreshing and will last into the fall. Prost!