Saphir Weiss - Mahr's Bräu, Bamberg

This beer is exactly what I was looking for. Exactly. When I was poking around in the fridge looking for a beer to drink tonight I wanted something that was smooth, creamy and tasted familiar. When I saw this bottle of Mahr's Bräu Saphir Weiss I couldn't resist opening it. If you've read more than a few of my other posts you probably already know that I spent a good deal of time living in the small Franconian town of Bamberg. I may be biased but I still believe that Bamberg beers are the best in their class, and the beers from Mahr's Bräu are no exception.

I consider myself to be an amateur expert on Mahr's Bräu beers, having ditched more classes than I care to remember only to spend my summer afternoons in the Mahr's biergarten. What intrigued me most about this beer is that it's a genuinely NEW beer, something you don't see from many Franconian brewers. The label says that Mahr's brewmaster fell in love with a new variety of Hallertauer hop, the Saphir, and used "a metric ton" of it in this beer. My one complaint, if you can call it that, would have to be that this beer doesn't taste like it has a metric ton of anything in it, let alone hops. Maybe the analogy is lost in translation, or I've been spoiled on super hoppy American beers... Either way, this beer tastes amazing and is perfectly hopped as far as I'm concerned.

What first got my attention when pouring this beer is the aroma. The first thing that came to mind for me was banana cream pie... That light banana aroma with a airy sweetness and bready crust, all in one beer. Also present are tantilizingly sweet and tart lemon and orange aromas that fallow through to your palate.

The flavor of this beer is exactly what I was looking for, it's sweet and citrusy without being too light while being sour and yeasty without tasting like a Belgian imitation. If I had to some this beer up in one word though, it'd have to be "balance." Mahr's brewers perfectly balanced the sweet, sour, tart and hoppy flavors together into one incredibly smooth and inviting Weissbier. It's amazing in it's complexity and yet deliciously simple. If you pass up the opportunity to try this beer, you are truly doing yourself a disservice.