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Out of the Bottle: Ein Heldenleben Dunkelweiss and Mid-Life-Weisses

Ein Heldenleben
This post started out as an extremely belated review of my Ein Heldenleben Dunkelweiss. Then I realized that this was the perfect chance to compare it against my very similar Mid-Life-Weisses that I brewed for a friend's birthday party.

Looking at the recipes, you can see that the only major differences are that Ein Heldenleben has some Pale Wheat in it, while Mid-Life ditches the Pale Wheat for additional Dark Wheat and Munich Malt. The decoction mash, hops and yeast are the same.

Let's start with the similarities.

Mid-Lfe
Both beers have banana and clove aromas that are more muted than I had hoped for. They're backed by scents of biscuits and subtle chocolate. Although the different lighting in my pictures show otherwise, the appearance of the two beers is very close as well. Both are appropriately cloudy and have soapy heads with decent staying power. Mid-Life has maybe a touch more amber to it.

The similarities end once the beers hit the mouth.

I'll be honest and say that Ein Heldenleben is my favorite of the two. While both beers carry similar banana and clove flavors, this one has a better balanced mixture of fresh biscuits and malty sweetness. My guess is that the Pale Wheat and lower amount of Munich Malt has a lot to do with it.

Mid-Life is slightly sweeter, as would be expected with the extra Munich Malt. The wheat character is less biscuit-like too. The beer also came out with a very light astringency that I didn't expect. My friend noticed it too, so I wasn't imagining things. I'm not sure where it came from.

Overall, I'd say Ein Heldenleben is a keeper. Mid-Life, not so much. Both are nice beers to drink, but the Ein Heldenleben wins hands down.


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