It is about a one hour drive for us through some pretty countryside, especially in the fall. And as luck would have it, the brewery/restaurant is about a 15 minute drive from a large outlet store complex in Lee, Mass. So I eagerly agree to accompany my wife on shopping excursions to the stores. We head up one direction from our home and then make sure the return journey takes us to Great Barrington, right past the brew pub. How conveeeeeeeenient.
On our most recent trip after sampling a couple of different brews with our meal, I availed myself of a special and purchased four (4) 22 oz. bottles of different varieties in their current lineup. One of them is pictured above, the Bavarian Wheat.
You'll notice a decent head and the pale, straw color. The aroma was very subtle with some earthy undertones.
The first thing noticed when drinking was the prickly sensation on the tongue I usually detect in wheat based brews. If the beer is held in the mouth long enough the prickly sensation spreads around your entire mouth. In fact I'd say eventually the sensation was of "foaminess" filling your mouth.
The flavor was somewhat on the light side, as was the body. The flavor was also muted with subtle almost bread-like components to it. The taste disappeared quickly after swallowing.
There was the slight sweetness and definite spiciness associated with a wheat beer. As the beer warmed (hey it is a 22 oz. bottle) the spicy nature of the flavor got more pronounced. By the end it had me even thinking of a saison.
Their web site identifies Bavarian Wheat as a German style Hefeweizen. I'd agree they succeeded but certainly with a lighter version of the style.
I found it easy to drink and it got more interesting as it warmed. But overall I'd say I've come across Hefe's with more body and character.
I give Berkshire Mountain Brewers Bavarian Wheat 6 mugs out of 10.
And you better believe I will be heading back to the brew pub at the earliest opportunity.