Summer is the perfect time for wheat beers, and this year, beer lovers are in luck. That's because Chico, California's Sierra Nevada Brewing Company has a new offering in the field: Sierra Nevada Kellerweis, an authentic Bavarian-style hefeweizen. Keller, of course, is German for cellar, and here refers to Kellerbier, which is a rare and little-known German style. Kellerbiers are usually lagers, nothing out of the norm for Germans to be sure, but lagers that are not filtered. As a result, they retain yeast in suspension, and have a characteristic cloudy appearance.

In a similar vein, Sierra Nevada Kellerweis is also bottled with yeast, just as a good hefeweizen should be. And if you look closely you'll see a good amount of sediment at the bottom of the bottle. But don't waste it; yeast is good for you. Rich in B vitamins, brewers yeast is often used as a nutritional supplement, and here also has the added bonus of contributing flavor.

Sierra Nevada's beers are normally remarkable for their bright hoppy character, but Kellerweis does not follow that model. Hefeweizens are brewed with a large proportion of wheat in the grain bill (usually at least 50%), and as a result don't have as much sweetness as all-barley malt beers. Therefore, fewer hops are needed for balancing, and Sierra Nevada Kellerweis consequently has a mere 15 IBUs.

The beer has 4.8% alcohol by volume, is open fermented, and is made with wheat, Two Row Pale, and Munich malts. Sierra Nevada's website says hops use are "Perle or Sterling". The former is a close relative of the Hallertau while the latter is similar to the Saaz, both of which frequently appear in German beers. But again, it's important to keep in mind that hops play a minimal role here: the wheat and yeast are the main stars.

I pour a bit more than half of my bottle of Sierra Nevada Kellerweis into an authentic Bavarian-style wheat beer glass. The liquid is a hazy yellowish-orange in color and becomes slightly white if held to the light. A massive head of rocky foam forms even before I pour in the last of the beer. But before I do that, I swirl the remaining liquid to rouse the yeast sediment at the bottom of the bottle. There's a lot of it, and I actually have to swirl and pour twice before I can get it all.

Taking a whiff, I'm very pleased with the nose, which is full of spicy clove and fruity banana notes. I don't want to wait to take a sip, and so I don't, and am immediately whisked away to a small town in Bavaria. At least, the beer could have been brewed in one, and one might never know the difference. The beer is extremely refreshing, with a tart, crackery wheat body that is spiced to perfection with heady, pungent clove and sweet banana. The yeast imparts a bit of nuttiness, too. The beer finishes very tart and quenching.

This is one very impressive hefeweizen, and as I said, it's one that I could easily mistake for one brewed in Bavaria. A natural for hot summer weather, and perfect for pairing with a hearty plate of mildly seasoned Weisswurst sausages, tangy sauerkraut, and buttery spatzle noodles.

Ironically enough, the day I bought my first six-pack of Kellerweis (for a meager $7.99 mind you) I had made a specific trip on a hot day to get a bottle or two of imported German hefeweizen. Spying the Kellerweis, I opted for that instead. Looks like I got my fix of Bavarian wheat beer after all.