My hometown microbrewery, The Sly Fox, has been canning their beer for a few years now and it was a totally alien concept when they first started. I had never seen good, quality, microbrew beer come in a can before and I doubt that many other people had either.

The Royal Weisse is actually the beer that kept Shane coming back to Sly Fox, and in my opinion really got him started on craft beer. The Sly Fox is also something that I grew up with. My family would go to the original Phoenixville, PA location at least twice a month when I was growing up and when they opened the Royersford, PA one about a mile from my house the frequency of our visits went through the roof. I’m going to try and keep this review unbiased and not let nostalgia get in the way.

The Royal pours a cloudy pale, gold color with a decently fluffy white head. The head fades to a thin layer after a few sips and leaves a medium amount of lacing on the glass. The aromas coming off the beer consist of sweet wheat malt, hints of banana, citrus scents, and a hint of pepper right at the end.

The Royal has a fairly large flavor compared to the Kira that I reviewed yesterday. The Royal is smooth drinking with flavors of wheat, orange, banana and a bit of spice, there is a good amount of sweetness at first. The back end has a bit of a bite, just enough hops and bitterness to make the beer more complex. The elements that you want in a Hefeweizen are there: refreshing, flavorful, crisp, and relatively smooth.

Deciding the rating on this one was hard, I had to separate my nostalgia and sense of home from my palate. I also took into account the reactions of those who have tried the Royal for the first time, craft beer newbies and experienced drinkers alike. The Royal is also not 100% true to the Hefeweizen form, though it does take some fun creative liberties (such as less banana and more orange). Taking into account all the factors I believe that I was able to come up with what I feel is a fair rating for a great beer.

Overall: 7.5/10