Beer and ... Eric Asimov?

If you haven't noticed yet, the New York Times' very own Eric Asimov had some very brief but positive words about summer beer.

Here's the link.

This isn't as surprising as you might have expected. Although Eric Asimov seems to have a bias toward European beer over craft American brews, he's a fan of Garrett Oliver and has used his unassailable authority in the world of wine to good use in favor of great beer.

My only complaint is that he says that hefeweizen has a strange taste. It's not that strange even in the world of lagers. Sure it can taste of "cloves, smoke, bananas and bubblegum" but what makes that so strange. Belgian beers, especially dubbels and tripels, are even more clove-ey, banana-ey. amd bubblegum-ey. Witbeers have even more pronounced spice flavors.

And besides, what makes cloves and banana so strange? To me, it doesn't seem any more unusual than someone talking about cherry, chocolate, or coffee stouts. Or noting the creative use of corn adjuncts in New Glarus' Spotted Cow, for instance.