Granite City Summer Hefeweizen

Brewed by Granite City Food & Brewery
Style: German Hefeweizen
St. Louis Park, Minnesota USA

Date: 08/07/2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub, Madison

Appearance: cloudy yellow, wispy head,
Aroma: big sweet banana aroma with an abundance of clove,
Body: light body,
Flavor: sweet banana flavor, light balancing bitterness mixed with the spicy clove,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: *4

Cloudy straw color with a white thin bubbled head. Mild banana and cloves in the aroma. Some wheat and malt also detected. Fairly light, but slightly sticky. Banana and a touch of tropical fruit also found in the flavors. Bits of cloves in the finish. Passable.

Draft at Toledo brewpub. Poured a hazy orange color with a moderate fizzy white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate spicy citrus & banana aroma. Medium body with a sticky texture. Medium citrus sweet flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration. Refreshing drinkable brew.

Draft at the Cedar Rapids, IA location. Poured a cloudy yellowish-white color; almost creamy looking. Head was thin and white. No lace was left behind. Smelled like banana bread (yeasty bread dough and ripe banana). Dry on the tongue with a delicate salty note that detracted somewhat. Clove and banana flavors with a hint of pineapple. Not bad.

draft at Fort Wayne brewpub - Pours hazy yellow with a one finger white head. It has a light citrus accented yeast aroma. The flavor is sweet and a little fruity. It’s light bodied and goes down very easiliy. This one is alright for a summer quaff. Like the other GC beers I’ve had, there’s just nothing remarkable about it.

Very thick, cloudy, murky yellow with a big white head. Spicy aroma with a muted banana note. High carbonation with a little bit of a peppery tangy finish. Really a lot better that I expected to get.

I hate this place, but when one came to town, I had to try all the beers. They’re all average to bad.

Growler from their location at the Legends at Village West. Pours a very cloudy staw with a white, fluffy, meringue-like head. On the nose are: banana, cloves and a minty wheat. Medium-bodied and slick it finishes fairly dry for a wheat. The flavor is a sweet almost citric wheat with notes of banana and cloves finishing crisp and dry. This is one of the better beers that I’ve had from GC, and if it weren’t so dry, this would be a great hefeweizen. It’s too bad that their seasonal beers almost always outdo their regular brews, because they rarely last very long.