Penn Pandemonium Weizenbock

Brewed by Pennsylvania Brewing Company
Style: Weizen Bock
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA

Pours brown with a nice creamy tan head. Smells of bananas, cloves, rick sweet malt. Tastes of wheat and sweet malt with a nice tarte hint on the finish.

On tap at Zeno’s Pub - State College, PA. Noses heavy in apple liquer and banana peel, fresh. Pours a thickly clouded burnt wheat, pale brown. Nice color and a tall, soapy head hanging on above in khaki. Flavor is rich and developed. Oh man, really intense fruit flavor. Intense banana, very fresh and real. This is one of the few times I’ve really enjoyed the weizen yeast. It’s kicked off some real-tasting banana phenols and some sweet reduced apple sugars. Yum. A long, long, long Noble hop draw, dewy, fresh, juicy and lively off the vine. Yeast are forward, but it’s so well done that I don’t mind. Alcohol stays subdued. Man, this is pretty decent. Fresh, well-conditioned, and full of well-balanced flavor. Deeper malt character would have propelled it ever further.

Capones on draft. Pours a rusty brown body with a 2 finger off white head. Lots of fruity esters; banana, citrus, and lemon. Spices are zesty and dry clove, pepper, and some unrefined sugar sweetness. Good brew.

On draft at GL. Pours a dark ruby brown with a small beige head. Aroma of banana, clove and wheat. Taste of banana, clove and wheat as well.

On tap at Bocktown. Great wheaty and rye aroma, with banana clove and spicy notes. Mild floral hops. Has some smoky quality to it, too. Not as deeply malty as other Weizenbock aromas, but pretty true to style. Deep murky brown, with light beige foamy lacing head. Pretty heavy watery body with medium smooth carbonation. Starts with great malty sweetness, raisins and bananas, bit of cloves and mild orange rinds. Spicy notes, with mild alcohol. Not complex or overly bitter, and its just a bit too sweet in the after. Otherwise, this is a nice little Weizenbock, especially for Penn.

Draft @ HDG. Other than the too much banana, this stuff is good. Some creamy caramel and chocolate goes nicely with the fresh flavorful hops and a bit of orange peel. Just a bit of spice as well.

Tap at Barcade. Deep brown and very cloudy brew. Thick creamy head (props to the barkeep on this one... it took him a good five minutes to pour). Great sweet aroma of fruity banana, some clove and a bit of apple on the nose as well. A hint of chocolate as well. The flavour is nice up front, sweet banana, caramel and toasted wheat malt. A bit of spiciness (clove and cinnamon). In the middle there is an unfortunately distracting chemically/metallic note that really detracts from the flavour. The palate is rich and full though with sweet bready malts, toasted wheat and soft caramel throughout. A light acidity on the back. The combination of wheaty acidity and warm malts and spices is really perfect for this time of year when the weather is just thinking about warming up. I suspect a line problem may be the cause of the problems in here and it’s good enough that I’ll give it a re-rate the next time I see it around. Without that, it would be an awesome weizenbock.

Poured from a bottle at Great Orlando Beer Festival. Very good Weizen Bock- it had a nice caramel color with an aroma of banana, clove, yeast, and sweetness with some toffee and caramel mixed in. A slightly bitter finish end this good beer.