Pyramid Haywire Hefeweizen

Brewed by Pyramid Breweries
Style: Wheat Ale
Portland, Oregon USA

A fruity smell, but a murky color. Really nothing interesting or different until the aftertaste, which was not good. Not worth buying again. Okay, re-rate by mistake. This beer is much more deceptive than you’d think and pretty good as far as American wheats go.

Draught at an overpriced seafood restaurant in Seattle. Served way too cold with a wedge of lemon on the edge of the glass - sigh. Hazy orange-amber with a small white head. Fairly typical hefe aroma with notes of yeast, banana and mild spice. Light body. Average flavour that is pretty much to style. Doesn’t hold a candle to the classics of the style, but it’s a decent enough beer.

Hazy golden colour with a thick (2 centimetre) dense white head. Smells of yeast, wheat, citrus fruit, coriander seed and that clean freshness (that is seemingly so indescribable) all come out nicely. Medium to Light-bodied; Medium flavours at first with the wheat and citrus being the major players but then falling off the palate completely. Odd mouthful, coats the mouth in a wierd fashion, not too pleasant. Aftertaste very subtle and mild, but with a bit of yeastiness is still noticeable as well as some residual sweetness. A decent beer...the aroma and appearance predicted this to be a bit better than it was, but not a bad beer for the style in any respect, but not better than average really. I bought this twelve ounce bottle at Total Wine in Chantilly, Virginia and sampled it on 10-September-2003.

12oz bottle pours cloudy golden with a short white head that doesn’t stay too long. Aromas of light bubblegum and citrus but generally nothing that pleasing to the nose. Flavor is pretty much yeast and light bubblegum I presume from the wheat. A touch of lemon on the finish. Palate is light and airy. This really shouldn’t be called a hefeweizen and really wasn’t even a good American wheat.

Bottle: Looks great with its cloudy orange and a thin white head, falls apart with a weak grain and lemon aroma, mellow carbonation and medium body can’t save it, the sour-laced taste and weak ending seal the deal.

Is this made by Pyramid or Orville Redenbacher? Almost identical to a product associated with the latter. Drinkable, but nothing to shout about.

Enjoy by date 05/2005, Sampled March 2005
Pours a hazy light amber to gold color. It is topped by a frothy one-finger thick off white colored head. The aroma of this beer is dominated by the yeast that was mixed in. I get notes of bread, and yeast as well as soft notes of lemon and fresh cut grass from the wheat malt. As I smell the aroma a bit deeper a nice lightly toasted biscuit notes comes through, as well as perhaps a hint of banana type esters.

The taste is spritzy from the carbonation, and actually a bit spicy, though in a very clean way. The taste is softly fruity with hints of lemon, apple, and perhaps some soft pear. By and large though this beer is quite clean. I think most of the character comes from the yeast that was mixed in. There is a slight fullness and perhaps an astringent note, as well as the soft fruitiness that I attribute to the yeast.

This is a nice refreshing brew, quite simplistic, and light on the palate. You really cannot ask for more from a standard American Wheat beer. I really recommend adding the yeast on the bottom of the bottle to this beer, it adds some much needed flavor and complexity. Having said this, I would much prefer a German style Hefeweizen or a Belgian style Wit over this.

Hazy Yellow Coloring. Good Head. More Aroma then Flavor...very bland for a Hefe...wheat...extra wheat added, makes for a different taste then in other Hefes.