Pyramid Imperial Hefeweizen

Brewed by Pyramid Breweries
Style: German Hefeweizen
Portland, Oregon USA

Finally an above average product from the guys at Pyramid. By far my favorite Pyramid ale. This heffe is very unique as it has a pretty strong hop flavor that most heffes lack in, great brew...i dig!

650 ml. Murky, apple cider color with a three-finger, creamy and lasting head. Aroma is dry crackers, then caramel. Flavor is pretty similar with some apple, slight citrus, and paraffin. Finish is more fruity, and aftertaste is more bitter-oily. Body is light-medium and pretty smooth, with a little tongue tingle from carbonation and alcohol. Finishes on a slightly dry note. Nice looking brew with a good mouthfeel. Taste is OK, but seems like an American wheat yeast (which I hate) and/or too much hop was used, as this beer really doesn’t have any of the banana-clove taste or aroma qualities of a German hefe.

Pours a deep cloudy yellow orange color. Dense white head that dissipates quickly. Citrusy malt smell to it. You definitely get the malty grainy flavors of normal Hefe but there is also a bit of dark citrus in there. Bitter yet sweet. I don’t really like it. Thick mouthfeel, the carbonation leaves quickly, and the malty bitterness is almost overpowering towards the finish. Not that great, it’s good, and new and different, but its not a favorite for me.

(22oz bottle) Small off-white head atop cloudy light amber body. Aroma is medium sweet, yeasty wheat, some orange, butterscotch. Taste is medium sweet, apricot/orange, yeast, some wheat, alcohol, light candi sugar. Somewhat dry finish. Medium body, faint acidity.

22 oz bottle 12/23/07: Cloudy, light amber w/ a thin, but lasting white head. Wehat malt & a lightly tart malty aroma at first. Grainy w/ a hint of dried apricots with a touch of alcohol rounds out the nose. Wheat malt flavor up front w/ a lightly crisp tartness. Grainy, mild green apple fruity flavor as well, but wheat dominates. A slight bit boring actually. Finish is dry, bitter, and lightly acidic. A bit too bitter for my liking. Aftertaste is wheat malt w/ a light frutiness, and still bitter. Medium high CO2, smooth, w/ well hidden alcohol. Medium body. I’m not sure if I’m impressed or disappointed! More than I expected from Pyramid given their line up of beers, but not an overly exciting beer to me.

Opaque apricot pour with some some particulates that could not be avoided. Nice compact white head. Aroma is intense for a Hefe...floral and fruity with some hops mixed in. Flavor is pretty typical for a Hefe, but more dramatic...there’s a lot more hops and body than a normal Hefe, and its pretty good! To be honest, the hops almost dominate the malt flavors, but its a good balance with the traditional wheat flavors of a Hefe evident. Although I can’t understand why all of the brewers of high gravity stouts keep wanting to put their drink in a bomber, this one made perfect sense. Oh yeah, very nice mouthfeel as well...good level of carbonation and an oily presence. Would buy this again.

Arrived from the tap apricot brown with a small tight white foam head. Not much happening on the aroma side except for a trace of graininess. The beer starts slightly sweet leading to a quick yeasty bitterness and sligh hop flavor. There are traces of citrus and maybe a little banana. Not very wheaty - more sour/bitter. Mouth feel is ok, just not very acidic or highly carbonated like most weizens. Overall, a nice beer that hides the higher alcohol nicely and drinks easily.

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, white, mostly lasting. Body is hazy medium to dark yellow, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (toasted grain, husks), with light notes of detergent and underripe banana. Flavor is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter, slightly husky. Medium to full body, velvety texture, lively carbonation, lightly to moderately alcoholic. Dull and somewhat unpleasant grainy-soapy nose, and a strangely unsatisfying flavor balance. Not much German weissbier character. Nice mouthfeel though.