Pyramid Imperial Hefeweizen

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

An imperial hefe? OOoohhkay. As I see the beer pour from the glass, I’m thinking..what the hell am I do expect? A hopped out hefe? Just doesn’t sound tasty. In the end, what I got was a fairly decent beer. Aroma was banana, a bit of cereal, yeast and crackers. Flavors were toffee, piney hops and malty. Decent nose but everything else sort of drops off after that.

Nice bright hazy orange color with a thin white head. I don’t get much on the aroma except light wheat malt, a touch of lemon, and perhaps a little alcohol. Wheaties flavor with an ever so light yeastiness in the finish that is accompanied by some alcohol. Mostly a funky wheat lingers, as well a little lemon. This bores me, as the wheat flavor is more of a bland cardboard boringness. At least at 7.5% it’ll get you drunk!

22oz’er. Poured a muddy, grimy orange-yellow with just the barest fizzle of a head. The aroma is nice ... lightly clovey, lightly yeasty. To drink, this hints at a "normal" hefeweizen, but then you get this big kick of syrupy alcohol that basically lives up to the "imperial" label ... almost turning into a caramel thing. Interesting twist on an old breed of beer. This is an intriguing brew. And delicious. (#3247, 12/14/2007)

Not too bad, though nothing special. Not getting much by way of hefe out of this, but then again, same applies to Pyramid’s staple hefe. Pretty strong tasting though. I could use this to get me in the mood quicker for the price, though this won’t see regular rotation, all things considered.

This beer pours with a fat-two-finger thick, pale tan colored head that is slightly creamy and sticks a bit to the sides of my glass. The beer is quite hazy and is an orange-tinted, amber color. The aroma is quite clean in it grain-like character; it smells of lightly toasted pale malt and wheat and crushed soda crackers. Underneath this is a yeastiness and a touch of fruitiness that is something like apples with a bit of pear and even a touch of apricot. I can’t really smell much in the way of a hop contribution to the aroma.

Somewhat tart tasting up front and it definitely tastes a bit like doughy yeast. There is a hit of hot alcohol towards the finish that seems to fade pretty quickly. A herbal hop character and lightly astringent bitterness tends to linger on in the mouth after that beer has passed on. Bread-like malt and a yeast bit also linger on in the finish. This definitely has a bit more heft to it than a regular American Wheat ale, but is still somewhat quaffable. Tart wheat & yeast notes contribute to fruit flavors of green apples and pears. This is definitely very grain focused in flavor with a touch of yeast and hop character to round things out (which is characteristic of the regular version of this beer).

At times the hot alcohol can really linger and it really detracts from the experience of this brew. I think that it gets to be a bit too much for the simplistic grain & slight hop character that is typically found in an American Wheat Ale. This even despite that fact that this is a "more" beer. Not bad, but it would be much better & more what I expected if the alcohol could somehow be tamed.

Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Tucson, AZ

22 oz bomber picked up at Holiday Wine Cellar. I have never heard the term “imperial hefeweizen” before but I like the idea of making one though. The aroma is a delighting aroma clove and banana esters backed with light note of spiced yeast. The appearance is a glowing yellow that is barely able to be seen through while a soft layer of film sits for a head. This is quite close to really tasting like a German hefe except its missing something, and I don’t know what?

Bottle sampled. Pours a hazy golden color with a small beigh head. Aroma of banana, pale malts, wheat, and cloves. Flavor of wheat, noble hops, banana, light malts and some spices with a dry finish. decent brew

Pours a translucent deep orange from the bottle with a frothy, off white head. Smells lemony (maybe because I garnished it with a slice of lemon), wheaty, malty, and a little yeasty. Flavor is malty, grainy with touches of caramel and banana. Finish is really smooth for a beer with extra alcohol. Overall it was a good Hef, but not spectacular.