Pyramid Imperial Hefeweizen

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

22oz bottle. Cloudy honey orange color, heavily murky. Simple and plain, papery on the tongue, it has a huge viscous thickness but there’s absolutely no substance - it’s plain and simple, with just the faintest bit of orange and anise on the back in an otherwise empty finish. Very plain.

pours a cloudy orange with a three finger white creamy head. smell is wheat, banana, touch of lemon, something sweet. taste is creamy, wheat, bit of lemon, and maybe a little spice. good brew.

Poured a cloudy copper color with small head. Aroma was wheaty and lots of bananas. Flaovr was much the same with some cloves and other spices. SOme hops balanced this one out pretty well. Good beer.

22oz bottle. Pours a cloudy orangeish amber, mild carbonation. Aroma is banana/clove, some caramel. Pretty full-bodied. Flavor is caramel and wheaty yeasty goodness up front, but the 7.5% is surprisingly showing through. Hop flavor on the finish needs to be bigger, but otherwise this is a decent invented style.

Sampled at the brewpub on October 18, 2007. Large white head with a cloudy yellow body. Nose of lemon citrus and tin. Good banana esters as the base and decent enough texture. Good.

Draught chalice at Redbones on 10/14/07
Small, creamy, white head atop a moderately hazy golden-tangerine. Retention and lacing are moderate to poor.
To my great pleasure, it’s not a mess of clovey-banana in the nose and is actually fairly well balanced between soft bubble gum esters and even a touch of grassy hops, that hold the white pepper-like phenols at bay and deepen the complexity, giving it more than just a straightforward spiciness. Malts are moderately sweet, but you can sense a good deal of attenuation in them, and the sweetness seems fairly well-polished. On the finish, it gets a little bready, however, with some yeast doughiness shortening the aromatics and clove and light alcohol cutting through what was previously a more soft, round nose. I’m not sure the aroma gains anything from its "Imperial" nature, as I’ve had plenty of regular, low-to-mid gravity weizens that are both more complex and more enjoyable in the nose, but at least, it’s not nefariously laden with alcohol, nor is it too sweet.
Bready, almost crusty malts display a cracked wheat-like robustness that challenges the palate, as citrus, bubble gum and sweet honey notes soften the blow. Citrus is drawn out in to the finish, with a lemon-like acidity that is joined by light alcohol warmth and dryness. Carbonation is low to moderate, neither improving nor reducing the body, which is manageably well-attenuated for its gravity. Soft, doughy texture loses its effect on the finish, somewhat, as the alcohol cuts through. Bananas and clove present, but not overdone.

Small white head, retention is good as is the lacing. Murky amber colored brew. Nose is of yeast and decaying apples. Body is lightly medium, fairly effervescent, lightly oily. Light wheat flavors, more bad apples, lightly clovey and spicey, wheaty. Finish is dry and grainy, bready. An unimpressive brew to say the least. Bomber purchased @statelineliquors.

Bottle courtesy of 5000. Pours a hazy amber with a white head. Smells of bananas, cloves, ginger and dough. Tastes of some bananas with a full mouthfeel. Aftertaste yields minor bitterness. Nothing special.