Pyramid Imperial Hefeweizen

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

22oz bottle poured into a weizen glass. Hazy, dark orange with a super foamy head. Smells spicy, peppery, and fruity. Interesting flavors of fruit, hoppy, but not similar to a normal hefe as I didn’t find any banana or clove flavors here, weird. Nice beer, I wonder if it was better when it was first released back in September. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 02-01-2008 01:14:24

Soft fruity nose, hints of lemon dough. Slight pearl haze, deep gold to amber, medium foamy medium head. Sweetish, slight cloves , pepper crackers, not much bitterness. Medium to high carbonation, full mouth feel, but delicate, soft finish with a slight warmth pulling through. Not remarkably complex, but very elegant and enjoyable..

A- Pours a cloudy and hazy orange-amber hue with a nice amount off craggy white head that is sustaining and leaves a fair amount of lacing on the glass S- Aroma is mostly citrus and floral hops along with yeasty wheat malts T- Hmmmm, initial taste is of wheat and sweet malts, followed by bread malts and dark citrus in the middle, and finishing with an unassuming touch of dry hops and alcohol M- Medium-bodied hefe with an almost oily texture, light carbonation D- At 7.5%abv, this is definitely on the strong-side for a hefe, fairly drinkable overall, but lacks any unique characteristics for a repeat buy. I think the biggest knock on this beer is that it tries to be both an IPA and a Hefe but fails at both, sometimes "hybrids" are not the best picks for beers and this shines with this "Imperial Hefeweizen". . . if I want a good IPA, there are plenty of better choices, and the same holds for Hefes, I see no situation in which I would want the hoppiness of an IPA with the wheat/syrupy maltness of a Hefe

Big frothy head atop this marvelous looking beer. Looks like golden roasted dusk shining inside the glass...hazy, amber hue reflecting my thirsty face. Mouthfeel is creamy, thick, bready. Taste had a lot going on: banana, wheat, slightly spiced (black pepper, anise), hints of licorice and over ripe apricot, banana bread, thick stale muffins. There was also a fairly strong dose of earthy elements here: grass, straw, mud huts along the Nile (well...it is from Pyramid Breweries after all). Overall, a unique and special beer. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but had to buy it twice to make sure. Probably designed more for those beer drinkers with discerning tastes.

Bottle: Poured a cloudy dirty yellow color weizen with a small off-white head with limited retention as well as lacing. Aroma of wheat malt is dominating with some light notes of banana and cloves. Taste is again dominated by some wheat malt with some light notes of banana and cloves ester also noticeable. Body is full with some very limited filtration and average carbonation with no discernable alcohol. Interesting take on the style but somewhat cloying at the end of the day.

Pours a dingy-hazy orange with little to no head. Grainy aromas dominate, with some hops and citrus (not american hop citrus though) in the background. Flavour is grainy, with some orange in the mid-palate, that is quickly taken over by a solid hop bitterness which dries the finish out. The mouthfeel is pretty thick and creamy, but not cloying. Overall, more of a IHA (India Hefe Ale) than what I’d call an Imp Hefe. I expected more banana-clove phenolics and less hops.

Pours a hazy orange/amber color with little to no head. Some carbonation though. Aroma is fresh peeled oranges and wheat. Flavor is more of the same. Citrus and wheat, although almost none of the weizen yeast flavors you usually get. No bananas, no bubblegum. Alcohol is well hidden. This is a nice beer. Would be good in the summer.

Sparse aroma. Pours a very nice cloudy orange, yeast floaties. Flavour is tangerine-like, suprisingly hoppy. Body is above average for style, thick. An enjoyable beer, but I’m mixed on whether this is really a weizen.