Penn Weizen - Pennsylvania Brewing Company

ZimZamZoom

West Virginia

3.48/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured 12 oz. Bottle into pint glass.

Cloudy gold color with a short-lived white head. No lacing, lots of fast-rising bubbles.

Subtle aroma of banana and clove, mixing nicely with wheat malt. Taste is pretty much a repeat. It’s not very flavorful but all the aspects are there. Just seems a bit watery.

Kind of thin in the mouth, way more carbonated than I would prefer. Again, watery.

I’m not terribly impressed with this offering. It’s not something I would seek out again.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2007 00:51:26 | More by ZimZamZoom

erosier

Connecticut

3.48/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Pours a murky golden yellow color with a medium sized but thin white head that settles fairly fast and leaves some lacing down the glass. It has a very strong aroma of sweet wheat, cloves, banana, and some orange. The taste was OK for this kind of beer. It had a very nice sweet wheat base that was followed with a big hit of cloves and bananas. A slightly citrisy hoppy bitterness followed but the beer finished with a very sweet and pungeant aftertaste. The mouthfeel was very light but very watery. It was strange but it was a little watery feeling. The drinkability was good for a hefeweizen and worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2008 16:35:54 | More by erosier

claytri

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This beer pours a very appropriate cloudy gold. The aroma was clearly citrus. The taste was malty with a citrus tart finich. The feel was light and dry. A pretty decent example of a Wit, but it could be a bit more complex a little spice to go with the fruit.

Serving type: on-tap

06-05-2006 19:48:21 | More by claytri

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bright sunflower gold that is crystal clear... until the final two fingers of liquid are poured into the glass. At that point, a dense cloud of yeastiness diffuses downward, making the beer as opaque as any stout. The eggshell colored cap is loose and foamy rather than dense, creamy and sticky. It persists acceptably enough, but doesn't leave much lace.

The nose is classic for the style, with a decent amount of banana and clove. The grains (wheat and pale malt) are appreciated, as is a brisk shot of lemon juiciness.

While Weizen is pretty good beer, it isn't the stunner that was expected after I enjoyed the hell out of St. Nicholaus Bock and Penn Pilsner (and after seeing all the accolades proudly displayed on the brewery's website). It's still tasty and drinkable, however.

Untoasted grains are still the focal point. A little more malt sweetness would be welcome since there's no shortage of Hallertau hop bitterness. Clove is slightly more prominent than banana... which results in a hefeweizen banan-o-meter score of 2.0/4.0. I like a little more monkey fruit. The finish is peppery and approaches dry, but isn't crisp.

The mouthfeel is a bit light and is slightly too fizzy. Neither is enough to be considered a negative, but the next highest score is not a temptation. More malt sugars would help here as well.

Penn Weizen is an okay effort that isn't destined to be remembered once the pint glass has drip dried. If the notches on the rear label were decipherable, I could determine if this is a fresh bottle or one that has seen better days. I hope it's the latter because these guys are capable of better.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2008 11:55:19 | More by BuckeyeNation

THECPJ

Delaware

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Reviewed from notes:

appearance: hazy golden yellow with a 1 finger white head

smell: banana, citrus, clove, coriander, wheat

taste: banana, wheat, clove,

mouthfeel: mild carbonation, thin to medium body,

overall: a nice refreshing summer time brew.

Cheers,l
The CPJ

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2011 21:07:34 | More by THECPJ

deltatauhobbit

Maine

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a very hazy yellow/orange color, small white fizzy head that fades in lightning speed, no lacing whatsoever.

Smell has a strong aroma of coriander and clove, slight hint of banana and bubblegum, as well as a dash of orange citrus.

Taste has very active carbonation that explodes in the mouth, very strong yeasty presence that leaves a bit of an off-flavor in the aftertaste, coriander and clove are the major spice notes, very thin body that's almost thirst quenching in a way.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2012 00:20:19 | More by deltatauhobbit

emerge077

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a tulip glass, there's a decent head of white foam, leaving irregular arcs of lace with lasting head retention. Dull dishwater color, murky brownish orange once the yeast is poured in. As blah as that is, the head never fades, which is impressive.

Soft yeastiness of clove and hints of mellow wheat aromas.

Taste is similar, "tangy clove" indeed, the commercial description is certainly accurate. Mellow and sweet with dominating clove spice, no banana, clean finish. Initial sweetness doesn't linger too long. Wheat is subdued and pleasant. Body is light to medium with a bit of a twang that leans toward the astringent side, though not on a bad way. Overall a good American weissbier, fairly middle of the road but good enough.

Thanks for this one Eric!

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2012 23:35:55 | More by emerge077

tomthumbsblues

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. bottle with no apparent freshness date. Big bubbly head. The color is a hazy golden color. Streams of bubbles come from the bottom contributing to the light head left on top. The primary aroma of this beer is of unripe bananas with hints of other fruit. The taste is similar with the flavor of unripe bananas, but contained hints of malt and lemon. I felt there was a bit much carbonation in this beer. A good beer, but I was put off by the unripe banana character of this beer. I like bananas, but only when they're ripe.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2005 01:51:45 | More by tomthumbsblues

Zorro

California

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured in a Weizen glass this is a hazy yellow gold colored beer with a respectable amount of white head.

The smell is light and slightly tart with a small wheat malt scent and a much greater amount of clove aroma.

The taste begins neutral too slightly sweet with a faint taste of lemon and a lingering sweet aftertaste. Slight lemon undertones with a mainly soda cracker malt flavor as a base taste. No banana taste that I can detect.

Mouthfeel is good.

A better than average American made HefeWeizen but this just isn't among the best of them.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2007 00:03:18 | More by Zorro

nsmartell

Wisconsin

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I enjoyed this beer while enjoying the nice spring weather. From the bottle I received from the micro of the month club to a weizen glass.

Appearance: Pours a nice hazy golden yellow with minimal head.

Smell: Light banana and citrus.

Taste: Just what the smell suggests. Tastes of banana with some citrus. Good, but not exciting.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and light to medium bodied.

Drinkability: Nice easy drink. Based upon some of the other reviewers perhaps mine wasn't as fresh as it could be and would definitely try again.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2008 11:49:32 | More by nsmartell

brewmudgeon

Wisconsin

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

this is one of the first hefeweizens i tried, and didn't know what to expect.
(from notes--2007)
the first hefeweizen i tried, widmer, seemed simply to add a dose of vague bittering hops to a citrus wheat persona.
pours meekly enough, not too impressed with the big macrobrew-type bubbles (macrobubbles?) or rapidly disappearing head.
put off by the fragrance at first. metallic, sharply metallic. eww, is there something wrong with this.
taste... more metal. no wait, maybe more of a clove. maybe a little overripe banana in the background. by the end of the bottle, i was really enjoying the stuff.
mouthfeel nothing special, with those big bubbles and all. light-med. pretty similar deal with the other Penn's i've tried.
this one held my attention and introduced me to the world of banana bread in a bottle (although here with an emphasis on cloves).

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2008 00:42:59 | More by brewmudgeon

AltBock

Ohio

3.53/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle with an updated label. The label has a really good drawing of good looking Farmer's wife or daughter hauling away stocks of wheat out of a wheat field. She has a look on her her that says she likes what she's doing. Missing from my bottle was a back label that would have had a description of the beer and the Government warning. There should be a number printed onto the back of the bottle. My number read 12609N0705. It might be a best before date of December 06, 2009.

I poured this Weizen into my Ayinger Weizen glass. Penn Weizen was the usual hazy lemon yellow, but this one didn't have the massive head of foam on it. It was a good size, but it wasn't all that big. It was white as a ghost and about 3/4 of an inch in height. It had fast retention that only left behind a faint tiny string of rings along the sides.

It had a nice solid banana aroma to it with some malted wheat, spices, and cloves backing it up. When it was swirled around, a minor whiff of bubblegum emerged from the background.

While the aroma was pretty much situated on the banana, the taste was mostly all about the malted wheat. Following the malted wheat was a hint of banana, a pinch of cloves, a touch of yeast, and a few spices at the end. The taste of bubblegum would have been a treat, but I'm just glad that the taste wasn't overly yeasty.

This was a light bodied Hefeweizen with a high amount of carbonation and a crispy aftertaste. In the aftertaste, you find the taste of malted wheat, a hint of banana, a pinch of cloves, and a few spices. The wheat is the only taste that sticks around for a few seconds.

The Lion Brewery did a nice job with Penn Brewery's Hefeweizen recipe. It was up there with the better Penn Brewery beers. I wouldn't turn down another bottle if it was offered to me.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2009 22:41:15 | More by AltBock

drewbage

California

3.55/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Sampled from a bottle hand carried back from a gift in Florida. Poured vigorously into a tall weizen glass.

Hazy orange beer with a quickly collapsing white head that ultimately leads to a beer that looks dirty.

Aroma is bready with just a touch of banna hding behind the cinnamon and clove.

Flavor starts sweet cream of wheat with a slow cut of carbonation with a quicker, stronger influence of clove oil.

Finish is surprisingly thick for a Hefe. I think this should be drier to capture a classic style.

Not too bad, but there are better domestic Hefe's.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2006 09:08:20 | More by drewbage

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.55/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

At the brewery. Unique in that it had a farmhouse aroma and saison taste. Seems to be an accident of he batch according to the bartender yet I liked it. Good yeasty taste and medium body. Did not have creaminess I would expect of the style and left a dry finish.

Serving type: on-tap

05-14-2006 04:53:55 | More by northyorksammy

goblue3509

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy orange color with a one finger head to it. The smell is of wheat backbone with presence of orange, clover, and banana. The taste is of a wheat backbone with hints of orange, clover, and banana, a bread malt taste is also present. The mouthfeel is lightly carbonated. Overall this is a very smooth beer, there is nothing to make you not drink it and it is complex enough to keep you interested. Overall you good drink alot of these at one setting. Solid.

Serving type: on-tap

09-14-2009 21:45:16 | More by goblue3509

arnulfooxblood

Connecticut

3.58/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance--Super frothy head. Hazy golden color, this is one fine looking beer.

Smell--Malty and sweet, some citrus notes.

Taste/Moutfeel--I'm not typically a big fan of wheat beers, but this one is pretty good. Compared to others I've had, I would rate this quite high. Notes of orange and spices. Nicely carbonated yet quite smooth.

Drinkability--I would have another, and that's saying something for a hefe weizen.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2006 23:31:38 | More by arnulfooxblood

Shaw

Florida

3.58/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Starting on a weird note, I noticed that the back label for this bottle said Penn Octoberfest, while the front and neck labels are correct.

Pours a nice cloudy yellow, especially after I swirled the final ounces in the bottle. It has a bright white head that reduces to about a half inch in my glass. Nice looking.

It has the typical hefeweizen aroma, if a little light: spices and a hint of banana.

The flavors are similar. It has a prominent spicy, wheat-like taste that finishes with banana aftertaste.

The mouthfeel is smooth, with a nice amount of body.

Overall this is a pretty good hefeweizen. Not the best, but far, far from the worst.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2008 06:46:37 | More by Shaw

atsprings

North Carolina

3.58/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a hazy pale orange with a nice head that diminishes to a thin layer. Aroma is some sweet fuits and hint of bubble-gum. The taste is a nice balance of fruit both from the malts and citrus hops, but an odd sourness lingers in the finish. The beer is light and crisp with heavy carbonation. This is a somewhat ejoyable summer beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2008 18:35:35 | More by atsprings

JayQue

Virginia

3.58/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A fairly good hefeweizen. The appearance and smell are classic hefe - cloudy straw color, big bubbly head and great smell of wheat, citrus pepper and bubblegum.

First taste is a great follow-up to the smell. Smooth, astringent and very satisfying. The taste fades quickly into a mild wheat and slightly malty brew. Each sip is the same thing, the hefe flavors start impressively but don't last.

Overall mouthfeel is average. The loss of big flavor affects the overall feel. This beer has fairly good drinkability but it could have been a lot better. This one is close to being a really good hefe.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2008 02:22:33 | More by JayQue

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.58/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served on tap in a pint glass

Appearance – The beer poured a very hazy orange-yellow color with a medium white head. The head faded relatively fast to give a light amount of lacing.

Smell – The aroma is wheaty and yeasty with nice smells of banana, clove, coriander and some citrus aroma.

Taste – The taste is very much as the nose would suggest. It starts out wheaty and yeasty which form a base for the beer which lasts throughout the taste experience. At the start there is also a lighter citrus and banana flavor, which fade over time yielding to some spice flavors. More toward the end of the taste, the yeast seems to intensify some with the sweeter flavors lightening. Overall it leaves a slightly drier flavor on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The beers body is of average thickness with the carbonation level being on the slightly above average side. Both are fitting for the style.

Overall – It is a good session drier style Weizen. Easy drinking and tasty.

Serving type: on-tap

07-10-2012 00:15:17 | More by Darkmagus82

OldFrothingSlosh

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Presentation: 12oz. bottle. Sampled at a neighbor's house. Ironically, a die-hard Coors Light drinker.

Appearance: Received in a pint glass with the obligatory lemon wedge on the side. A cloudy yellow appearance. Surprisingly thick head. Lasted quite nicely.

Smell: Fruity. Not like a pale ale fruity, though. Much sweeter. Stong hints of bannanas.

Taste: A bit harsher than other hefeweizens. Not nearly as malty sweet as I expected. Still, a tasty and refreshing beer. I could probably have done without the lemon wedge.

Mouthfeel and Drinkability: Slightly puckering effect (probably from the lemon), moderate carbonation, crisp and clean finish.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2003 19:50:39 | More by OldFrothingSlosh

MmmIPA

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev -7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

So far Ive had four of the Penn beers and they have all been very solid and tasty.

Poured into a weizen glass.Nice two finger white head,yellow,cloudy and very carbonated body.

Clove,banana,and Neco's the candy smell.

The taste is the same as the smell.

Mouthful is very light and delicate and refreshing.

This is a solid beer that I will have to try again.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2007 13:49:21 | More by MmmIPA

Applesauce1

Virginia

3.6/5  rDev -7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I picked this up at the Pit Stop in Nelsonville, OH.

Appearance: hazy gold-orange color, 1/2" white head on the pour; translucent; looks very good
Smell: cloves; this smells like a true hefeweizen (eventhough i'm personally not a big fan of this style)
Taste: cloves and wheat; this seems to be a good example of a hefeweizen; it's not one of my favorite styles, but this seems to be a quality beer
Mouthfeel: light to medium bodied
Drinkability: could do two in a night

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2007 16:20:38 | More by Applesauce1

DrJay

Massachusetts

3.6/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Hazy yellow/caramel colour with a short, white cap of foam composed of moderately sized bubbles. Decent head retention and plenty of sticky lace. The aroma hits its mark with notes of clove, banana, bread, and lemon. Very mild bitterness. The flavour was dominated by bread crust with a bit of lemon in the background. Banana and clove were very mild and waited until the finish to appear. Moderate carbonation, a little on the dry side. Fairly mild and quite easy drinking - a solid summer beer. However, I do prefer my hefes a little bolder, particularly with the citrus and spice character.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2007 21:11:39 | More by DrJay

Chinon01

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance - Looks like a tannish colored glass of orange juice. Head is decent but it quickly dissipates.

Smell - Nose is of lemon rind, orange rind, with spice and clove.

Taste - Similar to nose but with thin and disappointing finish. Finishes flat relative to approach which is outstanding. All the elements were there then gone.

Mouthfeel & Drinkability - Both are about average. Again it is a function of the disappointing flat finish which would heighten the drinkability making it more of a thirst quencher.

Serving type: on-tap

09-15-2008 23:59:29 | More by Chinon01