Penn Weizen - Pennsylvania Brewing Company

RBorsato

Virginia

4.93/5  rDev +27.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Very cloudy white-ish gold color with a nice off-white head, decent carbonation, and lace. Excellent banana-clove aroma. Perfect banana-clove balanced flavor with a nice grainy background. Good fluffy refreshing mouthfeel.

Awesome American version of the Bavarian classic !!

Per label: "Hallertau Hops"

Per PBCo. website: Original Gravity: 12.6°Plato, Alcohol Content: 4.0% by weight.

Won Silver at 1997 GABF and Gold at 2000 GABF.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2003 10:28:09 | More by RBorsato

wagenvolks

Texas

3.68/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Single 12 oz. bottle from Whole Foods, Raleigh. Poured into a pilsener glass.

Penn Weizen tries to build a tall head, but the foam only climbs to a half-inch in height before slowly retreating to a patchy lid of white bubbles. The color is a gorgeous, lemon-pineapple hue, and cloudy as all get-out. The fervent carbonation level releases aromatic notes of wheat and lemon zest that give way to cracked white pepper, banana, and some clove.

The flavor is definitely enjoyable, but nothing remarkable--a bit heavy on the darker wheat grains & cracker-like malts, while the yeasty fruit esthers are a lighter afterthought. Body is thin, with a good carbonation level that engages the palate. Finishes dry, packing a well-placed spice to end each sip. This is about what I expected from Penn Weizen -- nothing dramatic, just an easy drinking, solid summer hefeweizen

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2008 22:46:56 | More by wagenvolks

OtherShoe2

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours hazy gold with a big white foamy head. Head dissipates as you drink. Some lace.

Wow. Clove, some tropical fruit, wheat and yeast. Very nice for a domestic.

Sweet wheat, yeasty flavors, sweet breadiness, some spicy kick, light bitterness, mild bitter and grain finish. Well done.

Bummed a bit by mouthfeel. Seems a little mushy. Lighter bodied but feels like a sip is sucking away the head. Not a nice cake-like head, but pure big bubbled foam. A minor bitch on my part, but it is what it is.

Really good domestic hefe. Never saw this before, but glad I tried it.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2011 23:42:03 | More by OtherShoe2

DogFood11

California

4.1/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

I recently re-visited the Penn brewing offerings. For some reason I wasn't impressed the first go through. Obviously my palate has evolved because this hefe kicked some ass the second time around. Poured into a pils glass it forms a loose white head that fades to a thin covering and minimal lace. Tons of carbonation.

This is highly sweet even within a sometimes sweet style. Cloying at times. Cloves and Bananna and light exotic type fruits mix with a hop presence that really only comes through in the mouthfeel. Some orange rind/zest fills out the rest of this fine offering. Carbonation is sizzling, a bit too much in my opinion as it has the pop rock fizzy jones.

I liked it alot. I can see how this would be too sweet to some but I think the carbonation really sizzles away the lingering residual sweetness. Pretty yeasty as well and I'm a big fan of that in a hefe. All told I was pleasantly surprised to like an offering that I didn't like just 1 year ago. upper 3's if it wasn't for the lackluster appearance and pop rock mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2006 01:41:15 | More by DogFood11

RonfromJersey

New Jersey

3.68/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bright, bold, hazy yellow body. Massive carbonation streams. Massive white whip cream head. Looks quite refreshing in a weizen glass.

Aroma has bits of the expected bubblegum and cloves, and a bit of hay too, but not in the intensity I had anticipated. On the other hand, there is a strong, interesting peppery spiceyness to the nose.

A light dance across the tongue, the wheat flowing own low, while that peppery spiceyness rides high. Some nice hints of lemon, which increases in the aftertaste.

Proper light mouthfeel and summer drinkability.

Not quite as dead-on as Penn's other german styles, but not a bad warm weather beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2006 21:19:08 | More by RonfromJersey

Bierguy5

Ohio

3.95/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle. Cloudy yellow in color, with some orange hues. Thick foamy white head holds together for quite some time.

Very pleasing banana aroma, with soft hints of clove, just as it should be.

A bit tart, soft banana flavor, again followed with just a hint of cloves. A good amount of sweetness.

Decent body, but seems to lack the spritzy character of the classics. Simple and refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2007 01:44:42 | More by Bierguy5

BeerSox

Virginia

3.93/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle into pint glass (didn't feel like using the 23oz Weizen glass).

A pale burnt orange hue supports a somewhat thin white head. The beer is very effervescent, with lots of little bubbles keeping the bits of yeast suspended in the beer and keeping the head at the top very active.

The aroma is very creamy, with the standard banana and clove.

The wheat, along with the clove, gives a very tart feel to this one. A little bit of orange peel is in the background. Full bodied, with high carbonation.

About your average hefeweizen, very German in style. I won't say it's quite up to par with the ones from Germany, however.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2009 17:21:44 | More by BeerSox

marc77

California

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

Turbid auric hue. Lofty, dogged, stiff beaten egg white like head. Coating lace remains. Clove is dominant in aroma, with secondary notes of ripe banana and acidic lemon. Lychee hints surface as the beer warms. Appetizing and spot on aromawise. In flavor, incipient is a grainy, slightly tart wash of wheat malt. Esters ensue promptly, with notes of underripe tangerine and zest lending a vibrant citric character. Banana, with a bubblegum twang is a constant, complementary undertone. Moderate in body, with a mouthfeel that could use a notch more girth. Rustic yeast, musty sourdough hints surfaces as the beer warms and / or with a yeast pour. Finishes mildly herbal with clove phenol and honey notes lingering softly on the palate. An outstanding, traditional hefeweizen that is amongst the best U.S. microbrewed versions I've had thus far. As good as many German examples. Delicious.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2004 01:40:48 | More by marc77

Phatz

Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a cloudy apricot orange color. The first one was an exploding bottle. WOW head everywhere! It settled and I poured the beer into my Weizen glass I got a huge 5-6 finger head. The second bottled didn't explode on the counter but I didn't let it warm up as much either. It still had instant suds coming up when I popped the cap; and I got a good 4+ finger head. Modest lacing.

Smell: Very sweet. From the moment I opened the bottle there was a very pleasant sweet fruit salad and yeast aroma. Banana, subtle lemon & cloves, then a bit of Vanilla. nice.

Taste: I am not a huge fan of the banana flavor in my beers. Many Hefe-Wiezens I find a cloying banana taste. NOT this one. There is the classic banana flavor but it is nicely balanced with some wheat, citrus fruits, white grapes vanilla and lemon.

Mouthfeel: Very carbonated medium body beer. This beer feel active and large in the mouth. It is creamy yet crisp on the ends.

Drinkability: Penn Weizen is an easy drinking Hefe- that is quite refreshing and sessionable. This is a great beer for sipping through the summer when the AC is cranking and you want a cool refresher beer.

Hope this is helpful.
Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2006 04:01:20 | More by Phatz

wedge

North Carolina

4.1/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a properly clouded deep golden color with a fluffy white head that briefly fills up the glass before shrinking to a clumpy cap. It's got that nice, authentic hefe smell: balanced banana and clove, medium sweetness, slight tangy wheat, citrus, and vanilla. Bold weizen flavor. Solid sweetness, bubblegum, and banana finishing with some clove and citrus. Medium-light body, refreshing, some dryness...solid all around.

Good stuff. An American Hefeweizen that is really true to style.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2008 02:47:32 | More by wedge

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

arizcards

Arizona

4.15/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

Received in early April as part of the March MicroBeerClub shipment.

Beer poured a cloudy dark yellow with a nice head initially. Nose has hints of bananas and cloves. Taste is of bananas and wheat with a light hopping to finish nicely. Moutfeel is medium bodied, nothing special while going across the palate. Overall drinkability is perfect. This is a very nice representation of the style and at a 4.0 abv this is the perfect beer to enjoy with friends all night long!

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2008 01:00:28 | More by arizcards

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

KTCamm

New Jersey

3.73/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Standard 12 oz. bottle meets standard pint glass.

Pours uber cloudy pale yellow with white foam. Wheaty smell. Some banana, stronger clove, both present. Tangy wheat taste, lots of citrus. Orange notes. Yeast backed. Good blend.

Good drinking hefe. Enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2010 13:20:20 | More by KTCamm

Proteus93

Virginia

3.78/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Dan for sharing this one with me.

A: Deep brown with a light brownish cloud of head... Quite frothy. Holds on nicely, though it doesn't really stick much.

S: Yeasty, spicy, with big clove scents. Banana is there, but other fruits as well... Mostly pear.

T: A lot of yeasty, fruity esters... Green apple, pear, banana, even some hints of peach. Almost a little cinnamon detected in the alcohol spiciness. Peppery and a little hot.

M + D: Bigger bodied, with a bit of warming going on in the finish. Nice sipper, and pretty decent offering

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2009 16:11:48 | More by Proteus93

thecheapies

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Deep golden orange with heavy haze. Fast-fallen head without much lacing in a wet glass. My fault there. 3.0

Orange, buttery wheat, lemon zest, coriander, clove, and some estery banana. Hint of maple. Insinuatingly sweet. 4.0

Much more banana/clove and coriander spice in the taste. Fruity and semi-sweet in the middle with a spicy sparkling semi-dry finish. Slight hoppiness detectable. 4.0

Persistent carbonation. Spiky body. Still drinks good. 3.5

Probably my favorite local hefe. Penn's got the lockdown on authentic German beer styles. Recommended. 4.0

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2012 01:55:43 | More by thecheapies

david18

New York

3.18/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

I had a sixteen ounce pour of this at Amsterdam Ale House in Manhattan's Upper West side. Visually, this is very much like a wheat beer. Quite cloudy, almost impossible to see through, with an intense esthery aroma. The flavor was ok but not all that memorable. Color was a little darker than expected.

Serving type: on-tap

07-26-2010 18:21:51 | More by david18

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

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

cvstrickland

North Carolina

3.65/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12-ounce bottle poured into a weizen glass yields a murky orange-golden body with huge chunks of suspended sediment and a thin, grainy white head that settles quickly to a skinny ring, leaving minimal lacing on the glass.

The smell of the drink is wheaty and spicy with a toasty grainy note and a predomination of clove-laden spice.

The taste is spicy with lots of clove nearly drowning out a tangy, mellow wheaty backbone graced with a juicy touch of fruity sweetness.

Medium-bodied, crisp and refreshing with good drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2008 22:00:30 | More by cvstrickland

PittBeerGirl

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A-nice cloudy yellow and bubbling leaves thin white head and planety of lacing.

S-smell is of wheat, yeast and sweet citrus.

T-slighty hoppy but mostly yeasty with accents of citrus. aftertaste is sweet and bready-makes you crave more.

M- good. medium carbonation with medium weight body. smooth.

D- this is good with a good mouthfeel very good and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2007 18:32:45 | More by PittBeerGirl

MuenchenerKindl

Germany

4.15/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 12 oz bottle to a weissen glass. Liquid is a dark yellow. Darker then most, Carbonation should be a tad better, The head is smallish but foamy Light looking, 2 fingers thick.

The smell is mostly Banana Cloves but a very interesting peppery ring right up front.

The taste is the same, Great peppery taste hits you right up front, then it mellows off to the classic banana clove finish.

The mouthfeel is good Big bubbles with a nice hopy bite, Very Nice.

The Drinkability is very nice, I would reach for this beer very readily. Prosit und Zun Wohl, MK

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2006 04:50:30 | More by MuenchenerKindl

asabreed

New York

3.95/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle into an Aventinus weizen glass.

Appearance: Dirty water yellow and hazy as hell, with decent lacing and striking white head that stays pretty well above the top of the brew line.

Smell: As it warms the real yeast aromas and lemon come through (without the lemon in the glass, of course), along with slight banana, nuts, bread crust, and mild phenols. The faintest bit of hops comes through too, as the citrus is on the high end here.

Taste: Burst of lemon hits the palate first, with some malt sweetness coming up in the form of fruitiness, bread, slight banana, cream, the faintest tinge of clove, and finishing fairly sweet with a mild hop bite. I like this and it seems balanced and singular in many ways.

Mouthfeel: Slightly astringent, with less of a creaminess to the body that I was hoping would be present.

Drinkability: A solid example of the style. I'd like to have this on tap to really see what's going on with it, but I'd certainly enjoy it in the bottle again, as there are different things going on that make it worth trying, in the sense that it's not--at least to me in this sample--trying to fully emulate a German version of the style, but following some of its own agendas, which I admire greatly.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2006 02:14:05 | More by asabreed

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

jasonjlewis

Texas

3.95/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a decent 1 finger head that quickly dissipates and leaves little retention behind. Nice cloudy yellow color.

Smell is of banana phenol with a grassy/citrusy twang. The citrusy wheatinessa and banana phenol are very enticing.

Taste is of a citrusy wheaty twang with a banana phenol overtone. A nice stab at the hefeweizen style. Glad to see that it's not another pale wheat ale in disguise.

Mouthfeel is refreshing. It's crisp and super clean.

A very easy to drink hefeweizen that I will try again on hot days during the summer.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2008 06:46:04 | More by jasonjlewis