Half-E-Weizen - Rogue Ales

OldFrothingSlosh

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Presentation: 22oz. bomber with the screened Rogue graphics. A very grandma-like woman on the label offering a foamy mug of brew. Why...thanks!

Appearance: Following agitation (as per bottle directions), I was rewarded with a hazy, very fizzy beer. Nothing in the head department, despite numerous aggressive pours.

Smell: Spicy sweetness, with a whiff of bitterness also evient. What was hard to detect (though barely evident....or was it just me?) was a lemony aroma expected with a "weizen".

Taste: Not quite in the hefeweizen....is it a weizen that's been "Rogued"? Spicy flavors hit the palate first, with some malty sweetness and some bittering hops joining the fracas later. A tart and bittering effect near the end.

Mouthfeel: A highly-carbonated beer. Just a slight creamy smooth palate-coating effect.

Dinkability: This would be a very good hot summer's day beer. Refreshgingly crisp and "fizzy" carbonation make for a highly-quaffable, thirst-quenching beer.

Notes: Certainly not my favorite Rogue beer, but one that would stand up to a hot and humid Virginia summer day filled with cutting grass.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2003 16:16:41 | More by OldFrothingSlosh

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.22/5  rDev +17.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A lovable Grandma smiles out from the label, offering up a mug. She wants you to be happy, she wants you to have a beer!
Appearance: cloudy, but bright, lemony yellow color, huge, frothing head, a good 2" in my Weihenstephaner glass, befroe it starts to slide.
Nose: fresh, soft and sweet, with notes of lemon, orange, spices, and sea-foam.
Texture is a bit more than I expected, but that's the way with Rogue. Rather than the ultra-smoothness of the typical Germanic hefe weizen, there's much more body here, due to the non-wheat malts. More flavors come through, including the ginger noted as an ingredient on the label. Refreshing, but complex and flavorful, much more like a Belgian witbier. The flavors truly mingle well: lemonygingerycoriander, yum, yum!
I've got to give it up to Rogue, another unique creation!

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2003 17:20:59 | More by feloniousmonk

LarryKemp

Texas

3.13/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This beer was served with a fair white head and a slightly cloudy yellow texture. One of the folks at my table said it looked like a pretty poor urine sample. The beer was a weak sample of a hefe. It looked sort of like a hefe but it did not have the aroma nor the taste of a good hefe. It was an okay beer to start a flight of beers at the bar. I would neither recommend nor slam this beer. If someone wanted a good hefe this is NOT one I would recommend.

Serving type: on-tap

04-30-2003 19:02:27 | More by LarryKemp

hotstuff

Indiana

4.3/5  rDev +19.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This brew poured a small head which quickly dissolved. This beer left no lacing on the side of my mug. This beer had a fruity, citrusy aroma to it. This beer definitely had carbonation to it. It had a bitter taste to it, but it was not an overwhelming bitterness. There was a mild aftertaste with this brew, but it was one that did not linger which is to my liking. This is a brew that I would definitely like to enjoy again.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2003 18:22:39 | More by hotstuff

BierReise

Florida

3.23/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I wasn't sure what to expect with this concoction. As a lover of spiced Belgians and German Weizens the thought of the combination I found intriguing. So I tried. Ginger? Corriander? None present to me in this sampling. The beer was drinkable but unimpressive. Rogue brews some of the best in this country but this one needs some tweeking.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2003 12:27:14 | More by BierReise

Quaffer

Nevada

4/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22 oz. Bottle
Ingredients list includes ginger and coriander
Bottle states, "UNFILTERED - Agitate Before Pouring"

Appearance: Following the above instructions on the bottle, I amused myself for quite some time rolling this bomber around. When I finally got down to pouring, the beer came out a very cloudy yellow. Cloudy to the point that my hand was just an indistinct, fuzzy shadow when viewed through the glass. The head rose up to two fingers with an aggresive pour and disappeared quickly. It didn't leave any lace on the glass and quickly became just a ring around the top of the beer.

Smell: There was a tart, lemon fruitiness combined with a hint of ginger. As the beer really started to warm up, some good malt aromas began to emerge.

Mouthfeel: Light- to medium-bodied and about as smooth as I want a wheat beer to be. There was a nice tickle of carbonation on the tongue.

Taste: Upfront, there were nice malt and grain flavors that quickly gave way to a tart fruitiness. The finish was a light bitterness, yeast, and a tingling bite (for lack of better words) from the ginger. I really couldn't detect the coriander.

Overall, a nice hefe.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2003 18:58:13 | More by Quaffer

zerk

California

3.33/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pours a slightly hazy copper-gold, with a thin white head. Aroma is yeasty and slightly sweet, with just a hint of phenols. Flavor begins slightly sweet, then somewhat citrusy and tart, with a sharp spicy bitterness in the finish. Moutfeel is somewhat rough, with a medium body. With it's lack of phenols, and hoppy character, this is definitely an American interpretation of a hefeweizen. This is not a bad beer, but as someone who really loves a good hefeweizen, I was somewhat dissapointed. This is not one I'm likely to seek out again.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2003 17:39:42 | More by zerk

Gusler

Arizona

3.93/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The beer pours“chill hazed” deep amber to copper color, the head preposterous in size, spumous in texture, brilliant white in color and as it erodes leaves behind a covering sheet of lace. The nose is sweet malt with a slight yeast tone, crisp, fresh and quite pleasant. Start is sweet and loaded with malt, the top middling, and the finish spiteful in its acidic bite, the hops stinging in their bite, dry aftertaste that is long lasting, and a fine quaffable beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2003 16:05:14 | More by Gusler

IrishRedRock

Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev +19.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is a delightful brew. 22 oz. bomber with a rather old lady raising her glass to me on the bottle. Cheers Granny!

Pours a quite bubbly golden color, slightly reminiscent of champagne. Then in goes the swirled yeast, and this baby goes real cloudy. The aroma is the best part. After taking a whiff I knew this brew was going to be excellent. Mild Saaz hops, lemon, and fruit (apricot & strawberry to me) are quite present.

The taste is nearly as delicious, as a slight fruitiness precede the crisp hop kick at the end. Lemon and clove are also easily traceable. The yeast leaves an interesting, slightly sticky aftertaste which leaves me wantin some more. Mouthfeel is slightly spicy. This is definitely one I could drink allllllll night long. Another winner from Rogue!

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2003 16:49:31 | More by IrishRedRock

aracauna

Georgia

3.33/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Bottling a hefeweizen in bombers perhaps is not the best way. I have a large half-liter Paulaner hefe glass and I can't get the whole bottle in (especially with the large head) Most of the yeast had settled and stuck to the bottom so my first sips were of Half-E-Kristal Weizen. After drinking some to get some space in the glass and some bottle swirling it turned a nice cloudy gold. (Yes I know I could have agitated the bottle before opening, but I have trouble with geysers when I do that.)The aroma is nice wheat and coriander. The ginger doesn't come through as much in either the aroma or flavor. The Belgian wit half is good with the coriander adding a nice spiciness (especially coupled with the saaz hops). There's good wheatiness (although not as big as the wheat in the Widmenr Hefeweizen I had last night). Unfortunately, Pacman yeast isn't really a good yeast for a wheat beer. The lack of almost any esters unbalances this beer, keeps the beer from achieving the complexity wheat beers are capable of and makes the flavor thinner than it should.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2003 22:32:25 | More by aracauna

Bighuge

Minnesota

3.98/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer doesn't look very carbonated and has a dull chill hazed golden appearance. Not much of a head...just a slight rimming of tan soapy head. This beer smell like a wit. Wheat and corriander dominate the nose. The taste is enjoyable. Ginger is so subtle and complimentary. There are none of the predominant "Hefe-Weizen" characteristics present, but I don't think a hefe-weizen was intended with this beer. Most closely resembles a Wit, but not totally. Body is light-medium. Mouthfeel is a little spritzy. Some lemon notes hit the palate. Refeshing, solid and unique brew. I'd like a keg of this next summer.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2003 21:21:54 | More by Bighuge

budgood1

Minnesota

3.68/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a very unique weizen....peach colored with a minimal head. very spicy/peppery nose with a bit of saaz hops. quite alot of different flavors going on, some wheat characteristics, but the coriander and ginger spiciness definitely dominates. very crisp and refreshing. probably not my favorite wheat, but an interesting herb and spice beer. worth a try. rogue makes beer fun and interesting!

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2002 18:34:44 | More by budgood1

Brent

Kentucky

4.65/5  rDev +29.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Bavarian? To me, this has Belgian written all over it. An extremely drinkable white ale. Nice balance on the coriander, which is there as a very lightly fruity aromatic, rather than an in-your-face flavoring adjunct. Smooooth. Well done (again) Rogue!

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2001 22:08:14 | More by Brent

John

New York

4.3/5  rDev +19.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Gorgeous brew in a tall Hefe glass. Cloudy straw color, enormous pillowy white head that lasts. Classic Hefe aromas banana, clove, lemon, etc. A touch of Beligian Wit-like spices adds to the aroma. Taste is a blend of the elements of the aroma and a pleasant fruity character created presumably by the yeast. Mouthfeel is a perfect medium. A unique example of a hybrid Bavarian Hefe and a Belgian Wit.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2001 09:23:00 | More by John