Gordon Biersch Hefeweizen - Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant

jasonjlewis

Texas

3.95/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I was expecting something a little bit more bland from this company, but this isn't bad.

The lacing and clear color of this beer are nice.

The smell is of some banana phenol with some mild cloveyness in the back. The banana dominates. The beer maintains the characteristic of wheat, by having a clean underlying malt back bone.

This one could be a bit more crisp and refreshin, however I'm sure that a fresh bottle or a sample on tap would be much nicer.

Give this one a try.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2009 22:06:48 | More by jasonjlewis

Troyone

California

4.13/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a cloudy apricot color with minimal white head and too difficult to see any action.
Multiple aromas of banana, lemon, bubblegum, and wheat malt.
Has a wheat grain taste with hints of banana/bubblegum and has a lemon/lime background with a butter finish.
Light bodied, resinous, with a crisp and soft carbonation.
Been in my mix for awhile I noticed these beers are brewed at Gordon Biersch Brewing, San Jose CA.

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2009 01:28:07 | More by Troyone

AChamberlain

Texas

3.73/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Solid looking, cloudy, stiff white head. Orange aroma, Lemony. Wheat and banana esters. Fruit aroma, bananas. Cloves a bit, malty aftertaste. Zesty finish, still smooth though. Overall solid. A great American hefeweizen. Won't take the place of my local favorite Live Oak hefeweizen, but still, very nice.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2009 22:56:49 | More by AChamberlain

nms1987

North Carolina

3.98/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I'm usually a passionate American Beer > Euro beer guy but one exception I have to that rule is Hefes. Most American ones are pretty bland and don't come close to the best German ones. The Gordon Biersch here was a pleasant surprise. If I had had it blind I would have figured it was German.

A...Soft, hazy, yellow-orange gold color. Nothing special but it looks like what a hefe should look like. Pours a big head that stays around for awhile

S... Like banana bread. Like a hefe should. Very pleasant and light aroma.

T... Nothing outstanding but, again, a very solid hefe taste. That Hefe banana/cloves taste is definately here.

M.. Soft, effervescent and little bit of pleasant spiciness.

D.. An enjoyable glass to drink.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2009 02:43:54 | More by nms1987

allengarvin

Texas

4.3/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

One of the line of Gordon Biersch beers that have just appeared in Texas. It has a nice orange-gold color, though little head appeared and that quickly faded away. Nice aroma though--fruity, sure, but the spicy phenolic side has the upper hand. Very good flavor, with a lightly sweet wheat malt initially, bubble-gum fruitiness, and a solid clovey, peppery spiciness--much like Franziskaner. More carbonation would help the mouthfeel.

Solid hefe here... the other two GB beers that appears in Texas (marzen and blonde bock) are pretty bland, but this one is very good.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2008 03:17:35 | More by allengarvin

dexcool707

Arizona

2.45/5  rDev -33.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

I've had other Gordon Biersch products but didn't particularly care for this one. It poured well with an average head. Smell was fairly nice but the taste didn't quite seem to match. Too many banana hints for me I guess, and almost a smokey flavor like a Scottish Ale or something.

Thought I'd try eating some pistachios with it to maybe help compliment the flavor but it didn't work.

Glad I had the experience but likely won't buy it again. (just my $.02)

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2008 02:57:15 | More by dexcool707

connlion

Arizona

4.1/5  rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - poured a hazy golden color with a one finger head that dissipated in a minute or so.
S - Pleasant aroma of cloves and banana. Probably balanced more toward ripe banana peel.
T - Yeast flavors of tasty clove and banana dominates. Somewhat sweet and could use more wheat malt flavor.
M - Medium/high carbonation and mouthfeel. Nice lacing.
D - Can drink this all day in the summer or any other time for that matter.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2007 01:09:02 | More by connlion

genog

Ohio

3.8/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle

Pours a bright, and murky orange color with a big and fluffy white head, builds up to about 2 inches. Smell is bright even far away with banana, and clove with spices and belgian yeast. Taste is of wheat and lots of banana and clove. Mouthfeeling is light and fluffy with just enough carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2007 02:31:01 | More by genog

bosco7

Pennsylvania

2.83/5  rDev -22.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured a massive head due to overcarbonation. Cloudy orange in color.

Over ripened banana dominates the nose. Some pear aromas tucked in their as well.

Tastes like it smells; lots of ripe banana upfront that leads into some twangy pear. Suprised that there are no clovey flavors present. Finishes with a lot of tartness. Really one-dimensional.

Decent mouthfeel very creamy and smooth. Fairly drinkable. I rather drink something else though.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2007 03:42:54 | More by bosco7

bunnyhustle

Illinois

4.58/5  rDev +25.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

This is a great example of a hef in my humble opinion. Poured from 12 oz. bottle to a pint glass. Golden orange in color, formed a thick, aromatic head with a somewhat dominating banana smell. Cloudy like a hef should be, head stayed much longer than with many other hef's I've had. Great taste, good amount of carbonation, not so much though where it gets in the way of taste. Thin, light mouth feel leaves me wanting more. Tried one more with an orange slice, say what you will about adding fruit slices but this helped to enhance the already great flavor.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2007 22:42:20 | More by bunnyhustle

rkuhnel

California

4.47/5  rDev +22.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This was from Safeway. This tastes exactly the same as the Trader Joes Bavarian Hefe; Wonder if it is the same brew in a differerent bottle. Poured a nice gold color with a bit of haze and left a nice creamy head and nice lacing. Big nose of wheat and banana. Mouthfeel very nice, and flavors true to what a real German hefe tasted llke when I visited there last year. Nice example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2007 23:37:11 | More by rkuhnel

flexabull

California

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

Had this after a mountain bike ride. Fairly refreshing. Pours a bright gold, with a bit of yeast haze... but not as much as I like.

Aromas were faint but pleasant. A hint of banana and yeast.

Flavors followed the aromas. A bit of banana, and a bit of a yeast like quality, but the flavors are somewhat subtle. I was yearning for more.

Mouthfeel was very average for a Hefe, but the beer was certainly drinkable. I wouldn't turn one down, but I wouldn't buy another one either.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2006 01:41:59 | More by flexabull

watermelonman

California

4.05/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

This poured to a dark yellow with a small head that lasted well. There was no real lace.

The smell is of wheat with a light hint of yeast. The taste also has plenty of wheat. Esters dot the flavor nicely. The mouthfeel is medium, while drinkability is very good.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2006 04:34:11 | More by watermelonman

Grundle20

Ohio

3.95/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance:
Poured a crystal clear yellow into a hefeweizen glass. There was a bountiful head with good retention but minimal lacing.

Smell:
Rich smells of ripe banana and minor nutty notes. Quite a potent nose.

Taste and Mouthfeel:
The beer drinks damn smooth, like liquid banana bread. For an instant I thought I tasted salted pork chops but it was a momentary thing. I was really surprised by this beer. It's pretty standard around here and doesn't get much respect in the area, but I thought this was a pretty solid showing of the style. There wasn't much yeast in the pour which leads me to believe the flavoring may be artificial, but that really doesn't matter to me because it was surprisingly good. There's a minor detergent aftertaste but that's my only complaint.

Drinkability:
If this beer is this tasty come summer, I see this being in my fridge quite a bit. I'm not really feeling wheat beers in the winter but you are still faced with a good tasting average alcohol brew. Pretty damn poundable.

Bottom Line:
Terribly underrated beer. I have been lead astray and for that I shame you Columbus beer community. There are far better hefeweizens out ther but this is a stupid good grocery store/standard bar beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2006 04:07:13 | More by Grundle20

Boneheadmx

California

3.35/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pours out to a hazy golden amber with a large head that subsides quickly. The smell is of malt and caramel, very sweet. The taste is actually very sweet as well. I agree with another reviewer in that the taste reminds me a lot of bubblegum. I expected a bigger hops taste. The mouthfeel is a bit thin, and the flavor of each sip subsides rapidly. The drinkability is fairly good, and it refreshes quite well, but this is on the sweet side for me.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2006 07:08:47 | More by Boneheadmx

BeerManDan

California

4.43/5  rDev +21%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

When poured, the color was hazy golden yellow, with a medium amount of foam and nice lace on the side of the glass.

The smell of spices and yeast filled the nose with a pleasant aroma, with just a hint of fruit.

The flavor was of yeast and spices, with a hint of banana. What a pleasant surprise from Gordon Biersch. This to me is there second best bottled beer!

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2006 22:51:12 | More by BeerManDan