Julius Echter Hefe-Weissbier Hell - Würzburger Hofbräu AG

BarrelO

Virginia

4/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500ml bottle poured into a pint glass. Best before the end of May 2011.

A: Cloudy light orange body. Big fluffy head leaves a bit of lacing.

S: Yeast and citrus.

T: Mainly cloves and yeast. Also citrus and banana.

M: On the heavy side of light, if that makes any sense. Pretty creamy.

D: A solid Bavarian hefe. Nothing more, nothing less.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2011 09:31:30 | More by BarrelO

ZenAgnostic

Texas

3.28/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance - Cloudy gold body with a white frothy head with decent retention and lacing.

Smell - Over ripe banana.

Taste - Astringent.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with full carbonation creaminess.

Overall - Good, but for the price you might as well get a Weihenstephaner or Paulaner.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2011 02:07:16 | More by ZenAgnostic

mdunman

Texas

4.05/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

A: Hazy yellow-orange with a gigantic head and lots of linger

S: Banana bread, orange, roasted malt

T: Banana bread and other fruits complement the roasted malt early on and finishes with a good dry finish.

M: Light-medium body and unbelievable carbonation

Overall this beer was really enjoyable. I don't think it's quite as refined as Franziskaner or some of the other great Hefe's, but this one did stand out as a really good Hefe to me.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2011 01:54:38 | More by mdunman

bmwats

Louisiana

3.88/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 500 ml bottle into a weizen glass.

A: Cloudy hay colored hue. Pours about a giant 3 or 4 finger, frothy, white head. Settles slowly. Plenty of little bubbles of carbonation continue to rise throughout the body. Some thick beer ring lacing mostly retreats back into the body of the brew.

S: Wheat, heavy amounts of yeast, with a bit of lemon citrus and pine. I think there's some honey in there too.

T: Yeast rules the day. Pungent (but not overwhelmingly so) taste of Italian bread. Just a hint of lemon citrus and a very rumor of honey. Tastes like it smells.

M: Clean and crisp. Pungent palette. A hint of sweet in the front, and a yeasty lemon finish.

D: Very enjoyable, clean and smooth weizen.

Atmosphere is really nice. That cloudy weizen body with a giant head. Nose is a strong yeast base with some citrus hints. Flavor is Italian bread with lemon and honey. Overall, this is a really good quaff.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2011 05:14:09 | More by bmwats

bobhits

Kentucky

2.05/5  rDev -48.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Yellow orange color, full of protein/yeast that gives off a very cloudy color. Nearly opaque in color with an ok head without much lacing or legs.

Cloves, bubble gum, banana, and sweet sugary malt aromas. I should add this is slightly sour.

The sour smell kicks into the taste. I've never had a hef with this much sour flavor. Clove is the second flavor that kicks in and really adds that spicy flavor. Followed by bananas and a wheat and spice powered bitterness. I don't think much of hefs and this is just not good enough to get into the great beer who cares the style level. Too sour, too much wheat, and way too much spice.

There's a huge amount of carbonation which is common with german beers and as a result it is hard to drink. This hurts the drink ability and mouth feel to me.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2011 23:23:16 | More by bobhits

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.15/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle from Chevy Chase in DC. Served in a weizen glass.

Pour yields a somewhat dark for the style brew. Dark gold and very, very hazy with a good white head and really nice lacing as it goes down. The nose brings forward a bit too much bread and not enough yeastiness. What is there is pleasant, but this needs to be more yeast-forward. There isn't really any clove, just a bit of banana and some bubblegum. The flavor is bready with a touch of wheat plus some mild yeast. Medium body and a bit chewy. Overall, not bad, but not something I'd really seek out again.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2011 01:54:09 | More by Thorpe429

HalfFull

California

3.63/5  rDev -9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Half liter capped bottle poured into a weizen glass, best before May '11. Pours a classic hazed golden to deep orange in color and carrying a slowly rescinding two inch cap of creamy white foam. Nice lops of lace on the glass.

Nicely balanced clove and banana on the nose yet lacking the overbearing sweet banana esters evident at times. A pleasant yeasty wheat character accompanies.

Flavor is wheat forward with some banana notes that are a bit thin at times. Bit of clove spice and wheat bread on the finish opens up with some air and helps firm up the feel a bit. Otherwise the carbonation fizzles out a bit making for a pleasant though light bodied take on the style. Overall a solid Hefe. that's a bit light in the malt delivery and a touch subdued but without any negative components.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2011 06:21:04 | More by HalfFull

starkystark

Alaska

4.15/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this on tap at Snug's in Hingham, MA. Great place to go drink; they serve all their beers, including this hefe in the proper glass.

Appearance: Usual hefeweizen appearance. Cloudy pale orange that fades to yellow in the light. A bit of yeast sediment on the bottom. 3.5 finger frothy head with decent retention as I drank. Great looking beer.

Smell: Again, fairly standard for a hefe. Strong clove aroma, picked up the banana, and caught some notes of lemon.

Taste: Similar to to how it smells. Really picked up that clove taste, and then could definitely pick up the lemon as well on the back of the tongue. Caught some yeast at the end.

Mouthfeel: Crisp at first. A little bit oily, but very refreshing as you swallow it down.

All around, one of the best versions I've had of one of my favorite beer types. I had two during my time at dinner there, and the second one was even better than the first.

Serving type: on-tap

02-21-2011 17:58:18 | More by starkystark

JayQue

Virginia

3.7/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Good hefe....I think I got a somewhat less than fresh bottle, so I'm thinking it is even a better hefe when fresh. My main clue was the color. A dark hazy gold rather than the light straw color that others reviewed. Had all the bells and whistles. Big head, delicate looking with lots of bubbles and good retention. A few rings of lacing and a dull gold color (albeit a little dark gold).

Smell was a bit faint but had the basics, lemony, cloves, banana.

Taste was pretty good but a bit "off" from a really good hefe. There was lemon, bananas, cloves, wheat, bubble gum etc., but not quite as fresh and refreshing as the best German hefes...I'm thinking this is a bit old.

Mouthfeel is just right for the style, crisp and light and zesty. Carbonation is just right.

Drinkability is good...I'm betting a fresh bottle would be better.

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2011 02:18:02 | More by JayQue

Avagadro

New Jersey

3.43/5  rDev -14%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

A: Julius Echter holds a beautiful hazy golden color with the usual froth. Retention is admirable, but lacing leaves something to be desired.

S: There isn't much going on here. The usual clove/banana are present, but at levels far below my standards.

T: A nice cereal base is accented with banana, clove, and a touch of rose.

M: Full body, slight chalk in the texture, and mounds of carbonation. This brew is extremely effervescent.

D: A decent hefe, but there are plenty of better ones out there.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2011 20:00:30 | More by Avagadro

jiggahertz

New Hampshire

4.65/5  rDev +16.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A: Huge head on this with an agressive pour. Beer is cloudy butterscotch. Head dissipates slowly leaving mountainous peaks.

S: Nose reminds me of a saison. Banana really comes through, a hint of tartness, and yeasty goodness.

T: Clove tartness up front, gives way to a sweetness fruitiness and a solid malty finish.

M: Light bodied but a complex mouthfeel. Stickyness long lasting fruitness.

D: One of my favoriete hefeweizens.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2011 23:11:43 | More by jiggahertz

DefenCorps

Oregon

3.68/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Grabbed a bottle of this at Chevy Chase yesterday. Best by May 2011

Initially clear, the addition of yeast makes the light yellow beer turn hazy. A dense, white head, quite gigantic, is present, receding slowly leaving a little lace. The nose is excellent. Restrained when compared to the Weihenstephaner, but not in a way that makes this seem neutered. Banana is mild, playing second fiddle to a blend of nice phenols and a little clove. Mildly fruity too. Not very bready, this has a mild unpleasant aroma, mildly metallic/turpentine-like, but that dissipates rather quickly.

The delicate nature of the nose doesn't translate as well to the palate. Again, this is a blend of light banana, mild spice( an excellent and delicate clove character) and a moderate fruitiness with ripe lemons and a little apple. I can't really say I get much wheat on the palate. Drying on the finish, a touch watery (this beers only detriment), there's a blend of spice and fruit on the finish. Light in body, highly carbonated, this feels good otherwise, and is very easy to drink. I'll look for fresher bottles and revisit my review.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2011 14:16:39 | More by DefenCorps

largadeer

Kentucky

4.33/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

500ml bottle into a nonic.

Cloudy straw yellow, just barely translucent. The body is topped by two fingers of white foam that slowly settles to a 1/2 inch cap.

Bready, doughy aromas greet the nose first. Clove, a little apple. Banana-like esters are reigned-in but still present.

The palate opens with flavors of wheat and whole grain bread, followed by apple, lemon and faint banana. Spiciness emerges in the dry finish, leaving a lingering flavor of spiced apple cider.

This beer uses a fantastic yeast strain, it provides a perfect level of fruity, spicy flavors. Many hefeweizens cloy the palate with excessive esters and phenols, but that's not the case here.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2011 05:54:02 | More by largadeer

womencantsail

California

4.1/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: The pour is a very hazy golden color with a couple fingers worth of soapy white head.

S: The clove aroma on this beer is just awesome. Not so much in the banana department (though not totally deficient), but a touch of peel and some nice sweet wheat notes.

T: Quite sweet with a moderate banana flavor. There's lots of clove flavor, too, and a touch of earthy hop flavor. Sweet wheat bread as the backbone with a moderate citrus note on the back end.

M: The body is medium with a moderate but lively carbonation.

D: Not quite as good as the Weihenstephaner, but a very solid hefeweizen.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2010 08:24:49 | More by womencantsail

coalcracker

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Pours a very cloudy golden color with good fizzy head retention. Carbonation is very active.
Smell: Aroma is of light malts, some clove and banana as well.
Taste: Very crisp upon first taste with typical, clean hefe chracteristics: obvious wheat, mild lemon, clove, and banana. Finish is very clean.
Mouthfeel: medium feel to the body with a high degree of smoothness.
Drinkability: Quite high. Better suited to the warmer months.

Overall- A very good hefeweizen for a summer day. This was tested in November, so the "hot days" setting is moot. Nonetheless, very characteristic of the style and high in quality.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2010 21:10:00 | More by coalcracker

billybob

Massachusetts

4.2/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

pours very cloudy yellow color thick creamy white head lots of sticky lace head and lace hold very well. smells like a hefe should. medium mouthfeel creamy smooth with a malty tangy yeast taste. very nice import and fairly priced for a 1pt,9 oz four pack hope i can continue to find it in my area.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2010 17:21:25 | More by billybob

tai4ji2x

Massachusetts

3.65/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

500ml bottle with dating: "best before end: 2009/11"

from notes, tasted in june 2009.

deep straw color w/ golden brown tones. nice and cloudy. huge, classic weizen head w/ creamy meringue on top. fades to constant thin layer. splotchy rings of lace at first, but get more solid near the bottom of weiss glass.

aroma: banana, nutmeg, clove, touch of citrus peel. bready yeast and toasted malt. gentle whiffs of noble hop. could use just a smidgen more malt/bread character...

taste: standard weiss blavors, tho again less bready maltiness and more spicy phenolic character than i prefer, which also over-accentuates the otherwise mild/moderate bitterness. esters ( banana, citrus) in finish, but phenols and bitterness still linger more than hoped.

medium body, but quite fizzy as crisp carbonation accentuates bitterness and phenols. not bad, but not as smooth as hoped. still, it's refreshing, in a way.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2010 07:36:09 | More by tai4ji2x

BranfordBound

Connecticut

4.08/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

.5 L bottle into a weizen glass.

Pours cloudy gold with a three finger head. Carbonation is wild and looks like it came from a tap. Great lacing.

Smells like a good weizen, spicy with nice wheat. Sweet orange notes linger.

Has a nice spicy finish to it. Cloves mix with pepper and a very slight alcohol. Beginning is strong wheat, the middle has that orange that was in the nose. Ends with hops and slight lemon, a little more bitter than what I like.

Mouthfeel is slightly wet with a soft creaminess broken up by the abundant carbonation.

Very delicious and drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2010 18:19:10 | More by BranfordBound

metter98

New York

4.05/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: The beer is cloudy pale golden yellow in color. It poured into a weizen glass with a two finger high head that has good retention properties. A high amount of carbonation is evident from the rising bubbles.
S: There are aromas of banana, clove and lemon in the nose.
T: The taste has flavors of bananas and cloves with notes of lemon citrus and wheat.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied, creamy and smooth on the palate with lots of carbonation.
D: The beer is very thirst quenching, refreshing and easy to drink. It is definitely one that is sessionable on a hot summer day.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2010 14:53:45 | More by metter98

trbergman

Illinois

4.38/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

500mL bottle poured into a pint glass.

A - Hazy goldenrod with over an inch of dense off-white foam.

S - The usual suspects, with banana mostly dominating clove. Aromatic and inviting.

T - Tasty and bready with a loads of ripe banana and more clove than the nose suggests. Hints of lemony citrus rind and vanilla as well. On the sweeter end of the hefeweizen spectrum, with just a bit of hop bitterness noticeable in the mid-palate and the finish.

M - The body is actually rather light, but incredibly smooth. Fine-bubbled carbonation explodes on the tongue.

D - Delicious and dangerously drinkable - highly recommended. One of the better weizens I've had the pleasure of drinking.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2010 01:49:38 | More by trbergman

generallee

New York

4.43/5  rDev +11%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 1pint 0.9oz bottle into a weizen glass. The label has a "best before end date" but ABV%.

Appearance: The body has an orange like beige colored body with a creamy white head. This head is extremely thick and long lasting which makes for some good lacing on the glass.

Smell: The aroma has some typical banana peel notes with some mild clove, citrus and light hops in the background.

Taste/Palate: Its medium body has all the good dry wheat, fruity yeast with notes banana, dry spice and a hint of barley grain. The hops add a light bitterness and some dryness to the rather snappy finish. Its active carbonation keeps thing light, lively and refreshing.

Notes: This is defiantly a very solid and refreshing Hefeweizen.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2010 02:17:44 | More by generallee

BeerNemesis

New York

3.73/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Julius Echter Hefe-Weissbier Hell | 500 ml. | 4.9% ABV | 2010

Brewer: Würzburger Hofbräu AG
Style: Hefeweizen
Glass: Weizen

Appearance:
J.E. Hefe sloshes out of the bottle in a shallow, hazy orange torrent. Bubbles glint playfully in the sunlight, while a downy, white head froths forth with reckless abandon, threatening the edge.

Aroma:
Soft, oily clove on the nose with a pillowy banana-spice backbone.

Taste:
Spicy clove meshes with a tame lemon twang. Warming fruity esters and biscuity malt follow.

Mouthfeel:
A medium-bodied, tongue massaging relief. Prickly carbonation balances the weighty feel of the liquid.

Harmony:
I prefer more pronounced clove and banana flavors in a Hefe, but J.E. ain't bad by any measure.

Would I get it again?:
Ummm... hmm... maybe?

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2010 00:12:32 | More by BeerNemesis

rhoadsrage

Illinois

3.63/5  rDev -9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

(Served in a weizen glass) best before 2010/07
A- The hazy straw yellow body has big bubbles of carbonation sliding up the sides. There is a white creamy head that last but turns pretty rocky.
S- The classic banana and clove aroma is soft with a slight plastic note to the finish.
T- The taste of club soda and carbonic acid is soft and gives way to a soft white bread flavor which finishes dry. As the beer opens up there is more of a butter note in the finish.
M- The light mouthfeel is crisp with no alcohol heat and the creaminess of the head is great.
D- This is a nice drinkable dry hefeweizen with some soft flavors and aromas. The plastic and butter notes are a bit annoying but not horrible.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2010 20:57:53 | More by rhoadsrage

Skidmarks

Connecticut

4.65/5  rDev +16.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Had a couple of these gems after a nice long bike ride as part of a picnic. Pared very well with the Weiss and Brat Wurst with proper potato salad.

Pours with a nice head, had a nice mellow taste and didn't seem overly yeasty. In fact when I swirled the last bit in the bottle before pouring it on the head it didn't have much of a changed color.

Reminds me of a nice vacation in Munich.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2010 16:17:39 | More by Skidmarks

BeerNinja007

New Hampshire

3.93/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500mL bottle, $2.99 from the Lebanon Co-op grocery. Poured cold into a chilled pint glass. Best by date: 2011/01.

Moderate pour gives a good 2" of dense and sticky ivory head that takes a few minutes to settle to drinkable level. Brew is a cloudy lemon yellow with a bit of visible carbonation. Leaves a few chunks of foam on the glass. Aroma is banana, clove, good creamy body of light malts and spicy wheat. Has a mild off-putting styrene note that fades as it breathes. Taste is similar to the smell but adds a mixed hop bite and lactose throughout. Finishes with mild pine and lemon hop plus a bit of styrene and butter. Mouthfeel is a bit fizzy (which yielded some mild belching) but still crisp and smooth.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2010 09:12:41 | More by BeerNinja007