Sudwerk Hefe-Weizen - Sudwerk Restaurant and Brewery

HalfFull

California

2.5/5  rDev -32.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Served up from a 12 oz. bottle into a weizen glass. This beer pours rather clear and light yet offers lots of yeast chunk. Decent color but thin.

Nose is rubbery and medicinal. If this is yeast, it's yeast gone wild, aka, bad. Can't quite make out a freshness date on the bottle though there is surely an '09 involved.

Rally's a bit in the taste department but still comes up a bit short. Feel and drink are ok if you can shut down the nose. I can't.. Drain pour in the end...

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2010 04:51:03 | More by HalfFull

MLucky

California

2.9/5  rDev -22%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

I hate to rank on little guys, but I also don't want to fall into a thing where I only review beers I like. So...

Straw color with thin foam, little if any lacing.

Scent is not unpleasant, but definitely lacking the yeasty aromas I expect from a hefe.

Taste is equally low key. Just a bit of wheaty sourness, very little yeast flavor, a bit bland, really.

An easy drinking beer, I suppose, but only in the way that American light lagers are: there's nothing offensive here, but nothing very interesting either.

It's disappointing that a brewery supposedly dedicated to classic german styles can't muster a tastier hefe than this. Easily outclassed by any number of American and German entries.

An addendum: Some weeks after I wrote this review I visited the brewery, and had several of their beers on tap, including the Hefe. The fresh tap version of this beer was much better, with an ample but not overbearing clove flavor, nicely cloudy texture. I'm going to stick with the low grade for the bottled product, but add that I can heartily recommend the tap here.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2010 05:46:13 | More by MLucky

vacax

California

2.93/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

On-tap at the brewpub. Pours a light yellow, nicely clouded with yeast, good retention, though little lacing for a wheat. Aroma of wheat, slightly tart, basically no clove or banana esters, severely lacking there. Tastes of malty wheat, yeast with few esters, sllight banana, bit of clove and bitterness. Needs more malts sweetness or fruit esters, instead is tart and a bit soapy. Medium body with too prickly of carbonation. For a German style brewery this is definitely not up to par.

Serving type: on-tap

04-07-2010 01:42:12 | More by vacax

russpowell

Oklahoma

3.03/5  rDev -18.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours a semi-hazed honey color with a finger of cream colored head. Some head retention & lacing

S: Cloves, grassyness & green banana, all fade as this warms

T: Green banana, wheat artness, grassy notes, sone clovey notes up front. More grassy/hay notes as ths warms, along with medicinal cloves & watery notes. Finishes with slight grassyness, some metallic hints & lemon. If this would've finished as it started this would've worked for me more

MF: Light/meduim bodied, very little carbonation, starts skewing thin as this warms

Not a bad hefe, a little less stingyness with malt bill would've helped this a bunch

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2011 13:12:28 | More by russpowell

GClarkage

California

3.18/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

04/18/06- Received via trade with BA member SethB2.

Presentation- 12oz bottle with an expiration date on the front label. Poured into my Red Nectar pint glass.

Appearance- Clouded golden pour. Minute specks of yeast hoover about. Decent 3/4 inch billowy head with decent lacing left behind.

Smell- A tad stinky. If you can get through the odd funk, there is a good amount of yeast with a bit of lemon rind and maybe a wee bit of clove.

Taste- Heavy wheat flavor, something off about it though. Mild fruit flavor, not as much lemony goodness and only spotty amounts of clove.

Mouthfeel- Heavier carbonation level.

Drinkability- No better than the average US made wheat beer. Even so, it was pretty refreshing, so I guess it's at least worth a try...on a warm day.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2006 16:03:14 | More by GClarkage

mactrail

California

3.43/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A dark and glowering Hefeweizen. Not the usual warm and sunshiney fruit bomb. Starts with a promise of sweetness, ends with a bitter spicy note. Meaty and savory notes are nice. Rather hoppy in an understated way. Weird smell is the jarring note, like someone needs to get these dirty clothes out of here. Looks very nice, served in a tall Weizen glass at the Linkery in San Diego. Head refreshes itself when you take a pull and it sloshes back down the long glass.

I have fond memories of this on tap in Davis in the 1990s, but it doesn't seem to be up to the standard of so many great German-style hefes these days.

Serving type: on-tap

07-27-2011 05:22:21 | More by mactrail

Gusler

Arizona

3.5/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The beer after its extraction from the 12-ounce brown bottle sets in the glass a chill hazed gold color with a prestigious sized creamy white head and as it depletes, the lace forms a thin sheet of lace to cover the glass. Nose is sweet malted grain, citrus like in crispness, fresh and pleasing to the senses, start is somewhat sweet with a nice grain profile and the top light in feel. Finish is mild to moderate in acidity, the hops light and pleasing to the palate, very dry aftertaste that lingers long on the palate.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2004 21:01:55 | More by Gusler

UCLABrewN84

California

3.55/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a murky honey orange with a foamy khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, wheat, yeast, and some slight spice aromas. Taste is of malt, grain, yeast, spices, and a grape-like fruity flavor on the finish. There is a mild spice bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that has some aromas and flavors I don't usually get from a hefeweizen.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 04:00:08 | More by UCLABrewN84

beerguy101

California

3.58/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Light gold color, very cloudy, small head. A light bodied Hefe-weizen. Mildly malty. Nice flavor, subtle banana and clove flavor. Smooth and light taste. Mouthfeel is round. Finish is smooth. Aftertaste is fruity and slightly sweet. Light and refreshing, a very nice hefe.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2003 03:27:14 | More by beerguy101

DoubleJ

California

3.58/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

You might guess this was a German import with the array of German words on the label, but in fact it's bottled in Davis, CA. On to the beer:

Partly cloudy blonde with a thin head that fades to a paper-thin one. Bubblegum, ginger, and spice in the aroma. The taste begins with strong yeast, bringing along a trail of cloves. Phenolic action is minor, it's mostly about the spice in this one. Dusty bitterness is left on the palate after it's all said and done. In my book, this is solid.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2007 01:56:07 | More by DoubleJ

Krevee

California

3.58/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Drank on 5/10/10
Poured on-tap into a pint glass

A - Medium yellow with a hint of orange. Quite a bit of haziness. Some white head with a little bit of lacing goes away quickly.

S - The smell is of wheat and lemon with some clove and banana.

T - Is similar to smell. Some bitterness at the end. Citrus becomes stronger as beer warmers. You can also taste the clove and citrus. Also has some banana flavor at the end.

M - Mouthfeel is very light with higher amounts of carbonation silky in mouth.

D - Easy to drink pleasant all around. A nice hefe and would be a nice beer on a warm day.

Serving type: on-tap

05-12-2010 02:58:56 | More by Krevee

augustgarage

California

3.68/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On-tap at Blue Palms, served in a 22oz nonic.

Cloudy, lovely gradient of citrine and gold. A white head fizzes away rapidly to nothing.

Bananas, sourdough biscuits, and faint lemon zest in the nose - not much spice though.

There is a lactic tartness on the palate with a doughy backbone that prevents it from biting too hard. The finish hints at a vague minerality. Straight-forward, no off notes.

Slick, and could use a little more heft and carbonation.

A nice sessionable beer that goes well with spicy food, though not one I'd bother seeking out again. Like most domestic versions of this style, it doesn't quite add up...

Serving type: on-tap

03-05-2010 20:21:31 | More by augustgarage

Gueuzedude

Arizona

3.75/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle Date of 04.03.07, Sampled September 2007
This beer is quite hazy and pours with a definitely opaque, yellow-straw color. It is topped by a frothy, pale, just barely off-white colored head that starts out at three-fingers in height. The head dissipates a bit faster than I would like. The aroma has the nicely characteristic nose of clove and banana, in that order of noticeability too. A nice malty grain character is in the nose too; grassy grain, tart wheat, bready malt & yeast notes and a toasted pale grain (a sort of soda cracker like note) are all definitely noticeable, though they do play a secondary role to the spicy esters and phenolics created by the yeast strain.

Sweet tasting, with a nice grain character to it. The sweetness accentuates a soft clove character and a very soft banana note, both of which are not as prominent as they were in the nose. The beer is lightly tart as well, and this helps to make this light, effervescent brew even more quaffable. The carbonation, along with the tartness, provides a bit of balancing sharpness to the softer yeast & malt derived notes.

This is definitely a well made Hefe Weizen, it has most likely lost some of the characteristic flavor notes since being bottled, but is still quite tasty. I'll definitely have to get a fresher sample, as I find that Hefeweizens are best drunk within a month or two of bottling.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2007 04:02:42 | More by Gueuzedude

Halcyondays

California

3.85/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle,

A: Pours a lightly cloudy yellow, with a soft white head with fair retention.

S: Cloves and bubblegum.

T: Bananas, spice and some sweet cake batter type malt, light noble hop character.

M: Crisp, clean, light-bodied, spritzy.

D: Another solid good German style beer from Sudwerk, quite refreshing and enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2009 21:40:01 | More by Halcyondays

Jason

Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Presentation: 12 oz brown longneck bottle with a “best within 90 days of bottling” and a scored bottling date on label.

Appearance: Cloudy yellow, natural haze from the wheat and being unfiltered. Thin crisp looking white lace that does a decent job of sticking around.

Smell: Blended aroma of mild spicy clove, fresh milled grain and a faint fruitiness of bananas and ripe apple / mild lemon.

Taste: A profound dry maltiness with complex layers fresh grain to form a bready flavour throughout. Moderately bodied with an ample carbonation, smooth mouth feel. Perfect amount of fruity esters that leave a trail of banana. The yeast character of spicy clove and a mild nuttiness round the brew out. Faint whisper of phenols and a drying grain finish the beer off.

Notes: Not bad at all, a great stab at the German Hefe-Weizen style. Perhaps a bit more carbonation could liven up the brew a little more but it is just fine without it. Certainly a beer I would love to have beside me during a hot sunny day.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2002 01:18:26 | More by Jason

aforbes10

Iowa

3.88/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle from our lab fridge (on the outside of the fridge it says "chemicals only in refrigerator" and has the word FOOD with a big red X through it). Pours a clear yellow-orange with a vanishing single layer of bubbles that makes it look a bit soda-like, quite frankly. Banana and mild yeastiness on the nose. More banana and some bread flavors in the flavor, mixing with tangy malt and a touch of fruity ethanol on the finish. Fairly clean taste, good reflection of the style. Medium bodied, slightly chewy. Drinks easily and smoothly.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2009 22:28:51 | More by aforbes10

misterscooter

California

3.95/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Purchased at the brewery in Davis, CA on 6-24-05. Bottled on date of 5-16-05. Recommended to drink within 90 days of bottling.

It pours a straw yellow and clear, nothing floating around so it must be filtered. The small, thin head is almost not worth mentioning but there is enough carbonation in it to keep a thin lace on top.

There is a slight spice smell with some definite lemon/citrus aroma with it. Also lurking in there is a taffy smell, possibly a subtly sweet strawberry.

The flavor is a mild, mulling spices taste that mellows as it warms up a bit. The lemon is also there and some light, dry hops and a hint of sweetness. Just a bit of wheat in there.

This guy feels good and is great for drinking any time of the year. The carbonation isn't distracting and you can easily want another after finishing one.

My first time drinking a hefeweizen was on tap at the brewery in Davis. I remember it being a bit different, perhaps less/not filtered and maybe a little more spicy. Or maybe it is because of the lemon they put in the stein and pieces of citrus were floating around in it. Anyway, this is still a good beer out of the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2005 20:51:33 | More by misterscooter

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A hazy, light yellow body is capped by a short head of creamy, bright-white foam. Hundreds of tiny bubbles race towards the surface, enhancing it's appearance and helping to maintain its thin surface covering throughout the glass. Lacing is limited, but OK. The nose is clearly not as pronounced as most Bavarian versions, but it's very nice with some delicate clove, a touch of soft vanilla, and a very subtle banana that's sometimes visible in between flashes of lemon! It's light/medium body is accentuated by its fine, effervescent carbonation with a crispness on the tongue that softens to become creamy and smooth as it warms in the mouth. The flavor mirrors the aroma with a gently sweet malt that's softly clovey, vanilla-ish, and a bit tart with a lemony/citrus note. The banana flavor is hardly noticeable in the mouth, but there is a light touch along with some bubblegum in the finish. Well-balanced, delicate and refreshing. It's quite easy to drink, and leaves you wanting more, but it's overall drinkability is hindered a bit by it's limited character.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2003 18:34:43 | More by NeroFiddled

BeerManDan

California

3.98/5  rDev +7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

When poured the color was of a hazy wheat yellow, with no foam. The smell was of a yeasty, wheaty nature with a hint of hops on the nose. The flavor had a bitter/sweetness of spices and yeast. I find this Hefe Weizen from Sudwek very pleasing and a pleasant suprise.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2004 20:40:32 | More by BeerManDan

Zorro

California

3.98/5  rDev +7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cloudy yellow colored beer with a small white colored head.

Smell is apples and clove with some ginger aroma. This tickles my nose making me wonder if there is some real ginger in this, I am allergic to the stuff.

Starts out wheat malt and spices, there is a little doughy flavor here. After the flavor settles in you have light sweetness and vanilla with mostly clove and wheat malt flavor. Good flavor.

Mouthfeel is good.

Mild tasty hefeweizen here. Stronger on malt flavors than clove, but it is decent. Would buy again.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2010 03:03:11 | More by Zorro

pjwilson

California

4/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

ah sudwerk from adopted hometown of davis. After a trip to germany i realized how close the beers of sudwerk are to the actual german beers. they are actually beyond close but in fact dead on. Sudwerk was opened by German's blah, blah. Anyways for us West Coaster's we can try German styles much fresher than from Germany. As always these beers are much better on tap.
Appearance: uh weak point. head fizzle's very quickly, leaving a flitered looking hefe
Smell: bananas..mild smell..spices..
taste: spicy..this ain't no american wheat. pretty complex for such a light style. this is the real thing that's for sure. i taste bananas, mild sweetness, light malt flavors, even a bit of mild bitterness(nice). for style this is number one for me....i'm just not really a hefe fan in general. for my money this is tops.
mouthfeel: nice and mildly chewy.again this a light refresing beer but the mouthfeel isn't watery at all. I;ve had ipas more watery than this.
drinkability: its fantastic. if you feel like having a few of these, this a good beer. Better yet go get a liter at the brewery..

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2005 02:31:42 | More by pjwilson

Gobzilla

California

4/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

poured a hazy pale pineapple yellow with a nice finger of fluffy head and good retention leaving some good frothy lacing sticking to the glass. I could detect spice upfront on the aroma with sweetness from the malts and faint banana notes. The taste had more banana character alongside spice and coriander accents but still had good sweetness from the malts. The brew was medium in body with a good amount of carbonation which had a sweet, slight fruity, but spice prickly finish. It drank good and was a solid hefeweizen.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2010 04:00:08 | More by Gobzilla

Troyone

California

4.08/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours almost a lemon color with a sticky white head and hazy with action.

Wheat malt aroma with some banana and a hint of esters.

Banana and wheat grain taste with a slight butter background.

Light bodied, slight butter and watery/resin feel, lively soft carbonation that seems to be almost flat maybe this beer was krausened.

Easy to drink in fact I'm having fun with the "Hefewiezen pour" as this sticky head and drinkability is perfect for practice.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2009 01:20:43 | More by Troyone

largadeer

California

4.1/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Straw yellow with a good haze to it and a reasonably long-lasting one finger head.

Smell: Sweet and spicy. Plenty of signature banana, but this is more of a sweet, overripe banana smell.

Taste & mouthfeel: As the aroma suggests, this is sweeter than your average Hefeweizen. The combination of banana-like phenols, spice and chewy wheat immediately bring to mind banana bread, though there's an undertone of bubblegum-like sweetness as well. Crisp carbonation and a light body make this ideal for Summer quaffing, and the clean dry finish ensures that it doesn't get cloying after a pint or two.

Notes: Surprisingly nice stuff. I'd say that this is one of the better American Hefeweizens I've tasted.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2008 23:29:37 | More by largadeer

illidurit

California

4.1/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Slightly hazed straw color. Virtually no head and no lacing. Very odd, as this beer shows no other characteristics of being an old or bad bottle. Aroma is very yeasty and spicy, with a banana bready sweetness. Flavor is clovey with some banana pith, vanilla, and a touch of peppery hop bitterness in the finish. Very clean, crisp, and refreshing. Dry and drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2008 09:14:01 | More by illidurit