Pyramid Hefeweizen - Pyramid Breweries, Inc.

jampics2

Ohio

3.88/5  rDev +25.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap @ the Winking Lizard.

This beer comes to the table in a pint glass with a orangish, cloudy liquid with a small white head. Looks nice for an American Pale Wheat Ale, but has nothing on the legendary Hefe's of the world.

Smell is straight-up banana, clove, and wheat. Nice but no where near life changing. A touch of orange fruitiness also makes an appearance.

Taste is really pleasant but lacks the depth of character I expect from something I would call exceptional. Wheat is dominant from the malt with just a touch of toasted crackers. The yeast gives a touch of banana and clove. And the hops lend a fruity spin, perhaps even some lemon. Decent but also kind-of same old, same old.

Mouthfeel is nice on draft. The body is light and the finish is clean. Carbonation is appropriate, not too sharp, and works with the wheat to produce a nice feel. I liked this as a summer, lawnmower beer and found it was easily drinkable. But the trade-off is flavor - I'd prefer more flavor even at the expense of drinkability here. Wouldn't buy, even a keg for a party, but would drink again over many beers out there if nothing better was available.

Serving type: on-tap

08-13-2010 15:16:24 | More by jampics2

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +12.9%

05-23-2013 16:52:03 | More by Slatetank

jonkerbaugh

Colorado

4/5  rDev +29%

05-21-2013 19:34:34 | More by jonkerbaugh

HopsConley

Rhode Island

3/5  rDev -3.2%

05-21-2013 18:48:02 | More by HopsConley

verge

California

3.5/5  rDev +12.9%

05-21-2013 18:22:43 | More by verge

DMB

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +21%

05-19-2013 22:59:32 | More by DMB

jazzyjeff13

United Kingdom (England)

3.06/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

A 355ml bottle with a BB of Nov 2012, so it's rather out of date. Picked up from Trembling Madness in York a while back and stored in my garage. I hope it still tastes OK....

Poured into a straight pint glass. Bottle conditioned - swirled while pouring to resuspend the yeast. A hazy golden hue with good carbonation. Yields a large head of creamy white foam with decent retention; this slowly reduces to a thick surface layer. Some lacing. Aroma of wheat and light malt, with hints of grain, earthy yeast, mild fruity esters, faint banana and a touch of sweetness. Not unpleasant, but not the genuine article.

Tastes of bready malt and wheat, with a dry finish. Notes of light malt, grain, wheat, earthy yeast, mild fruity esters, faint banana, a twinge of bubblegum and subtle stewed leaves. Well-attenuated, with little bitterness to speak of. Mouthfeel is smooth, dry and tingly, accompanied by good carbonation. Body is OK but a little thin for the style. Slightly astringent, with an aftertaste of wheat, grain and earthy yeast.

A rather lacklustre brew - certainly not up to German hefeweizen standards. It looks good, but the aroma/flavour are dull and lacking the bountiful fruity yeast esters that a proper hefe would possess. Body is so-so. Drinkable enough in its own right, but this is more of an American wheat ale than a hefe. Worth trying, but no need to go out of your way.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 22:25:42 | More by jazzyjeff13

ambruns1979

California

3.25/5  rDev +4.8%

05-18-2013 20:25:24 | More by ambruns1979

cb8282

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev +21%

05-18-2013 02:41:46 | More by cb8282

kylehay2004

Florida

3/5  rDev -3.2%

05-17-2013 23:42:14 | More by kylehay2004

tnbeatty

Vermont

2.75/5  rDev -11.3%

05-17-2013 00:46:35 | More by tnbeatty

BuckeyeSlim

Ohio

3.74/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

12 oz. bottle poured into a Franziskaner glass.

A - Huge head of pillowy cloud-white foam instantly fills the glass, even slowly pouring the beer down the side. Over-carbonated. Foam slowly collapses cleanly down the sides. It takes several attempts to get the entire bottle into the glass. Held to a full-spectrum light, beer is a bright pale lemon yellow and a bit cloudy. There's plenty of carbonation rising up thru the glass. Of the bottles in the sixer this is from, this is the most carbonated one by far.

S - A pleasant, soft wheat grass. No clove/banana, but a hint of soft citrus esters, like an orange. A bit of floral hops pushes into the nose, but it's light and subtle. Overall, pretty neutral, but at the same time, present rather than just missing.

T - Light wheat bread that's a bit moist and chewy with a touch of lemongrass and a hint of a lightly toasted and buttered English muffin. A bit of lemon tartness on the back end, almost as if there's a lemon wedge dropped into the beer. As it warms, a bit of lemon-drop candy shows up in the finish.

M - Fizzy and crisp. Full carbonation. Thin body, but not watery - the yeast that's present gives it just enough substance to be noticed. Structure is tight, and finish is clean, and refreshing, almost acidic. This changes to adding just a touch of sweetness in the echo as it warms up, where hints of hard candy linger a bit on the sides of the tongue.

O - This was a good example of why I like to taste a few of something I'm pretty sure I'm going to like if I can before doing a review. The over-carbonation of this beer is atypical based on the others I've had, so the hugely exaggerated head isn't going to get knocked down too badly. This is a very refreshing and quite tasty straightforward American wheat beer with only enough hops required for balance. It's not a traditional German hefeweizen, with the banana/clove yeast. Because it's unfiltered, there's enough substance to its body to keep it from feeling watery, but it's still clean and refreshing to drink. I wouldn't hesitate to pick up a sixer of this for a summer day at the lake, and it has the added advantage that most everyone you're with is going to at least find it drinkable, especially the women. Solid. Dependable. Worth having on the roster as a reliable summer option, but keep it cold because it gets a tad sweet in the finish if allowed to warm up.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2013 07:44:45 | More by BuckeyeSlim

rph97

Texas

2.5/5  rDev -19.4%

05-10-2013 00:47:09 | More by rph97

leftoverburrito

Oregon

2/5  rDev -35.5%

05-08-2013 03:46:57 | More by leftoverburrito

dalepryor

Kentucky

3/5  rDev -3.2%

05-07-2013 22:03:02 | More by dalepryor

cre83

Washington

3.25/5  rDev +4.8%

04-28-2013 19:43:12 | More by cre83

SmellsofMahagony

Texas

3/5  rDev -3.2%

04-25-2013 02:29:03 | More by SmellsofMahagony

mdaschaf

Washington

3/5  rDev -3.2%

04-19-2013 21:02:23 | More by mdaschaf

Asics

Washington

3.5/5  rDev +12.9%

04-02-2013 12:24:37 | More by Asics

jbdaves72

Texas

4/5  rDev +29%

03-26-2013 03:33:47 | More by jbdaves72

brotherloco

California

3.75/5  rDev +21%

03-25-2013 01:12:43 | More by brotherloco

benbjb

Washington

2.5/5  rDev -19.4%

03-18-2013 05:39:35 | More by benbjb

JeffSuttonTX

Texas

3.75/5  rDev +21%

03-11-2013 03:18:23 | More by JeffSuttonTX

spycow

Illinois

3/5  rDev -3.2%

03-09-2013 23:41:09 | More by spycow

GreesyFizeek

New York

3.25/5  rDev +4.8%

03-08-2013 19:04:36 | More by GreesyFizeek