Windansea Wheat Hefeweizen - Karl Strauss Brewing Company

UCLABrewN84

California

3.48/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a murky yellow with a 1/2 inch foamy bone colored head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of wheat, grain, spice, banana, and slight bubblegum. There is a slight vegetal aroma that I am picking up on as well. Taste is much the same with a grain and spice aftertaste. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer and definitely drinkable for what it is, but I am not too sure I would go after this one again.

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2012 02:39:04 | More by UCLABrewN84

ArrogantB

Colorado

3.48/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

On tap at the downtown Karl Strauss location. Hazy, cloudy yellow like a witbier usually does. Yeasty aroma with some wheat. Flavor was all banana, overpowering. No bubblegum unless someone makes banana flavored bubblegum. It wasn't gross but I wouldn't buy it.

Serving type: on-tap

05-03-2013 21:18:36 | More by ArrogantB

oggg

California

3.43/5  rDev -2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Part of a 6 beer sampler

"An unfiltered SoCal-style wheat beer. Not your average American hefeweizen!" 3 srm 15 ibu 3.5 body

so it says on the Karl Strauss website. I can buy that it is more in the hefeweizen style as opposed to an American-style wheat ale. The name Wheat Hefeweizen is pretty annoying though. And what is SoCal style?

This beer pours a nice hazy full yellow. Minimal head due to sample size. This beer actually has a decently apparent, sweet aroma. I get a decent amount of banana and spiciness with no hop bitterness. Nice wheaty taste and feel. Refreshing and light. Good for newbies. Somewhere in the middle range for wheats that I've tasted.

Serving type: on-tap

03-15-2004 06:02:49 | More by oggg

Halcyondays

California

3.43/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. bottle,

A: Pours a hazy goldenrod with a medium white head, some lace.

S: Banana notes, cream, bubblegum.

T: Lemon and banana, with some definite wheat malt flavour. By the books, to style.

M: Light-bodied, crisp carbonation, creamy feel overall.

O: A solid American hefe, and actually has some solid yeast flavours. A good local beer for the summer, the first time I've seen it in stores.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2012 01:29:23 | More by Halcyondays

Dogbrick

Ohio

3.4/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On draught at Islands restaurant in Huntington Beach, served with a lemon. The beer is a hazy yellow-gold color with a thin white head that dissipates quickly. Spotty lacing. Wheat, bananas and clove in the nose. Medium, clean body with wheat, tropical fruit and sweet spice flavors. The finish is fruity with a lingering wheaty aftertaste. Above average overall.

Serving type: on-tap

12-19-2007 20:41:56 | More by Dogbrick

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

3.4/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured on-tap in downtown San Diego at the Columbia Street brewpub. The beer was poured into a pint glass with a cloudy yellow color and no head. The beer is almost completely opaque, being the epitome of unfiltered. The beer is banana and sweet on the nose. The flavors lean more towards nut, with hints of banana. There are also vanilla undertones, with a clove emphasis on the finish. Sharp and bitter notes to the aftertaste, and the complexity and transition of flavors at the end of the beer affect the drinkability. Not a smooth, easy beer like most Hefs.

Serving type: on-tap

01-08-2011 08:26:05 | More by GarthDanielson

brentk56

North Carolina

3.15/5  rDev -10%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: Pours a very murky honey color with a head that fades quickly without leaving a trace

Smell: Green banana, vanilla cream, artificial sweetener and a hint of clove

Taste: Wheat bread with mashed green banana, up front, with a building sense of vanilla cream that overwhelms, in the middle; the clove adds a bit of spice, after the swallow, but the finish is very very sweet

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: I was expecting more of an American Wheat so it was interesting that the beer turned out to be a Hefe; but still, this is well off the mark of the better examples of the style

Thanks, cocoapuph, for the opportunity

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2012 21:41:49 | More by brentk56

SteveO1231

Connecticut

3.1/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pretty good Hefeweizen.

Cloudy yellow color, with a thin white head. Lots of yeast. Low carbonation. Served too cold.

Strong banana scent mixed with citrus.

This hefe was full of banana flavor, nice smooth finish. A little sweet. Nice a crisp, good summer beer.

Very drinkable, strong fruit-filled hefe, very light on the palate.

Cheers!

Serving type: on-tap

10-09-2005 07:02:27 | More by SteveO1231

Floydster

California

3.1/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pint from the PB Tap Room a couple days ago for four dollars

Been meaning to try this for quite some time now but surprisingly I do not see it many places and it is not available in bottles as far as I know

Color was a medium orange yellow with a very murky body, 3/4 inch creamy white head, some nice retention, minimal lacing

Smell was all over the place but not bad, wheat, citrus, bananas, butter, sweet malt, faint bready aromas, and lots of vanilla

Taste had lots of citrus from the beginning, chewy wheat aftertaste followed by an immediate sweetness, everything in the smell seemed to show up in the taste as well, weird vanilla and banana flavors once it warmed that made it pretty hard to drink, definitely one of the sweeter hefeweizens I have tasted, needed some of that famous Karl Strauss hoppiness to balance some of the sweet tastes out

Body was super thick for a hef, not as much carbonation as would think either, taste did last long and there was a noticeably sweet mouthfeel

Could not drink much of this stuff and I cannot say that about many wheat beers out there, just too sweet and tiresome after a while, the ABV is low but it is heavy and thick, maybe another pint maximum if I had not drank anything else at that sitting

Definitely not my favorite Karl Strauss beer, not too upset that this is a draft only brew, probably would not drink again, think it would be probably be even worse in the summer with the sweetness and the heat, not a session beer like many other beers of this style

Serving type: on-tap

01-22-2008 08:01:40 | More by Floydster

tdawgydog

New York

3.05/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Had on-tap at the Karl Strauss Brewpup in La Jolla. Poured into a 16oz Hefeweizen glass, it poured a mirky golden yellow with little to no head by the time it was brought to my table. The beer was ok, nothing special. It was not one of the better Hefe's that I have had but it wasn't terrible either. I guess it was just meh!

Serving type: on-tap

03-11-2009 01:54:36 | More by tdawgydog

hopdog

Pennsylvania

3.03/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

On tap at the Karl Strauss Beer Cart located in Disneyland.

Poured a medium and hazy golden color with a small sized white head. Aromas of bananas, cloves, and light citrus. Tastes of wheat, with ligther bananas and lighter cloves. An average and drinkable Hefe.

Serving type: on-tap

12-05-2008 00:39:09 | More by hopdog

HopHead84

California

3/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12/23/2011

On tap at Karl Strauss. I can see people hovering over the coy pond with cameras and big smiles on their faces. I can only assume they are observing the coy.

A: Light yellow and very hazy with an inch of white cream.

S: Spicy clove with a little pepper. Banana blends with light bubblegum notes. Malt is grainy with some biscuit.

T: Wheat and a bold lemon note. I don't see a lemon in the glass but the flavor is undeniable. Clove and banana are both pronounced.

M: Lower medium body with upper medium carbonation.

Overall: Okay but too heavy on the clove for me.

Serving type: on-tap

12-23-2011 22:49:53 | More by HopHead84

IceAce

California

2.88/5  rDev -17.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Appearance: Golden straw-colored transluscent body topped with a two finger collar of rapidly dissapating foam. Lacing is ok, but large fish-eye bubbles are a telltale giveaway of forced carbonation

Aroma: Nice Bavarian style nose...floral esters, hints of banana and spice, and even a wee bit of yeast

Taste: Very middle-of-the-road taste...almost as though the beer is confused as to whether to be a Euro or an imitation of it's American cousins. Virtually no hop notes detected.

Mouthfeel: Thin and one-dimensional

Drinkability: Unfortunately, this Hefe could not live up to the promises made by the nose and falls short of a beer which I would pursue.

Serving type: on-tap

08-25-2004 07:01:09 | More by IceAce

ncfranklin

Alabama

2.88/5  rDev -17.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

On tap at their brewpub in Oceanside.

A : Orangey with a very light creamy head. Thick, can't see through it.

S : Wheaty with notes of banana and clove, sweet malt is present as well.

T : Alot of malt to this, quite overpoweringly so. Barely notes of the banana or clove, or even wheat.

M : Medium bodied, very fuzzy. This is actually my favorite part of the beer, gulpable.

D : Being very light on the traditional flavors of a good hefe, this one falls to the wayside for me. But, it is very drinkable if you do like it.

Serving type: on-tap

07-24-2010 22:20:25 | More by ncfranklin

HalfFull

California

2.8/5  rDev -20%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Poured a murky golden yellow into a pint glass, not much head or carbonation for this brew. Smell is rather subtle. I searched for the banana and clove that I was promised but found little of it. What is there is masked by a slightly sweet yet drying malt finish in the German style. Not effervescent or spicy and not very refreshing for the style. A typically mediocre offering from Karl.

Serving type: on-tap

08-18-2008 03:51:06 | More by HalfFull

DogFood11

California

2.75/5  rDev -21.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I had lunch today at "islands" in beverly hills. Its a middle of the road type place like red robin or applebee's. Needless to say the selection of beers was weak so I went with the only brew there I havent tried. Windansea Wheat Hefeweizen really drew me in as the appearance was very good. Cloudy, golden, nice head and decent lacing. This beer has all the makings of a quality product...I JUST MAY STOP IN TO THIS PLACE AGAIN!! Then in one big boring second it all comes to an end. The taste is weak with nothing stepping up and claiming I AM THE BEER. Its watery mouthfeel and overemphasized carbonation is annoying. Not again. Although I shouldnt say that because it still beats the other crap they had on tap.

Serving type: on-tap

07-08-2005 20:57:36 | More by DogFood11

Overlord

California

2.68/5  rDev -23.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Ugh.

Looks nice, with a pleasant cloudy golden color. Smells appropriately wheaty/grassy/citrus-ey. Mouthfeel is abysmal: thin, watery, little to no head, no lacing, no substance. Taste is thin as well. Carbonated water with some wheat and hops mixed in.

Stay away.

Serving type: on-tap

09-29-2007 02:06:07 | More by Overlord

logisnews

Hawaii

2.2/5  rDev -37.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

It was so fizzy it was like soda pop. I don't inow if this is the same brand of hefewizen but I got the sampler tray and they all were over carbonated. The atmosphere in the La Jolla restaurant was decent but the beer was nothing to write home about. Or a review. I'm not a beer critic but I know what I like (i.e. Los Gatos Brewing company or Kona Brewing Company Hefewizen) and this wasn't one of them. I would not go back.

Serving type: on-tap

03-22-2005 03:28:24 | More by logisnews