Pizza Boy Brewing NEON

On a recent visit to Al’s of Hampden, I ordered a glass of Pizza Boy Brewing NEON. This beer is interesting as it was made as half hefeweizen and half double IPA. The beer pours a cloudy golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of pepper, lemon, wheat, earth, and pine. The taste is dry and bitter with lemon and pine on the front end. Grassy hops and peppery spices come out on the finish. The alcohol content is 5.3% ABV. This beer was quite different from the normal, as it was a really hoppy wheat beer. Most wheat beers are light and un-punishing, but this beer really rammed home the hops.

Pizza Boy Brewing Hefe

On a recent trip to Al’s of Hampden, I ordered a glass of Pizza Boy Brewing Hefe. The beer pours a pale yellow color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of lemon, coriander, orange peel, and grass. The taste is dry and grassy with a light bodied mouth feel. Lemon and coriander provide a refreshing flavor and orange peel comes out in the finish with peppery spice accents. The alcohol content is 5% ABV. I’d say that Al has nailed the hefeweizen category with this beer, as it is equally refreshing and tasty. The citrus flavors really attack the palate, but are balanced very well with the pepper and grass hops.

SweetWater Waterkeeper Hefeweizen Ale

I received a bottle of Sweetwater Waterkeeper Hefeweizen Ale in a trade with Lance Martin (Beers of the Night) and Alfred Hugh Leonard III. The beer pours a golden color with a lofty and frothy white head that leaves specks of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of wheat, lemon, funk, grass, pepper, and hay. The taste starts off with lemon that is slightly puckering with a bit of funk. There is a wheat and yeast sweetness that then comes in to play with a pepper, hay, and grassy dryness from the hops. The alcohol content is 5.7% ABV. This was a slid hefeweizen that was light on the tongue and refreshing, but has a nice little bit of lemon funk that tickles the tongue.

Appalachian Brewing Company Hinterland Hefe Weizen

While at Appalachian Brewing Company prior to the Marcy Playground concert, I ordered my monthly glass of Hinterland Hefe Weizen. The beer pours an opaque golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of wheat, lemon, pepper, and grass. The taste is sweet and smooth with lemon and wheat on the front end. Pepper and grass hops come out in the finish. The alcohol content is 5.3% ABV. I thought that this was a decent hefeweizen. It isn’t too memorable, but it quite refreshing and provides plenty of great flavors, making it worth ordering.

Widmer Hefeweizen

I went out for my friend Tom's birthday when he was in town and we went to The Warwick Hotel & Restaurant in Hummelstown, PA. I ordered a glass of Widmer Hefeweizen while there. The beer pours a golden color with a thin filmy white head. The aroma consists of lemon, wheat, and and hint of pepper. The taste is surprisingly smoky with some lemon and wheat accents. The after taste retains the smoke flavor and it lingers for a while. The alcohol content is 4.9% ABV. I'm not sure if there was something in the line or not, but I had to reference Beer Advocate to see if others picked up the smokiness; no one else has with the exception of the two other people with me at The Wick. The beer had a bit of a BBQ style taste in the mouth, and was not what I expecting, but a decent tasting beer.

Joseph James Weize Guy Light Hefeweizen

Another Joseph James beer that came with my beer of the month club subscription was the Weize Guy Light Hefeweizen. The beer pours a yellow color with a foamy white head that is not lofty, typical of Hefeweizens, and rather disappointing. The aroma consists of lemon, wheat, orange, and yeast. The taste is light and lemony with not too much body to it. There is a slight sourness to the beer and a bit of wheat on the finish. The after taste is grassy and earthy. The alcohol content is 3.5% ABV. This beer was rather disappointing for a Hefeweizen. While it was light and refreshing, the lack of flavor would keep me away from getting this beer in the future.

Trader Joe's Bavarian Style Hefeweizen

I swiped a bottle of Trader Joe's Bavarian Style Hefeweizen from my sister's fridge when I was dog sitting (Let's see how well she reads the blog). The beer pours an orange-golden color with a lofty foamy white head. The aroma consists of orange peel, coriander, banana, pepper, and yeast. The taste is smooth and full of flavors including orange, coriander, pepper, banana, and a good helping of Belgian yeast. The finish on the beer is a little watered down and it leaves a faint mandarin orange after taste. The alcohol content is 5.3 % ABV. Overall, not a bad Hefeweizen. I must say I was a little reluctant about this beer since it came from Trader Joe's, and I haven't had anything from a retail store before. The flavors were nicely balanced in this beer and there were plenty of them to keep the tongue happy throughout the experience.