Hale's El Jefe Weizen Ale

Hale's El Jefe Weizen Ale

El Jefe Hefeweizen pushes the wheat beer category to a new level - beyond bland. The flavor profile is “true Bavarian Style”, complex with fruity influences that only genuine hefeweizen yeast can produce. It’s “The Boss”

4.8% ABV 24 IBUs

Malts: 2-Row Pale ~ Torrefied Wheat ~ White Wheat

Hops: American Saaz

Original Gravity: 12° Plato
3.2
191 reviews
Seattle, United States

Community reviews

3.3 Solid wheat beer, easy drinking. Would have liked more aroma to come through from the yeast used.
3.2 Really nice aroma & decent pour but lacks in the flavor department. Love the banana & spicy aroma. Cloudy golden pour w/ a white head & good lacing. The taste is a little dry & finishes abruptly. Solid beer overall but not my favorite style!
4.1 Bought a 22 Oz bottle for $3 and I thought it was a great beer for the price. I drank out of a pint glass and the beer resembled shock top but didn’t like Oranges at all. It had a more banana sweetness. I think it lacked carbonation which effected the feel & more then taste.
2.8 Bomber. Unclear golden yellow, mostly fading white foam. Aroma of yeast, hef spices and banana. Lean wit malt taste, yeast, some citrus, a bit thin. Softer carbonation, light bodied, low hopped. LBW (Lagerboys Be Wary)
3.0 Slightly fruity and a bit of yeast. Earthy and light grain/wheat. High carbonation with a light metallic finish. Good on a warm day but not that full of flavor.
3.9 Not bad. True to style. Served with almost no head. Flavor’s dominated by carbonic tang. Could be richer.
3.4 Decent taste for a Hefeweizen, not much else to note. I would drink again if my other preferences were not an option and it was.
3.7 Served on tap at Harbor Public House. Golden hazy color with slight white head. Citrus sweet aroma. Medium-light body. Sugar citrus flavor with a slight wheat finish.
3.9 Tap at harbour public house with commonmac and rosskyle. Hazy dark gold with small white head. Banana and yeast nose, citrus is more subtle than expected. Sweet and crisp. Nice body. Finish is mild. Not amazing but solid, what a hefeweisen should basically taste like. Hit the spot after a long day of hiking.
3.2 [3/3/15] Draught at Hales Ales Brewery & Pub in Seattle. Hazy pale yellow. Aroma is yeasty and fruity with some spiciness and a soapy note. Flavor has wheat, some fruitiness, a sweetish note, a tart touch, some spiciness and a bitterish finish. Medium-bodied. Decent.
3.0 On tap at Hale’s, pours a cloudy yellow with a small white head. Nose brings out notes of citrus, banana, and clove. Flavour brings out a lot of banana and citrus upfront, with light clove underneath. Very banana-y. Round palate that is drinkable enough, despite not being wheaty at all.
3.0 Draft - Light wheat and banana notes. Hazy yellow gold with a decent white head. Light banana notes and some citrus. Average.
3.2 Poured from a bomber into a weizen glass in Fall 2013. A: Very cloudy with yeast. S: Banana. T: Banana. Lots of cloves too. A bit of spiciness on the back end. M: Creamy smooth. O: The German hefs are better, but this is a solid attempt by an American brewery. It uses genuine hefeweizen yeast and you can tell. I enjoyed this one much more than other American hefs.
3.2 Best American hefeweizen I’ve had to date. Only complaints are a little too light weight, and not enough sediment. Pours out a hazy orange golden with medium foamy head. Head could be a little creamier and have a bit more substance. Aroma is normal weizen, bananas, bubblegum and wheat. Body is a bit thin, but taste is right on the money. Good job from Hale’s.
2.6 12oz can, I think relatively fresh. Poured into a Blvd tulip glass. This beer is weird, I don’t think its actually a Hefe. The beer is only hazy, surprising for an unfiltered wheat. The beer is also generally more like a cheap Wit without spices as opposed to a Hefe. Cereal malts with orange esters and only light banana aspects. Even worse than I thought it would be.
3.0 12oz can. Looks filtered...which would be odd for the style. Lots of active rising carbonation bubbles inside an orange-tan body. Not that impressive of an aroma for the style. Taste is OK, some banana, but some slight plastic off tones. Not that good, but not horrible.
2.2 Dark yellow, finger white head Smell sweet rotten fruit taste gum and light banana Light body mediocre
4.2 Surprised by the low ratings on this one. It’s solid. Yes, lower ABV. But for this style, I want to taste banana notes. And I’m getting quite a bit of them. Not as much as my preferred brew, SanTan, but still in abundance. Solid and quite good.
3.4 Bottle. Pours a very hazy light brown color with almost no head on it whatsoever. Nose has a lot of the wheat and standard yeast smell to it, as well as some light citrus and subtle banana elements. Taste is slightly tart at initial pass, then descends into a subtle residual sweetness throughout. Pretty good for the style.
2.8 Poured cloudy golden yellow with no head although carbonation was present. Aroma had a nice balance of banana and clove. Very very light to taste almost watered down. Banana and clove flavors were moderately there. Couldnot get any breadyness from the wheat.
2.7 Draught at Hales Ales Brewery and Pub Cloudy pale blond color with compact head. Light aroma, with hints of lemon and banana. Dry mouthfeel, also too weak; not much wheat flavor, but it has a light touch of banana; no spices; very low bitterness. Simple hefeweizen.
3.5 On tap at Brooklyn. Bubblegum, banana, cloves, wheat. Good flavour, no major flaws.
4.3 Nice amount of unfiltered (or poorly filtered) yeast in the bottom of the bottle. Delicious flavor all around.
3.2 Slightly cloudy golden body with a large frothy white head. Big banana aroma, faint clove hints. Slightly metallic banana and wheat flavor. Medium light body with moderately high carbonation.
3.0 Bottle, 22oz. A hazy, orange-golden beer topped by a dense, white head of moderate size. Lots of bubblegum in the aroma, as well as banana, cloves and some dough. A touch of cloves as well. Semi-sweet, with bubblegum, banana, cloves and some honey notes in the flavor. Medium body, not as carbonated as I prefer the hefes.Bitterness, bubble gum and banana in the finish, some cloves as well. A decent one indeed, but that’s it. 130701
2.8 Bomber. Super cloudy yellow. Almost milky looking. Carbonated but Absolutely no head or even bubbles. Heavy on wheat aroma and flavors. Only subtle hints of esters. Drinkable buy hardly a shining example.
3.4 22 oz. bottle from grocery. Pale yellow pour with medium carbonation and a minimal head. Smells of banana and some wheat. Strong citrus/banana flavors with some sweetness. Nice finish with a bit of fizz. I like it.
3.5 On tap at Venti’s South. Crisp and well carbonated. Citrus and cloves balanced with a candy sweetness. Finish is dry with a touch of spice.
4.2 This hefeweizen is light and refreshing. Citrus notes in the middle replace the banana and bubble gum flavors so prevalent in the style. This pushes El Jefe solidly into the category of American wheat beer. It's probably my second favorite American wheat beer, behind Boulevard Wheat.
3.4 On tap @ Wallingford Pizza House. Pours cloudy straw yellow. Aroma is light spice and citrus. Taste is tart wheat, crisp hops, light citrus, clove spice, and a clean dry finish. Light and delicious. Perfect with a lemon slice. Hale’s kinda flies under the radar in Seattle, but has the occasional gem like this.