Pyramid Imperial Hefeweizen
Brewed with 60% malted wheat, our Imperial Hefeweizen is a smooth full-bodied, unfiltered ale with a pleasant hop flavor for a taste that’s uniquely refreshing.
3.2
184 reviews
Seattle, United States
Community reviews
From Firefly. My first Imperial Hefe, sorry, Wheatwine. This all began with only a trace of a head, merely a thin white film above a body of rather cloudy orange. The aroma was to me at least, mainly of some orange rind and maybe a couple of other things that I’m unable to identify. Taste was sweeter than a "regular" hefe and likewise the finish. Sweet yet not so sweet as to be cloying. Mouthfeel was more so than a standard hefe; luxurious comes to mind (don’t ask why). I liked this beer but I wouldn’t want to make a session out of it. Certainly not at $9/bottle.
UGHGHHGHHH. What the hell is this? Did they even taste it before bottling? I’m not down with this at all.
Smells like a really fragrant, intense, high end shampoo. Don’t forget really ripe fruit that is baking in the sun. How do I rate this? The smell is really fine but it doesn’t really adhere to the Hefe standard that I’m used to. Plus, I’m having a night where I seem to be buzzed pretty hard super quick off of a Marston’s? Senior death camp home here I come. Cloves are first to be recognized, followed immediately by a shit load of wheat then warm hearty bread, sweet candy, ripe bananas (probably the sweet candy), nectarines, fake apple... I think that’s all I can make up for now. Dumped out hardly any crown, what was there is white and unimpressive. The brew is slightly orange and even more slightly hazy. The aroma seems to further and further down the apple road - how odd. The taste is very heavy on the wheat with an almost indistinguishable banana / orange blend. Noticeable hops that don’t ruin the experience but don’t help the Hefe cause. The 7.5% is only noticeable in my vision and slurred speech. The mouth feel is dry, sort of, medium or more bodied, not thick or viscous, fairly smooth, ok carbonation, short lived dull wheat / weak bitter finish. OK, I’ve changed my tune. I don’t hate this. It seems without classification, a beer floating in the neverworld of styles. Drinkable? Yup. Nothing really bad about this except that it’s outright odd. The whole time the aroma has been forcing me to think "faceless 40oz strong beer". A totally unappealing beer that is to get a 2.6 rating - get me another from the style to compare to. And it cost me 10 bux - never again. I’m officially drunk on two beers - tell my children I love them. It is apparent that I’ve lost all will to absorb alcohol.
"A impy Hefe you say………I guess all styles must need an imperial version……..I can’t wait to try my first imperial reduced alcohol. This came from a 650ml bottle labeled “brewers reserve 2007”. When cap first removed beer smoke poured at and I went after it like an 1980’s yuppie go’s after a line of coke, but this went horribly wrong when I realized the beer smoke smelt like feet. Other non-tasty aroma’s where apple, wheat, faint alcohol, and the always yummy sent of black rubber. Ugg…. Smelt interesting but not appealing. Brew is very cloudy tannish brown with some orange elements only a small film floats on top. I swirled and I swirled and I swirled some more but I couldn’t get all of the 1” of mud out of the bottom of the bottle. Why was this made? This style makes no sense to me. Malts are very wheaty and leave a caramel after taste, flavor is very mild and way milder then I would have expected. A apple flavor is very prominent and the apple combining with some banana is making a sweaty foot flavor. I guess this wasn’t horrible to drink it was just boring and bland, it shouldn’t have ever have been made."
22oz bottle poured into a weizen glass. Hazy, dark orange with a super foamy head. Smells spicy, peppery, and fruity. Interesting flavors of fruit, hoppy, but not similar to a normal hefe as I didn’t find any banana or clove flavors here, weird. Nice beer, I wonder if it was better when it was first released back in September.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 02-01-2008 01:14:24
Soft fruity nose, hints of lemon dough. Slight pearl haze, deep gold to amber, medium foamy medium head. Sweetish, slight cloves , pepper crackers, not much bitterness. Medium to high carbonation, full mouth feel, but delicate, soft finish with a slight warmth pulling through. Not remarkably complex, but very elegant and enjoyable..
A- Pours a cloudy and hazy orange-amber hue with a nice amount off craggy white head that is sustaining and leaves a fair amount of lacing on the glass
S- Aroma is mostly citrus and floral hops along with yeasty wheat malts
T- Hmmmm, initial taste is of wheat and sweet malts, followed by bread malts and dark citrus in the middle, and finishing with an unassuming touch of dry hops and alcohol
M- Medium-bodied hefe with an almost oily texture, light carbonation
D- At 7.5%abv, this is definitely on the strong-side for a hefe, fairly drinkable overall, but lacks any unique characteristics for a repeat buy. I think the biggest knock on this beer is that it tries to be both an IPA and a Hefe but fails at both, sometimes "hybrids" are not the best picks for beers and this shines with this "Imperial Hefeweizen". . . if I want a good IPA, there are plenty of better choices, and the same holds for Hefes, I see no situation in which I would want the hoppiness of an IPA with the wheat/syrupy maltness of a Hefe
Big frothy head atop this marvelous looking beer. Looks like golden roasted dusk shining inside the glass...hazy, amber hue reflecting my thirsty face. Mouthfeel is creamy, thick, bready. Taste had a lot going on: banana, wheat, slightly spiced (black pepper, anise), hints of licorice and over ripe apricot, banana bread, thick stale muffins. There was also a fairly strong dose of earthy elements here: grass, straw, mud huts along the Nile (well...it is from Pyramid Breweries after all). Overall, a unique and special beer. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but had to buy it twice to make sure. Probably designed more for those beer drinkers with discerning tastes.
Bottle: Poured a cloudy dirty yellow color weizen with a small off-white head with limited retention as well as lacing. Aroma of wheat malt is dominating with some light notes of banana and cloves. Taste is again dominated by some wheat malt with some light notes of banana and cloves ester also noticeable. Body is full with some very limited filtration and average carbonation with no discernable alcohol. Interesting take on the style but somewhat cloying at the end of the day.
Pours a dingy-hazy orange with little to no head. Grainy aromas dominate, with some hops and citrus (not american hop citrus though) in the background. Flavour is grainy, with some orange in the mid-palate, that is quickly taken over by a solid hop bitterness which dries the finish out. The mouthfeel is pretty thick and creamy, but not cloying. Overall, more of a IHA (India Hefe Ale) than what I’d call an Imp Hefe. I expected more banana-clove phenolics and less hops.
Pours a hazy orange/amber color with little to no head. Some carbonation though. Aroma is fresh peeled oranges and wheat. Flavor is more of the same. Citrus and wheat, although almost none of the weizen yeast flavors you usually get. No bananas, no bubblegum. Alcohol is well hidden. This is a nice beer. Would be good in the summer.
Sparse aroma. Pours a very nice cloudy orange, yeast floaties. Flavour is tangerine-like, suprisingly hoppy. Body is above average for style, thick. An enjoyable beer, but I’m mixed on whether this is really a weizen.
Bottle. Yeast, banana, wheat/barley malt aroma. Hazy amber with moderate head. Wheat malt and light alcohol flavor - light hops finish. Really not much like a Hefe - just a hoppy wheat ale.
Cloudy amber colored pour with a good foamy head that lasts a while. Aroma of grain, yeast, hops, citrus and spice. Flavor is part hefe, part IPA. The yeast and citrus come through at first, but the hops and alcohol become quite strong on the finish. The hops also seem to mask some of the normal hefe characteristics. Not bad, but a little odd.
Compliments again, of doboy (Thanks ED!), along with DrBayern and Steve. Pours a medium amber, little to no foamy head. Aroma of wheat, grapefruits and some lemon. Flavour much of the same, a bit of light caramel and banana tones that enveloped a little dry hoppiness. A decent hefeweizen I geuss.
I grabbed this one in Wilmington to share with Buddy Steve, That wild and Crazy Celticbrew and the Poo-Ba of our band of idiots, Drbayern. This poured a light copper color. the hoppy aroma and surprisingly the alcohol (only 7,5%) caught the ole schnozz. It drank nicely with a good bite on the back side. The lacing as I drank was well above average.
04-Apr-08 (22-oz bottle: BevMo in La Jolla, CA) Don’t expect this beer to resemble a fine German Hefeweizen in any way. As the small, bubbly, tan head dissipates at a rapid pace, it sounds like a bowl of Rice Crispies. Within 30 seconds, the hazy, bright-amber body has no crown whatsoever. The nose doesn’t smell much like a Hefeweizen either; it’s malty and sweet with a hint of hops, but there’s hardly a suggestion of fruity or spicy yeast components. The flavor is sweet and fairly caramely with moderate banana, a hint of spicy and a fairly bready finish. There’s a gentle tartness to help balance the sweetness, and the light, dusty hop flavor in the finish is pleasant. Full-bodied on the palate with medium carbonation. The beer comes dangerously close to weighing down the palate with a stale mouthfeel, but the light tartness and dusty hop dryness and bitterness come to the rescue. I can’t say I’m a fan of taking a traditional style and "imperializing" it, but even though this beer doesn’t bear much resemblance to a hefeweizen, it’s still pretty enjoyable.
22oz bottle-Pours a nice hazy yellow orange with a small head which emits an aroma of banana, yeast, malt, and fruit. Taste is of the same with some hops and slight alcohol thrown in. This light to medium bodied brew seems to hide the alcohol but then it pops up on you in the back end. Not a bad brew but not as good as New Glarus’s.
Cloudy, dark orangish pour with a thin head. Aroma has a lot of malt with a bit of banana and bubblegum. Mouthfeel is slighltly carbonated and there is some malty sweetness up front. Alcohol is evident and the only real hefe flavor charateristic is the banana. Really a bit harsh. Slight yeasty aftertaste.
Pours an unclear orange with a medium white froth on top. Caramel, some light sweet banana, a little bit fruity and what seems like some barrel tartness in the aroma. Tastes similar to a higher ABV version of their amber-weizen. Lots of caramel, some banana and yeast. A little bit tart but mostly sweet caramel. Some bitterness in the finish. I can honestly say this is a unique flavor, as I haven’t had something like this ever. Similar to the amber-weizen mixed with pureed apples. Medium body with light fizzy carbonation. It does cover the 7.5% well.
Hazy orange, aroma faintly of banana, more of straight shooting pale malt. Flavour is mostly pale malt, some fruity yeastiness, and mild wheat character. This doesn’t truly satisfy as a hefe, and thus fails in concept I would say. Not horrible, but why bother?
Today: Hazy orange body that sits below a 1 finger head, some sediment. Aromas of wheat, citrus, herbs and malts, some hops pop up too, flavor is pleasant and refreshing, not too wheaty, palate is crisp, dry and quick, but smooth, the alchohol is hidden well, nice quaffer on a 110F Arizona day.
Slightly hazy deep straw color with small white head. Only a slight aroma but a little sweet grainy smell. Flavor is actually nice. Some nice soft flavors from the wheat but a nice bit of sweetness as well. A decent body and nice balance with the increased alcohol makes me like the wheat much better.
Pours a cloudy gold color with a sizeable head. Aroma of wheat, fruit, and malt. Palate is full and thicker than most hefeweizens I’ve tried. Flavor features citrus fruit, wheat/yeast, malt, alcohol, lemon and sugar. Finishes with some bitterness and slight alcoholic flavor, a little subpar. Wheat tones run throughout. Overall, quite a flavorful brew. I would drink this again, but I’m not sure the boldness of this beer really would please fans of a more traditional and subtle wheat beer.
650ml brown bottle. 2007. Dark gold/orange shade, quite cloudy/murky. Holds a small white head. Citrus (lemon) and fruit (light banana, fresh apple) aromas. Has vanilla, wheat, caramel, lemony accents, with mild alcohol, late leafy hop note. Actively carbonated, medium body.
Bottle. Cloudy gold. Fading white head. Nose is wheat, soft alcohol, candied fruit, and hops. Light yeast notes as well. Taste is sweet and hoppy. Some lemon comes through as do melon and pear along with yeast notes, wheat and candy. Soft spices and hop bitterness. Body is medium with a strong dense carbonation. Finishes with more grains, lemon, melon, yeast, candied notes and light alcohol. Not really a German Hefe, per se, I’d put this into the ASA category.
bottled, poured dark yellow/light red hue with minimal white head, aroma of sweet malt with mild hops and hint of alcohol, nice malt flavor with very mild bitter not as heavy/carbonated on the palate as most hefs, not bad
22oz bottle. Pours hazy yellow. Sweet malt aroma. Just a touch of fruity character. ... then KP stole my notebook and wrote ,"my girlfriend wants a baby, but I can’t be tied down to one woman." How true that is.
Bottle from Hollingshead’s Deli. Not, not, not impressed. Tasted like any old bargain hef like Widmer or a poor pull of Four Peaks. Overwhelming bitter finish, very hollow and unfounded lemon topnotes. Just not impressive.
pours a dark redish yellow with almost no head. Starts very smooth with a very sweet taste and leaves with a light bitterness. very nice
22 oz. bottle on 6/16/08. Light fruitiness with hints of spice. Cloudy gold, spare white head, and insignificant lace. Honey like sweetness and a trailing soft, spicy bitterness.ight/medium body and carbonation, clean, refreshing palate. Although this has a certain refreshing quality, it just doesn’t have the qualities of a solid German hefeweizen. I don’t understand the "Imperial" sobriquet. What’s the point?