HefeWeizen
Live Oak Brewing Company

HefeWeizenHefeWeizen
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From:
Live Oak Brewing Company
 
Texas, United States
Style:
Hefeweizen
Ranked #2
ABV:
5.3%
Score:
96
Ranked #866
Avg:
4.34 | pDev: 9.45%
Reviews:
518
Ratings:
1,853
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 02, 2024
Added:
Apr 07, 2003
Wants:
  834
Gots:
  296
Modeled after the classic wheat beers of Bavaria, Hefeweizen is cloudy and straw-colored with a meringue-like head that lingers to the bottom of the glass. Brewed with an ample volume of wheat malt and few hops, this beer features a unique yeast strain that produces harmonious notes of clove, banana, and vanilla throughout this effervescent brew. A traditional interpretation of a classic style, this idiosyncratic Bavarian beer is perfectly at home here in Texas.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Todd:
Photo of Todd
Rated by Todd from Finland

4.75/5  rDev +9.4%

Nov 19, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.68 by scottyshades from Florida

Mar 02, 2024
Photo of RonaldTheriot
Reviewed by RonaldTheriot from Louisiana

4.52/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Live Oak Hefeweizen has a medium, white head and a hazy, yellow-gray appearance, following the "swish & pour", with no lacing. The aroma is of yeasty wheat bread, with banana and coriander. The flavor is of bubblegum, banana, coriander, and white wheat. There is no bitterness, but some sweetness. Live Oak Hefeweizen has a light-to-medium body and a dry finish.

RJT
Feb 13, 2024
 
Rated: 3.69 by vickersspitfire from Texas

Jan 22, 2024
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Reviewed by LonghornStonefly

4.89/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5
First had it on tap in a local Texas bar many, many years ago (Gingerman - circa 2003 perhaps (?)), and then the heavens opened up and lo and behold it was available IN CANS locally (I wept). Then, about a year or so ago it was no longer available at my local outlets at all (wept again, profusely) but wife and I paid a visit to the brewery while in Austin recently and could both drink and buy stock there (you guessed it...wept like 8 pound 6 ounce baby J*sus). At least I know where to get it now - and this gives me yet another reason to get to Austin as much as possible. Unquestionably the best heffe I've ever had (with Schneiderweisse's Tap4 being the red headed, weird "different" cousin at #2).
Jan 20, 2024
 
Rated: 5 by Nyoder

Nov 26, 2023
 
Rated: 4.43 by uncleotis from Illinois

Sep 15, 2023
 
Rated: 4.34 by ctbeerman1 from Connecticut

Sep 01, 2023
 
Rated: 4.62 by beerrat from Virginia

Aug 19, 2023
Photo of ThisWangsChung
Reviewed by ThisWangsChung from Maryland

3.36/5  rDev -22.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Pours a murky straw color. I'm disappointed in the head, particularly in its poor retention and hesitation to grow. The aroma is far superior, showing off clove, banana, and bubblegum in equal measure. Some nice wheat notes pop up after warming up a tad. Flavor-wise, it follows the nose, albeit not as intensely. The banana, clove, and bubblegum are all there, albeit muted. I also get some wheat flavor on the finish. Everything is properly balanced and where it should be, it's just that everything is at 60% intensity. The mouthfeel is oddly sharp, and honestly a bit watery. The carbonation is there, but the softness isn't...not at all. Did the DMV get a lesser batch or something? This is definitely not the #2 hefeweizen to me, and it certainly doesn't measure up to the best German examples. It's fine, though - I'd take it over quite a few American-made hefeweizens.
Aug 15, 2023
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Reviewed by cjgiant from District of Columbia

3.56/5  rDev -18%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
On tap:
Note: had can from same distribution as keg, and it didn't perform any better, in fact slightly worse. There are obvious differences in what others are perceiving, so maybe we just got a subpar batch in the DC area??

The beer allowed the bartender to fill liquid to the top of the glass. Even drinking it down a tad and swirling things around barely revived the razor thin ring of bubbles. The body was a fairly cloudy, pale bruised banana.

The nose is of moderate strength, but has a banana bubblegum quality that is nice. A little bit of the banana comes through in the taste, but there’s also a lemon-spritzed grain flavor that is more prominent, as I started sipping.

Allowing the beer to warm a bit (along with noshing a little food) opened up some more familiar Hefe notes. The banana and bubblegum upped their game a bit to replace the tangy lemon-like note I was getting, edging the beer towards the sweeter side of balanced.

Overall, this still wasn’t wowing me, and I think the somewhat watery feel I was perceiving hurt it the most. I’d be willing to give this highly rated beer another try, at least, to see if maybe I was just a bit off today.
Aug 12, 2023
 
Rated: 4.55 by Seantronz3030 from Washington

Aug 07, 2023
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Reviewed by Gansito_Slim from Texas

4.65/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
When I first drank this - bought from an Exxon station of all places - I didn't know anything about beer. But I knew immediately this was something special, and it became my choice when I wanted to upgrade from a 40oz malt liquor. In the years since, I have learned to name the component flavors, and the processes that yield them in the brew, which I'm sure you can research. But that all seems beside the point.

What is the point then? Simply: This is a smooth, tasty, complex beer. Very little compares in the US, and it's better than Paulaner. You can enjoy it slowly. You can smash it. Equally interesting to the scholar and the party animal. A "desert island" beer that would also work in the frozen tundra. The last beer you might ever need. The omni-brew.
Jul 29, 2023
 
Rated: 4.25 by McBraniel from Virginia

Jul 22, 2023
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Reviewed by snaotheus from Washington

3.7/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 2.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.5
2023-06-10
12oz can served in something similar to a wineglass with no stem. Can is dated 02.14.23. Got it from @MrSandman101 in a trade.

Pours moderately hazy, with a fairly small, foamy, short-lived head, which settles to nothing at all. There's a little bit of active carbonation that I can see. Smell is spot-on, yeasty banana notes, a little spiciness that makes me think of cloves.

Taste is also spot-on, reinforcing what I got from the nose. There's also a nice grainy characteristic.

Mouthfeel is leaning toward thin, feels pretty still. Overall...tastes good, smells good, needs some head retention -- it looks indecently naked!
Jun 11, 2023
Photo of kflorence
Reviewed by kflorence from Texas

4.37/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Date on can: 04/19/2023

Pours a cloudy, golden orange in color with a finger thick foamy head that dissipates to a thin layer with time. Carbonation looks quite lively. There's a fair amount of lacing as you drink, although most of it slides down the glass. Pretty standard look for a hefeweizen, although I think the head could be a bit creamier and longer lasting. Nit-picking, though.

Lots of banana, clove and bubble-gum on the nose. Bread and butter with a hint of spice. Not unlike banana bread. A classic hefeweizen aroma.

Taste follows the nose pretty much identically. Banana, wheat/bread, clove, bubble-gum. Simple, yet refined, and very clean.

This is medium bodied with delicately zesty carbonation and a tiny bit of chewiness. I actually expected this to be over-carbonated, happy to report that it is not. However, I also expected this to be chewier, it feels a bit thin overall, though that does lend to its drinkability.

This is a finely crafted Bavarian style hefeweizen. If you gave it to me blind, I would probably guess that it was from Bavaria, which is truly high praise. I doubt I could find a better brew of this style in the U.S. It won't be my highest rated for the style, but it's certainly up there. I must admit that I am not a huge hefeweizen fan, though I do crave them occasionally. This one drinks extremely smooth and clean. It is simple, but what's there is high quality. I've actually had this one several times but for some reason never got around to rating it. I did not realize it had such a high rating here, but it seems entirely justified. Live Oak continues to impress, I have not had anything from them that has been less than superior. Cheers!
May 24, 2023
 
Rated: 3.41 by jmdavisson from West Virginia

May 24, 2023
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Reviewed by HappyGuy12345 from New Jersey

4.84/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
On tap in a pint glass from a bar in Austin, Texas.
Look: Classic hefeweizen look (mildly opaque straw yellow) with 0.5 fingers of white head
Smell: Wheat and bananas
Taste: Follows the nose. Plenty of wheat, bread, and banana notes.
Feel: Medium bodied with good carbonation
Overall: There is no doubt why this beer is considered world class by Beer Advocate. Delicious and on par with the best hefeweizen beers from Germany. I was so impressed with the taste of this beer that I returned to the same bar the following night and ordered another.
Apr 03, 2023
Photo of Bluerabbitbell
Reviewed by Bluerabbitbell from Pennsylvania

4.23/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
3/28/23 On tap at Live Oak Brewing, Austin TX

Hazy, yellow. Plenty of lingering lacing.

Certainly reminiscent of Weihenstephaner Heffe, perhaps slightly thinner and less complex, but certainly high quality.

Enjoyed this one very much.
Mar 28, 2023
HefeWeizen from Live Oak Brewing Company
Beer rating: 96 out of 100 with 1853 ratings