Impériale Weizen
Les Trois Mousquetaires

 

 

 

A very strong wheat ale with powerful alcohols, syrupy sweet texture and burst of caramel, the beer falls within the realm of Wheat Wines or Weizenbocks.

The beer pours with the viscoity of maple syrup, with tightly woven carbonation, leading to a dense head that eventually falters because of the alcohols and sugar content. Very murky orange/deep golden color. Nearly rust colored.

Bold aromas of caramel, shortbread, and fruitcake. A burst of esters give a lot of fruity aromas with grape leading the way. Rum-like alcohols and a sherry-like vinous note rounds out the scent.

A sugar shock of sweetness reminds me of Halloween candy corn. Sweetness and alcohol flavors make the beer both savory but harsh. Berries, grapes, appricots, dates, and mangos give a glimpse into the endless fruity esters. All this with a bready, doughy background flavor.

Full, rich, and somewhat chewy the beer has a heaviness that makes drinkability tough. High fusal alcohols add tremendous heat and roughness to the beer.

A very tasty beer with the sweetness and fruity notes. But harsh because of the weight and alcohol. Any more than 6-8 oz. becomes a bit too much.

Light copper with a yellowish hue. Thin, fizzy white head that dissipates quickly.
Smell is faint, corny malts, orange. Can't pick up much else.
Taste is faint orange/tangerine, with hint of sourness. Slight sweetness with a fairly tart, biscuity/malty finish.
Mouthfeel is moderately crisp and smooth. A little wet on the finish.
Fairly drinkable, as there is nothing too unpleasant to note. Not a remarkable beer by any means though, and not something I'd seek out again.

Served in an Ayinger weizen glass.

Pours a very hazy pale orange-amber straw with a healthy dose of particulates and a minimal, quickly receding white foamy head, which does lace decently as it dies away. The smell is weak, but nonetheless appealing to some degree: hints of orange peel, coriander, lemon peel, and even a bit of sour funk. The taste has many of these components, especially in terms of the peels. There are also bits of cloves, tiny hints of peppercorns, and a good amount of wheatiness (somehow I'm not all that surprised by this...). The body is lightly heavy, almost too heavy for its own good. The particulates keep the smoothness from being totally realized, and the weight and alcohol melt the drinkability's waxen wings.

An Imp. Weizen. Hmmm.

A- Golden, classic weizen color, minimal head, but that's not terribly suprising @ 8%. Still pretty good.

S- White wine alcohol... not terribly good. No, I don't much care for this at all. No hefe/wheat characteristics, faint fruitiness... and a lot more alcohol than an 8% beer should be throwing off.

T- Same. White wine. This is not a beer. Srsly. I taste the fruity sweet notes found in a white wine. I'm a total wine noob so I can't say much more about it than that... but this is not a beer.

M- Eh. That about sums it up. A little thin and watery. Lower carbonation then I would have liked. ABV is way too prominent.

D- No thanks. I drank it, I'm cheap, but I can't recommend you pay money for this one.

Pours a beautiful opaque dark-orange colour. A nice frothy orange-tinged head fades to a thin covering.

Pretty different in smell for a weizen: good dose of smoke, orange, cumin, coriander, light caramel. Interesting but not necessarily super appealing.

Very strong tasting. Fairly big alcohol presence and about as sweet as you might expect a 10% weizen to be: too sweet. The label describes the beer listing some flavours, the most accurate (and unique) of which I would say is guava. The guava is incorporated into this meaty, earthy roasted corn-like flavour. Some subtle spices in the background. I can't say I'm that into the flavour, 3.5 mostly for an attempt at something interesting. After trying three of their 750ml bottles, I think they have a similarity to all their beers similar to the way all Unibroue beers taste the same. Not the same thing as Unibroue, there's just an element tying everything together.

Nice feel: thick and creamy with a subtle carbonation. Similar to the feel of a nice Belgian.

This is really not drinkable. I'm sitting here alone with a 750ml wondering how I'm going to get through this thing. It might not be possible; even if I do succeed I'll surely be drunk since I'll need to drink it quickly. I can't see this getting better as it warms. I would only recommend a glass of this if you find it on tap somewhere just to try out of curiosity. It's not a bad beer, I just can't see anyone wanting to have any more than a single glass or 355ml bottle. Too sweet and too strong.

Poured into a pint glass, this beer was deep yellow and hazy, with a thin head that died to a spotty film.

Aroma was wheat malts to the fore, with some graininess thrown in to round it out. There was a light fruitiness, and a slight yeasty character... although less of the latter than I expected from the appearance.

Taste was where the yeast came out. This one was quite yeasty, with a slight smokiness and spiciness that combined pleasantly. Still, not normal for a wheat beer.

Mouthfeel was OK, not highly carbonated, not too thin as the style can often be. I think they did OK.

Good marks for drinkability. It wasn't my favorite wheat, but it stood well on its own. I wouldn't session it, as I prefer IPAs or stouts, but that's just me.

poured an unfiltered amber with an off-white head. poor retention.

smells like champagne, wheat, malt, and alcohol. plenty of sweetness as well.

taste is champagne-like with a tart-apple sweetness on the tongue. plenty of alcohol to go around amongst the malt and wheat flavors as well.

mouthfeel is crisp and light, a bit puckery from the sweetness and alcohol. pretty drinkable.

I poured this brew into my Crown Valley tulip bought today on a Mom's day trip to the brewery - comes out a hazy amber, but once you swirl the bottom yeasties it turns almost murky brown..

Citrus and orange in the aroma, full kick of the wheat malt. Spicy summer brew, the orange and black pepper really do this one well. Tad grassy with a bit of musty fink in the finish, a decent cut at the high powered impy weizen.

I couldn't see spending the $3 a bottle for this very often, but a enjoyable brew for one and done

Top's Liquor in Tempe, AZ has some good stuff, but I was very surprised to see this beer. I had no idea this beer was imported into the states. It's not exactly summer here, but the extra meat in this beer might work on this mild day. On to the beer:

The head is bone white and about 1/2 inch thick on top this darker orange colored beer. The head seems to stay around forever, even as the beer is consunmed. The cloudiness increases the closer to the top you go. In the nose, there is a citric orange scent. Mild phenols play second second fiddle to the citric orange. What will I taste?

This tastes like orange juice to me. A strong, citric, thick bodied, glass of orange juice. A shake of pepper in the background makes things interesting. It gets a little sweeter as it warms, which I like. No crazy high intensity here. The booze is hidden underneath the big, creamy, and fluffy body. Very citric overall, it stays around on the palate in the aftertaste.

If I were blinded upon tasting this beer, I would have believed this to be orange juice, not beer. Pretty amazing how this did it. A very unique twist on the usual run-of-the-mill pale wheat ale.

Cloudy, muddled orange body. Thin off white head leaves beads of lace. Aroma is real bready and doughy. Like bread pudding almost. Slight spice on the nose as well. But really no big weizen characteristics. Flavor is more of the same, big and doughy, with a splash of cinnamon as well. This is decent enough, but really not what I was expecting from an Imperial Weizen.

Poured from the bottle a slightly hazy amber gold with a half inch of foamy white head.

Aroma of bananas, green apples, lemon zest, honey, spices, and Belgian yeast.

Lots going on here. Tastes of bananas, bubblegum, chocolate (totally unexpected), malts, and caramel. Finishes clean and the alcohol is well hidden.

Medium bodied, rich and smooth, and lightly carbonated.

This is an interesting beer with many personalities. Pretty easy drinker and a worthy try.

Pours with a two-finger cream head that fades slowly leaving some lace. Cloudy amber color. Light-medium carbonation and medium bodied. Malty yeast nose. Flavor is spicy sweet, some honey. Nothing like the usual wheat. Higher ABV is hidden. $4.27 for a 341ml bottle from a Tully's Beer & Wine Wells, ME.

Thanks to TomDecapolis for sharing this 2008 version 750 mL.
Appears a hazy gold with a small, white head that quickly fades into a mild collar. Tiny speckles of lacing is left around the glass.
Smell is of citrus, dough, vanilla, and grassy, floral hops.
Taste of citrus, tart wheat, and the grassy hops.
Mouthfeel is medium-full bodied, chewy, doughy, with slickness found in the swallow.

This beer is a hazy light orange with a light bubbly head which quickly disappears into a lace and very little carbonation. The smell is faint, mostly I can smell light malt, and a swirl brings out a lighter lemon grass. The taste is well balanced, but I can't find a dominant flavor. So the overall impression is a beer that is easily forgettable. I think the dominant flavor is the alcohol on the finish, in second would be a hint of lemon / banana in the middle that you really have to look for. the sweetness in the beginning just blends with everything else. The mouth feel is slick and a little syrupy, but at 8% I would expect it to be. Drinkability is average. I could drink a bunch of these but don't feel compelled to. Overall this is a good starting point for this beer, now give it some character.

Picked this beer up while on vacation in Quebec. It kind of reminds me of a clear version of Aventinus. It pours with a small white head that quickly ceases to exist and has very little lacing. Has a slightly hazy golden color.

Smells of spices, alcohol, fruits (bananas, apples, oranges and then some), sweet sugary malts and yeast.

Tastes of warming alcohol, yeasty spices, wheat, fruits, sugars and sweet malts. A good weizen but falls a little short of my favorites.

11.5 oz. bottle.

Lightly cloudy brassy orange with golden edges. Small, lacy, egg-shell white head. Rummy fruits on the nose along with butterscotch, tropical fruits, and grapes. Maybe a little too buttery. Taste starts with some toasted grains but quickly fills up with sweet candy and fruits. Wheat bread base and some weizen-ish banana and clove mixed in. Herbal hop bitterness around the edges. Finish is slightly warming with lingering butterscotch and ripe banana. Medium body with a soapy feel. Not bad, but largely forgettable.

Interesting beer and pretty good but not quite as strong as I was expecting. The color is a bright gold. Aroma is banana, cloves, yeast and some spicy hops. The flavor starts with some banana, yeast and some vanilla then spicy citrus hops. However, it's rather easy drinking and refreshing, which I have no problem with, but I was expecting more of a kick. Other than a minor alcoholic sour note in the finish the abv is masked very well. A good beer for sure but not the easiest to find and there are so many good beers out there to fill this purpose I may have just enjoyed my one and then forget about it.