Ruthless Weiss Beer
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had a half pint on tap today (23 Dec) at Pacific Coast Brewing.

Poured a cloudy pale straw color, small white head. Aroma is full of bananas and clove. Taste is dryer than expected, clove, bubblegum and green banana. Light lemony undertones. Light body, almost watery. Aftertaste is of green bananas and mild alcohol. Overall decent but not great.

GABF Weekend '08:

It's a pretty standard Hefeweizen that's average compared to most German varieties, but good if considering American attempts at the style. The beer is actively carbonated and gives the beer a lot of life from the appearance to the textures. The bananna / clove character is well balanced and never dominate the bready, confectionate sweet malts. Light lemon zest and white pepper gives a lot of variety and separates it from most. The hopping rates gives some grapefruity notes to accompany the bitterness which I like quite well but does kick it out a bit. A nice beer for the summer seasons-- too bad it's autumn.

Had this at the Falling Rock on Halloween.
Arrives a pale straw color that's actually a notch or two lighter than most and is headed into witbier territory. It looks like it might be at least partially filtered (or the yeast had settled) as it's not that cloudy.
This tastes like a typical Bavarian weizen, although with a slight bit more hops in the finish. Banana esters are there, but the cloves and bubblegum are stronger. I'd say it was modeled after the Erdinger styles.
It's definitely light and might make for a really good warm weather brew. Since it was a slightly cool evening, one was fine for me...but I think it would be different if it were July.
Nothing magnificent about this, but I'd happily drink it again, especially if it were released as a rotating item in the Spring or early fall.

On draft at The Blind Tiger.

Poured a hazy medium straw hue with a one and a half finger foamy white head. There was good retention and lacing.

The smell featured the typical yeast esters coupled with a very citrusy hop.

The taste was upfront spicy wheat and yeast esters (banana and clove) that slowly gave way to a lively hop.

The mouthfeel was typical of the style.

Overall a tasty and refreshingly hoppy hefe.

1/2 pint at the Sierra Nevada brewery for two bucks on 8/12/08 for two dollars, reviewed from notes, the people I was with thought this was their best offering

A-I could definitely tell this was unfiltered, it was extremely cloudy, pale golden orange color, 1/2 inch creamy white head, some retention, no lacing
S-Mild hoppiness, orange peel, lemons, cloves, other spices, bananas, apples, other citrus, lots of wheat, and cream
T-This one did not have as big of a reliance on spices than other hefeweizens I have had lately tend to have, it is full of citrus and wheat though, more fruity as it warmed, would have liked to see some other complexity but I cannot complain much because it was pretty good
M-Medium bodied, nice level of carbonation, chewy, slightly sweet, and citrusy mouthfeel, taste goes away fairly quickly
D-Could drink a good amount of this stuff, light in alcohol and thirst quenching, went well with our burgers, gets slightly sweet when it warms up

I had their Crystal Wit a while back and thought it was pretty good, so I thought I better give this a try, not bad on a hot summer day, would drink again, recommended

Everything tastes better in the taproom...

Appearance> Very very hazy. Pale yellow glow, good head, and quite lacey.

Smell> hoppy, spicy, citrus notes.

Taste> Nice. Not overly spicey. However, not as complex as many good ones in its style. Heck, not even as complex as most wheat brews by Sierra Nevada. Soft, clove-infused hang.

Mouthfeel> Surprisingly creamy and full.

Drinkable>Sure. I'd rather drink the SN unfiltered wheat.

Slightly cloudy pastel yellow with a white head. Decent lacing. Aroma is clovey and bland with little fruitiness. Tastes like artificially banana-flavored bubblegum. Some grain and yeast but not much. Surprising lack of hops. Mouthfeel is muddy due to undercarbonation. Trying this side-by-side with a Paulaner hefe really highlights the shortcomings of this beer stylistically.

Flowing happily at the Mad Mex Robinson locale...appears a cloudy golden tone with a large white head leaves layers of even lacing as it dwindles at a slow pace. Aroma contains tart citrus with mellow banana and clove esters along with some sturdy hopage especially for a hefe. Taste has herbal pine hops sharp citrus wheat notes and banana/clove esters very nice I enjoyed it overall. Mouthfeel has a light to medium body spritzy carbonation tickles the back of the throat. Drinkability...nice American hopped hefeweizen has some good esters along with some nice hop flavor.

Sampled at the Sierra Nevada Brewery.
Poured a medium yellow cloudy brew with a medium head that melted quickly to outside lacing.
Aroma is sweet malt, light grainy wheat, and bananas.
Taste is bready wheat, bananas, cloves, and possibly vanilla.
Interesting.
Sort of an intense Wheat beer...flavors aren't really all that subtle.
Aftertaste is bready wheat and a light citrus hops.
Feel is thick from carbonation and nicely drying.
I enjoyed this different take on a wheat...like I said, what is normally subtle in a wheat was intense in this one.

This beer was very hazy, opaque even, and the colour of caramel. The short white head showed good retention and some lacing. Aromas were mostly of cloves and bread crust, with a little nutmeg thrown in. Low bitterness (as expected) with a strong clove component. Light banana and fresh baked bread flavours rounded things out. There was just the slightest hint of lemony citrus as well. Creamy carbonation and a medium body with a bit of slickness. The flavour profile is pretty simple, but it was a decent drink and had a little more heft than your standard "summer beer".