Weisse
Pike Brewing Company

 

 

i had the sampler at pikes tonight that had this beer...

as small as the sampler was i couldn't finish this beer.
smell decent. i gave it a higher ranking because I felt a little guilty....

this beer was not high on my ranking. I am not going to rip through it here because that just doesn't seem right.

mouthfeel was carbonization, lots

Pike Weisse--5 oz. Taster at Pike Pub May 9th, 2010. 5.0% ABV. 24 IBU's. Mild lace white head. Clear thin bright yellow color. Bavarian coriander banana front. Crisp refreshing spicy Bavarian wheat body. Cloying Bavarian Hefe mild citrus end. (4.0 / 5.0) Classic flavor. Very refreshing.

Served in straight pint glass at the brewery. Happily the bartender asked if I wanted lemon, instead of just jamming it on the glass. Typical cloudy wheat color and white head.

The aroma and taste were what one expects from this style, just more muted and softer than a lot examples. The body was, again, typical. Drinkability was very good, you could sit and drink these all day. A decent beer worth trying, a pleasant respite from the chaos of Pike Place Market.

Sample at the brewpub. Served with a lemon. This beer is a clear dark yellow color color with a medium and fluffy white head that recedes slowly. Rings of lacing on the glass. Aroma of wheat and citrus, plus some mild yeast. Medium, clean body with flavors of citrus, wheat and malt along with a touch of yeast. The finish is short and fruity with a touch of wheat in the aftertaste. Just average overall.

An odd ale bearing little resemblance to German or American wheat beer styles. First, although Pike's literature describes this as "unfiltered" this 40% wheat beer shows an unexpected clarity. It is dilute oak color and undercarbonated with an eclipsed head and minimal lace. There's no aroma to be found, but the flavor at first delivers a strong yet clean American ale yeast component with an inflated malt sweetness that overshadows all further attributes. The profuse sweetness borders on cloying and betrays any sense of identity as a wheat beer. The crisp dryness, fluffy body, or dense opacity more common to the style just isn't here.

Weisse can still be enjoyed as a clean, if overly sweet ale. But as a wheat beer it fails to materialize.

On tap at the brewery. This is a decent wheat beer that tastes more like a wit than a hefe. Not a lot of banana notes but rather more citrus and a solid malty backbone. Not the strongest beer in their lineup but certainly drinkable on a hot summer night.

Appearance: very hazy pale yellow / light orange color with a spotty head. Just looked dead. Lemon slice was politely declined.

Smell: some soft citrus tones, with a tough to pull out banana tone.

Taste: ouch. Kind of a grainy malt with a pretty strong lemon citrus flavors with no actual lemon slice stuck on the glass. No bitterness. Barely any hints of banana or other spiciness.

Mouthfeel: mildly crisp throughout. Light-medium in body. Citrus aftertaste is brief.

Drinkability: didn't finish the pint. This was the worst of the Pike brews I had on my trip.

This is perhaps my least favourite offering from Pike so far.

Decent weisse appearance: cloudy amber colour and a faint orange-lemon scent to it. Wheat and yeast smells are also present.

The taste is too malty. The wheat malt lends a bready flavour that almost overpowers any citrus or fruit flavours.

This is not the best weisse I've had...it seems generally that American weisses are maltier and not as zest as their European counterparts.

Appearance – This one had a nicely carbonated orange body with some cool-looking sediment and a promising head.

Smell – The yeast aroma was heavily laden with oranges, enough that it made it a little off-style. It wasn’t bad, though, and I was also able to pick up some banana notes.

Taste – The yeast really wimped out at the taste, which was disappointing. I then picked up some type of hop (maybe citrus) and pepper of all things. Also, I picked up some alcohol at the taste. Since when does a weissbier have alcohol notes?

Mouthfeel – The carbonation also failed to show up at crunch time. My pet peeve about American attempts at wheat beers is that they are not carbonated and fluffy like they are in Germany, and this was certainly the case here.

Drinkability – I enjoyed this beer at the pub over a game of pool, but I wouldn’t call it a weissbier.

Comments - How they messed up the flavor profile of a 3.8 ABV beer with alcohol notes I'll never know.

Made with Pale, Wheat, and Munich malts, and Saaz hops exclusively.
OG=1.044, 3.8% ABV, 20 IBU.

Drank on tap at Pikes BC in Seattle, WA.

Slightly cloudy, light orange brew forms a good-sized white head with good retention and lacing. Aroma is faintly of apples with no cloves or bananas. Clearly an American Hefe, which I tend to dislike. Taste begins with toasty pale malts, has a saccharin tenacity in the middle, and ends in a crisp, floral bitterness with a well-balanced, lightly dry finish. There is a hint of alcohol towards the end. Mouthfeel is bright and spritzy. This is a pale ale by all respects.