Heavy Weizen (Imperial Unfiltered Wheat Ale)
Southern Tier Brewing Company

Heavy Weizen (Imperial Unfiltered Wheat Ale)Heavy Weizen (Imperial Unfiltered Wheat Ale)
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From:
Southern Tier Brewing Company
 
New York, United States
Style:
Hefeweizen
ABV:
8%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.86 | pDev: 10.62%
Reviews:
200
Ratings:
239
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Sep 02, 2015
Added:
Sep 24, 2006
Wants:
  12
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by ommegoose:
Photo of ommegoose
Reviewed by ommegoose from Illinois

3.9/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Bomber from Binny's.

Chilled and poured into a pint glass.

I can't fit the whole thing in the glass, so I'll have to wait to get the yeast in. It's already quite hazy. Ranges from apricot color in dim light to a straw yellow when in bright light. Looks more like Paulaner than a Franziskaner or Weihenstephaner. I'm getting a nice sheet of lacing while making room for the rest. I'm not getting a fluffy, pillowy head, but retention is not bad. Appearance did not change much by the end. Must have shaken up in the car a bit.

Crisp wheaty aroma with banana and clove. A little tartness is there and a hint of lemon. Vanilla. It's not thrilling, but it touches all the bases.

Nice wheat flavor early on with some malt sweetness too. The next thing I notice is too much grassy hops (Saaz). It finishes like a Pilsner. Not what I'm looking for here. The wheat has a nice tart snap to it, and about the right amount of clove. In fact, it starts to really come on strong later on. Banana is pretty subtle. I wouldn't mind it being a bit more forward.
I wouldn't be able to guess the 8% abv, which is only suggested at by the "imperial" qualities of the beer - more hops and more malt. Starting about halfway through, the hops fade, and I'm picking more spiciness, including some pepper. It really moved from being a wheaty pilsner initially to more of a spicy hefe. Almost dropped the score lower, but it started to grow on me. Still, not going to rush out and buy more, especially at the current price.

Carbonation is pretty soft. Maybe could be a bit lower. The beer seems to foam up a bit in the mouth, but I like it when the style stays juicy and smooth. Sufficient amount of body.

Drinkability is good. I got the first half down fast, and then some of the booze hit me. Tough beer to score for me. If I was grading strictly to style, it strays far from my favorite hefes. I was hoping for something in the neighborhood of Vitus, and it's not so much like that, so I'm a little saddened. Still this wasn't hard to finish, even though it's not exactly a summer refresher. It's almost like the Cherry Saison, in that it was not what I expected, but still good. Actually, now that I mention it, I'm definitely tasting similarities between the two beers, due to the yeast and wheat. I was looking at my log of reviews, and this will be my lowest score for this brewery, but that's more of a compliment to the brewers than a slam on this beer. Southern Tier's brewers must be drunk when they sample their beers, because I consistently find them to be good/middling initially, but they grow on me tremendously when the buzz starts to kick in. The overall experience keeps me coming back to them.
Aug 20, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.28 by iRun2Beer from Minnesota

Sep 02, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by Latarnik from New Jersey

May 29, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by athomasPSU from Massachusetts

Jan 23, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by RBorsato from Virginia

Oct 16, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by JTomczak from Connecticut

Aug 13, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by WVbeergeek from West Virginia

Jul 31, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by jaxon53 from Connecticut

Jul 21, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by gpblackgt from Pennsylvania

Jul 17, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Slatetank from Pennsylvania

May 16, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by Kelp from New Hampshire

Apr 15, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by matjack85 from Illinois

Feb 07, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by DmanGTR from New York

Jan 30, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by DrIPA from Michigan

Jan 24, 2013
Photo of superspak
Reviewed by superspak from North Carolina

3.88/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
22 ounce bottle into weizen glass, no bottle dating but this has been retired for a couple years at least. Pours very hazy golden amber color with a fairly dense 1-2 finger white head with good retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Spotty foamy lacing on the glass. Aromas of big banana, lemon, pear, wheat, caramel, honey, clove, bread, orange, pepper, bubblegum, earth, and yeast spices. Pretty nice aromas with good strength and decent balance; the age is definitely apparent. Taste of banana, orange, clove, pear, wheat, biscuit, caramel, lemon, pepper, honey, earth, toffee, and yeast spices. Lingering notes of banana, light fruits, wheat, biscuit, clove, caramel, pepper, and yeast spices on the finish for a good bit. Nice balance and complexity of flavors; good fruity/spicy flavor balance; zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a slick and creamy mouthfeel that is good. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a very nice imperial hefeweizen. Nice balance and complexity of flavors; and very smooth to drink for an 8% beer. Very enjoyable offering, despite the noticeable age.
Nov 12, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Molson2000 from Canada (ON)

Sep 20, 2012
Photo of LiquidAmber
Reviewed by LiquidAmber from Washington

3.7/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Review from 2/2010 notes. Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a medium orange gold amber with a thin off-white head with decent retention. Aroma of wheat, banana, cloves and other Belgian spices. Flavor follows, with Wheat, banana and clove elements, almost like a cross between a tripel and a weizen. Has an odd bitter taste in the middle and end. Medium bodied. An odd take on a hefeweizen, but interesting.
Aug 07, 2012
Photo of AdamBear
Reviewed by AdamBear from Pennsylvania

3.43/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Found a bottle of this in a liquor store in Rehoboth Beach. I now see that its retired. I hope its still good!

A-cloudy gold with a large frothy cream colored head

S-smells like bananas, nectarines, and cloves. very good smelling. strong scent.

T-comes in with a strong and bitter taste of wheat, bananas, and cloves. there's also a hint of alcohol to it. the after-taste has a plasticy bitterness with a hint of the wheat. its an odd and unbalanced beer.

M-creamy with very low carbonation and a watery finish.

O-the idea of a strong hefe really intrigued me, but as i expected it really isn't well done. i have a feeling that if Southern Tier toned this down a bit, that it could be a very drinkable beer, yet never reaching the greatness of the German hefes.I think ST knows this, so they amped the beer up to be an imperial hefe so that it had some sort of allure to it. I'm glad i tried this, i'll finish the bomber with a smile, but i won't get this again.
Feb 21, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by ltdantheman from Georgia

Feb 20, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by Tyrawlings from Ohio

Feb 19, 2012
Heavy Weizen (Imperial Unfiltered Wheat Ale) from Southern Tier Brewing Company
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 239 ratings