Mandarin Hefeweizen
Yakima Brewing Co. / Bert Grant's Ales

This was the beginning of the end for Bert Grant's. Right about the time blue moon with an orange wedge was taking off, Bert passed, and whomever was in charge did a 180 with the traditional ales and put out this trendy beer.

Pours a mostly golden haze color with a slightly darker edge from the orange I guess, thin 1/4" white head. Aroma was of wheat and orange rind.

Taste was as you would expect, a lighter bodied wheat ale (difficult to say this was a hefeweizen, it just didn't taste like that kind of yeast) with some sweeter orange taste to it. Probably the lowest hopped Bert Grant's beer I've ever come across. High carbonation. Despite the lower hopping rate, the citrus rind probably kicks down some bitterness, not to mention the body of the beer is super light, it wasn't one of those wheat texture in the mouthfeel firm things, was mostly to just lighten the body so you taste mostly bitter orange. Was kind of a bummer that this was a beer people later in the game came to associate with Bert Grant's instead of the ipa, imperial stout, harvest ale, porter etc. . .4.2% abv

 

 

Presentation: 12oz brown glass generic stubby bottle,green and black on orange label

Appearance: cloudy yellow color, almost no nead, no lacing

Smell: strong mandarin, minimal beer

Taste: again very strong mandarin taste, minimal hops bitterness

Notes: is it beer ? Let me see, hmm, here we go, from the label: "Malt beverage with mandarin flavor added". Ok, this is not a beer, just BEVERAGE with ADDED flavor

As expected, this hefe was a hazy yellow. There was almost no head.

Aroma was of oranges and wheat malt. Rather one-dimensional.

Taste was of bitter wheat malt, and there was a funky orange flavor.

Mouthfeel was average, kind of thin. Drinkability was not great, mainly because of the funkiness.

Some fascinating characteristics, yet some flaws. Aromas are nicely orange-like. Little of the Wiezen aromas show. The beers apearance is exactly what one expects, however, I prefered better heat thickness and less carbonation. Flavors lack the creamy body expected in a Wheat. There are some good orange flavors in the foreground, but the bitterness that shows in the body are more likely from orange skins and tannins than from hops. Lacks spiciness, complexity, depth, and body. Sharp bittering keeps the beer from becoming as refreshing as expected.

beer pours a nice foamy golden color.. nothing off-putting or strange here. aroma is an artificial orangey, the way orange-flavored vitamin c pills smell. fruit overpowers beer aromas here. very clean and crisp with that initial orange soda/flintstones vitamin chalky citrus.. finishing dry and light with a definite witbier maltiness and a hint of alcohol. not the worst beer on the face of the earth, but i expected this to be more of an american fruity guilty pleasure type beer.. something that i could crack when it was hot as balls and the a/c is broken (like now) in place of a soda. not the case here.

oh, and this is by no means a hefeweizen. that aspect is rather misleading as this beer exemplifies nothing that i would usually see in a hefe.

Pours a hazy, golden apricot color with no head and no lace at all.
Smell is apricot along with malt, salted pretzel, hops and orange.
Taste is apricot and orange, malt, yeast and hops.
Effervescence all over the mouth with a light-medium body.
A smooth aftertaste that fades gently leaving nice orange & yeast notes.

Pours a hazy golden colored beer.

Smell is sweet wheat malt and crackers scent with a light scent of tangerines. Smells very clean no off scents and no hop odor.

Taste is slight sweetness and a wheaty malt backbone and slight flavor of oranges. More malty than the first taste hints at. The flavor is very mild and is simple and clean, medium neutral American wheat beer flavor, mild orange fruit flavor and a little bit of hop bitterness to clean the taste buds.

Mouthfeel is OK.

Very good Drinkability in a basic straightforward brew. This is simply an American wheat beer brewed to be mild and neutral to highlight the flavor of mandarin oranges; it does this very well. Mild and easy to drink this is a good beer for enjoying as a summer thirst quencher.

Label states: Malt beverage with Mandarin flavor added. Foggy semi-unfiltered orange hued pour with a thin ivory white scattered thin head cap leaving scattered lace traces.

Judicious citrous scents of oranges and pez candy.

First swigs: Tangerine fruit and a Sweet ‘n Low sweetness gushes forth first and foremost. Wheat aspect in the hidden for the most part above some powdery notes. Clean short aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is thin to medium body with soft cushiony carbonation. Quite clean and refreshing, overall.

Last swigs: Orange soda. Just an easy “fresh squeezed orange” flavor that holds up throughout the brew. Nothing special but, maybe this would be even better on tap. $2.00 a bottle at Circle Liquors.

Beer is good. Happy beering.

Appearance is cloudy golden amber with a nice white head of foam that settles down to leave sticky lace on the glass. Aroma has the yeast one expects in a Hefe, but there is orange in there, as well as malt. Initial taste is of sweet grains, citrus, and bitter hops. Taste is same as aroma, plus veggies. Finish is composed of hops and orange peel. A little bland for my palate - I wouldn’t want more than one in an evening.

I love Weizens. I'm more open-minded when it comes to fruit beers than your average BA. This should work, then... right?

Rather crappy pour. Nothing to it. Almost no head. Light orange, almost like a macro. No haze.

Smells like OJ and beer. By "beer" I mean PBR. American macro and OJ. Nothing like a weizen.

Tastes like synthetic orange upfront. The slightest hint of wheat in the middle, more orange sweetness in the back.

Rats. I got my hopes up for nothing.

Takes a vigorous pour to get any kind of headm and then it's a thin layer of white bubbles that die fast. Brew's color is somewhere between dark pilsner and light amber. No carbonation but no lacing effects.

The aroma is citrusy, almost reminiscent of Tang. Very little else.

The Tang character is less dominant in the taste but still the main player. Malt characteristics have some room to maneuver here but they're still weak. Finishing almost like citrus-infused club soda.

Light mouthfeel, no aftertaste. Hefe's lend themselves well to fruit additions, but it's an art adding just enough to taste but not overpower the beer itself. This one hasn't figured it out yet. Drinkable but not especially "beery".

Surprisingly clear, yellow gold in color. The head is minute and the lace is spotty at best.

Strong orange blossom aromas--very sweet and floral.

This is a very sweet and fruity beer. There is a citric tartness in the swallow. Imagine putting in an ounce of Grand Marnier in a mild hefeweizen and you'll get the idea. Fairly thin in body and very high in carbonation.

I would describe this as a novelty beer. Pleasant and different but not exactly something that would become a regular fare.

Pours a light copper with a touch of orange and a big frothy white head that leaves some nice lacing down the glass. Recedes into a thin collar.

Smells like mandarin oranges... with some mandarin oranges too.

Wheat presence is minimal, malts seem to be nearly nonexistant and neutral. The hop presence is typical citrusy cascade. Nice bite leads into a mandarin aftertaste that lingers. Gets a little unpleasant as the drinking goes on.

Heartily carbonated and has a nice body.

Quite drinkable when cold.
Not a typical hefeweizen by any means at all, but it does do well as a fruit beer.

Presentation: 12 oz. short bottle. Bottled date printed on the label. A description of the beer is on the back, with a reference to Bert Gran't website for more information.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy yellow/orange color with a small head (at least for the style). Just from the pour I am wondering if this should be categorized as a fruit beer instead of a Hefe.

Smell: Aroma is slightly sour orange, with hints of wheat. Not much else.

Taste: Orange flavor is subtle, but there ins't much else going on here. Certainly no hefe flavors, and not much else related to beer either.

Overall impression: Slightly orange flavored alco-pop. I didn't pour it out, but I won't be seeking more either.

Yellow color, boosted with orange and smoggy
Smells like Emergen-C orange, like orange flavor crystals, like chewable vitamins.
The aromas are very attractive and artificial.
I know what this will mean for the flavor.
Soda pop-infused regular beer. The unflavored beer ingredient is delicate, endowed by light colored malts with agility and substance. The flavoring is obnoxious. It's a crude, noisy relative. It's the only one talking during a movie. It's simple and narcissistic. It ruins an otherwise good, natural, malty treat.

Poured a hazy orange amber with a thin white head that disappated quickly. The aroma reminded me of both orange and a sweet Riesling... such a nice aroma made me hope for a great taste. At first I taste mild orange... not like orange juice or orange soda, but more like an orange rind, followed by lemon and mildly bitter black pepper. The finish was somewhat soapy and metalic. Not at all what I would have expected from the aroma. The beer was also relatively flat... both the mild flavor and lack of carbonation made me feel like it was watered-down.

12 oz bottle with no freshness code on the lable. I know it’s fresh tho, as these guys sell a lot of this stuff.

Crack the bottle open and even before I begin to pour the orange oil aroma hits my nose. Kind of like when you peel an orange and the juice from the rind squirts you in the face.

Pour is hazy dark yellow/orange, with a thick off white head.
Aroma is sour rotting orange. Wheat tries to peak out , but is overpowered by the orange

Flavor is lightly crunchy wheat, light malt, and of course orange. This is where you actually taste mandarin tho. slightly sweet, slightly tangy. bitter orange zest finish.

It says "hint" of orange, but I got more than a hint. More like a flat out punch in the face.

The jury’s still out on this. On the one hand it is refreshing and would be a nice beer after mowing the lawn on a hot summer day, on the other, I could achieve this experience by leaving the O.J in the fridge a couple of weeks past the exp. date, then drinking it.

Aroma: A pleasant madarin smell, unfortunately unaccompanied by anything else.

Appearance: A honey colored beer with traces of orange around the edges. Poured carefully, it yields a small head that quickly dissipates leaving some lacing around the edge.

Taste: The taste is dominated by mandarin, like the aroma practically unaccompanied by any other flavor. Adding an orange rounded out the mandarin flavor nicely.

Mouthfeel: A crisp, medium bodied beer that is easy to drink.

Overall I liked this beer, it was nice smelling, looking, and tasting. It is not, as the label proclaims, a hefeweizen, for which it suffers.