California Reject
Western Collective

Draft at the Dutch Goose. Milky, hazy orange golden, not much head. Hits all the right weizen notes (except for the lack of head) and could use a bit more heft. Banana, orange, bubblegum elements. Nice summer beer.

Had it from the can, taste vaguely like a Hefeweizen with an slight taste that reminds me when I my homemade wine went bad. May have been a bad batch but I won’t be trying it again to find out. Which is unfortunate since wheat beer is my thing and I’m an Idahoan.

On tap in meridian.

Hazy straw/gold, minimal lacing.

Aroma: Banana, clove, sweet bread, vanilla?

Taste is on point, banana bread, light spicyness, malt grain, clean sweetness.

Lighter bodied with good carbonation; on point for the style.

I’m no Heff expert but this one is just fine.

light, even for the style, and i was surprised by its apparent clarity on the pour, maybe some inconsistency here, but mine was almost all the way clear. the head is bright white, and the beer has nice carbonation throughout. it does have an obvious wheat character in the nose and taste, which is the starting point for any hefeweizen, fresh to me, and light as they go, without the backing minerals and protein richness the best of these have. the yeast is where it gets a little funny, at least for me, its a bit sharp, a bit one dimensional, and the esters have a medicinal property and an almost soapy aspect along with the familiar banana tone. faint clove, cleaner, and white pepper wind it down, but it almost just tastes like a watered down version of a better hefe to me, nothing about it is unique, and it all seems a bit faded or washed out, even if we overlook the weird yeast element. overall this one doesnt demonstrate a whole lot of technical prowess or anything, but its also not way off, and being on the lighter side is nice for warmer weather here. these guys are still middling along from a quality standpoint, at least in my opinion...

edit: this is also radically improved since the first time i had it, seemingly better and better each batch, the yeast profile is more correct now, and the mouthfeel has improved as well, less phenolic, just better. these guys are starting to have beer all over town, so its nice that the quality is trending in the right direction. still not an epic beer by any means, but its leagues better than it was when they were newer, the pint cans are nice, and this seems a lot more professional than it used to. raising a few scores to reflect this improvement. if its been awhile since you had and disliked this, give it another go...