Hydra Hefe Weizen
Elysian Brewing Company

 

 

My wife had this on tap at Pike location in Seattle so I sampled. Poured a bold yellow color with a 2 finger white head that dissipated into a nice cap leaving good lacing. The aroma was typical with strong banana, clove, and light citrus. The wheat taste was dominant upfront with good banana and light citrus flavors. A decent balance to this brew, but nothing special about it. If you like the Hefe try it, but nothing special if you prefer darker brews.

Check out my beerfly review of the brewery. Worth a trip!

Sample at the Pike Street location. This beer pours a mostly clear yellow-gold color with a thin white head that recedes steadily. Thin rings of lacing on the glass. The aroma is consists of bananas and wheat, along with a touch of yeast. Light, clean body with flavors of wheat, banana and mild hops, along with touches of fruit and clove. The finish is wheaty with a short fruity aftertaste that has a faint metallic tinge, not unlike the taste of Hi-C out of the can back in the day. Decent overall.

Given the abundance of American-style wheat beers called hefeweizens, I've come to expect that when I order a "hefeweizen" I'll actually be served an American wheat beer devoid of those exotic phenols. This is the exact opposite of how it should be, but it's been proven too true, too often.

With this in mind I was pleasantly surprised to order a pint of Hydra Hefeweizen at the Tangletown Brewpub and receive an actual Bavarian-style wheat beer. Hydra is fairly clear for an unfiltered beer brewed with more than 50% wheat. The body is luminous gold though thin. The aroma and taste show plenty of clove and nutmeg with fruity banana esters. A mild note of Saaz spice intermixes gracefully though overall, the yeasts have it.

The bartender was gracious enough to ask if I wanted a lemon (seems they train 'em right at Elysian) but I declined. Still, the beer delivered no more than an eclipsed head with an easy show of lace.

I too was in Seattle for business when I stopped by Elysian and had a pint of Hydra hefeweizen sans lemon.
From their menu: "brewed with Pale, Munich and Cara-Helles malts, and more then 50% wheat. Bittered with Saaz, 5.3% ABV."

Appearance was a cloudy straw color with a small, creamy white head that leaves moderate lace.

Smell wise, unlike like a lot of NW 'hefeweizens', this one actually has Bavarian weizen yeast esthers - yay! A bit more banana then clove, although they both are present in appropriately pleasant levels, with a really nice punch of wheaty sourness that I'm loving! Really quite nice, I keep finding myself bumping up the score with every wiff.

The taste is also pretty authentic, with the focus on the aforementioned yeast flavors, in front of a nice grainy backbone. Mildly sour, with a spicy, bitter finish. Very tasty!

Mouthfeel is average, in that it's pretty light in spite of the yeast haze, with a decent creaminess

Drinkability was high. Hydra is pretty much everything I look for in a hefe, which is a style that I've always really loved. Cheers to Elysian for brewing a real winner here.

I stopped at the Elysian on a business trip to Seattle. I ordered a Hydra from the menu, served in a pint glass. The waitress asked if I wanted a lemon, which I declined.

Pours a pale gold color and is cloudy. A small creamy head forms and is fairly resilient.

The smell is sweet and fruity. There are soft fruit aromas like melons peaches and pears.

The taste is quite good. Banana and clove flavors. Very mild hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel is crisp and clean

This is a very very drinkable. It has a rich and authentic hefe weizen flavor. Recommended. Pass up the lemon on this one.