Imperial Hefe
Widmer Brothers Brewing Company

Does the imperial strength make this close to the average of its style despite Widmer's pedigree for a normal Hefe?
Imperial probably is pretty close to average.

Because they don't rely on elevated alcohol content, Hefes give us a sumptuous blonde fruit cocktail with lots of foam. Alcohol, as we know, kills foam and makes fruit darker. So why an imperial Hefe? Someone else must answer.

Widmer's Imperial Hefe is much different than its Hefe, quite possibly for the reasons I just stated. How to improve it?
Aside from alcohol suppressing the foam and making mute Smells, the Taste at least is balanced in that it is not overwhelmed by ABV; but lacks the light fruit cocktail. Medium-mouthed.

Widmer was one of crafting's early successes. If its new owners keep amping up recipes that are designed for subtlety, Widmer will lose that success.

This is an Imperial Hefe/Wheat beer which you don't see too often, and it is quite good.

19.2oz can. Poured out a cloudy, golden yellow color with a good-sized, off-white head of foam. It left sudsy trails of lace on the glass, It smelled of cracked wheat, yeast, spices and citrus. Sweet wheat, caramel and spices with a hint of banana.

Poured from a 19.2oz bomber sized can into a pint glass. Deep yellow color and some mild head, which does not stick around too long. It smells like a Hefeweizen, but it has more of a Pilsner scent profile than Wheat.

>> The flavor is thin and lacking body, and lacking the Wheat taste which the style is defined by. I don't know why Americans can't (for the most part) make a very good Wheat beer. This pretty much explains why I drink German Wheat (wheatbock) beers (I am referring to Weihenstephan Vitus, Schneider Weisse (Aventinus), etc).

So the ABV is there with Widmer (presumably), however the reason to drink this beer is not for the flavor. There is no fruit flavor in this actually. You can taste the alcohol in this for sure, as it is not masked by anything. Kind of raw?

I am not going to rate this any further. I think I may have gotten a bad can.?!

Here, I'm being introduced to the concept of Imperial Hefe. So glad to know it exists. This is advertised as an upgrade of our classic regular Widmer Bros. Hefeweizen. Same dark orange color, bubbly with a delicious twist and stronger finish. The 8% abv is neatly disguised in a clean, crisp, well balanced and smooth brew. Another Pac. NW classic is born! Enjoy!

 

Decent Hefe, odd malty heaviness that likely comes from the imperial aspect of this beer. Not getting much fruit flavor. Bitter finish.

Appearance is good, but the head is non-existent, just a thin lacing.

Nothing tastes "off" to me, but definitely doesn't scratch that hefe itch. Interesting, but likely wouldn't buy again.

this is truly awful, tastes like old bongwater, not sure what happened here. i was excited for this, obviously the original is a classic, there hasnt been much innovation from these guys in recent years, and nobody seems to make an imperial version of this style, so there was a lot to be keen on, but this is a mess, boozy, spicy to a fault, i swear there is weed in this, its green and vegetal in nose and taste, packs in a lot of residual sugar, and just really tastes nothing like a hefeweizen, the yeast is stressed and weird in it, the alcohol seems fusel and way stronger than 8% abv, and the overall aroma and flavor of this are just whack, way off, nothing like the original, not sure how this went so sideways. the wheat is there, and that foundation is the best part of this, sort of creamy feeling keeps the harshness down a bit, but the yeast is phenolic and overly spicy, there is weird almost hoppy or tomato vine type greenness thats way out of place, and it burns. this should be so much better than it is, especially for a brewery known for a hefe, like, its almost impossibly bad in that context. has all semblance of quality gone away here? i have no explanation for this, but i didnt finish my pint...

One finger of head, hazy orange color. Tropical fruit smell. Alot of the fruit carried over in the taste, masking much of the wheat, but it still came through. Abv bite at first sip, but changed into smooth and balanced. Overall good beer.

19.2 fl oz can from HomeBrewStuff. Dark gold n pour, cloudy, thin, creamy white head. Fruity aroma, bready malts, light citrus. Taste is malty, bready with some ABV strength, faint orange peel. Any weizen notes? Nope, none, zilch. Just a wheat ale, or an imperial wheat ale in this case.

 

Look: Turbid and dark orange with a silky-looking off-white head that swells up, holds for a minute, and recedes, leaving spotty lacing behind
Aroma: Orange, pink grapefruit, some guava, warmed wheat bread, light spice notes, and yeast
Taste: Starts with tropical fruit and some citrus that linger for a moment before waves of wheat malt enter the picture and joins in. Wheat bread and fruit go back and forth with the spice note peeking in occasionally and closes with more fruit and wheat bread
Mouthfeel: Full - leaning chewy, medium-high carbonation, and soft and smooth on the finish
Overall: This beer is alright. I was secretly hoping for a true Imperial Hef/Weizenbock but figured this would be “Americanized,” which it is. Tropical fruit dominates here and although good, I miss the subtleties of the amped up wheat malt as well as the banana/clove phenolics that are found in authentic German versions. Still worth the try though

Hazy gold with three fingers of white head. Rings of lace appear as the levels drop.
Smell is herbal hops with a big backing of bready malts.
Taste is big herbal hops with some medium bitterness and plenty of bready malt backing.
Mouthfeel is medium and well carbonated. The finish is mildly dry and well balanced.
Overall a first time style for me. I enjoyed it. Packaged on Feb 14, 2023.

#1877.