Had hocus pocus tonight, which is an american wheat/ hefeweizen. ( For those who are unaware, most american beers sold as hefeweizens are not so, as hefeweizens are only brewed with barley, wheat, yeast, hops, and water. Specifically, they should be brewed with german yeasts which produce banana bubblegum and occasionally clove flavored esthers. Also, unlike krystalweizens the yeast is unfiltered which gives them the cloudy appearance. Most american hefeweizens are brewed with american yeasts and hops which gives them their citrus flavor.) I think a pretty close parallel of this is pyramid and Widmer brothers hefeweizens. My notes for the three are as follows.
Pyramid
Straw, hazy color. Medium white head. Slight citrus aroma to it Flavor had a distinct wheat taste, but not much citrus. not particulaarly good. Medium to low bitterness. ok mouthfeel. Nothing spectacular overall. Decently refreshing
2.5/5
Widmer brothers
Hazy yellow, medium to large white foam. Aroma has hints of banana, and you can smell the wheat malt. Light to medium body. Flavor tasted like citrus, hints of banana, low bitterness. Finish was dissappointing due to lack of hops. An ok american wheat.
Overall 3/5
Hocus Pocus
Pours golden with a small white head. Not really any hazyness to it. Aroma is weak citrus, honey, wheat notes,. Flavor is wheaty with weak hints of citrus. Nice amount of bitterness but a very thin mouthfeel. Overall a very boring brew.
overall 2/5
If you're a big fan of the style you might be a fan of it, but I think American Wheat is one of the worse beer styles out there, and this didn't do much of anything for me. Pass on this one for Widmer brothers or pyramid or sam summer if you're in the mood for a wheat beer.
