East End Monkey Boy

Brewed by East End Brewing Company
Style: German Hefeweizen
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA

On tap at Capones. Poured a deeper and cloudy golden color with a small sized white head. Aromas of sweaty wheat, cloves, and some bananas. Tastes of citrus, wheat, and spices.

Draft from Capone’s. Pours hazy medium dull gold color with fluffy, clingy poff-white head. Nose is clovey, pale malty, with citrus, banana, and white pepper. Tastes malty, spicy, clovey, with citrus, hops, and floral peppery finishing notes. Very complex and nicely balanced, this one is a keeper.

[Draft @ Capones] Poured a hazy golden color with a small, white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of coriander, wheat, citrus fruits, grains, and light banana. Taste of citrus, tart wheat, coriander, some grass, and light banana, with some clove.

On tap at Capones. Pours a hazy golden with a medium creamy white head that left some lacing. Aroma of lemon, sweet cereal grains, wheat, light clove and candy sweetness. flavor on the sweet side, wheat, candy citrus notes and lemon. I would say more of a Witte than a Hefe.

From growler. I admit that I’m biased towards really good Hefeweizens, and they’re hard to find fresh. Aroma is that of a German wheat, which is not always the case with the style when brewed in the U.S. IMO. Soft yeasty esters, bit of bubblegum and nice banana clove aroma. There’s a good amount of lemony citrus, too, perhaps from the wheat or some acid malt. Mild carbonic gaseousness, too. Light bitter hop smell, but no sulfur which seems to happen a lot with wheats. Golden-yellow cloudy body, with a big creamy-foamy lacing white head that lasts the whole beer. Medium watery body, right for the style, with medium to almost effervescent carbonation - even after 30 hours in the growler. Smooth drinking and goes down easy. Starts with a nice banana-bubblegum sweetness and mild grainy wheat taste. Light to medium acidity, partly from carbonation and a light taste of lemon. Mild clove spicyness with a chalky and chewy finish, with nice mild bitterness that rounds out the banana sweetness perfectly. After is smooth with light bubblegum-clove chalky bitterness and light yeasty character. Awesome Hefeweizen, and probably only the second East End beer my wife really, really enjoyed (she’s not into hops that much). Great job, Scott. Glad I got some before it disappears, and I hope it’ll be back again.

Growler from East End. Pours a hazy, whitish straw color; fluffy white head with good retention and lacing. Solid amounts of bananas, coriander, and light spicing in the aroma; reasonably dry. Medium mouthfeel: chewy bananas, white pepper, and coriander upfront; lively citrus and acidity; basic, singular malt character behind; soft spicing, plenty of citrus notes; solid and very drinkable stuff. Lengthy finish: white pepper, bananas, and coriander; soft spicing, toasty, and slightly dry.

From a growler, thanks Scott! In the beginning as you pour it from the east end jug, it seems to be a perfect example of this style. Lacks any of the notorious american wheat attributes. Very nice candy aroma. Clean and fresh on the olfactory. Perfectly cloudy vanilla yella with a creamy looking thin head. Palate is chewy and certainly not watered down. Friendly and fun. Appealing in the most wheaty-est of ways. IMHO probably could use a little more tingly carbonation, but it is not lacking in that department. Good example of a hefe that is not overly spice, simple and beautiful. Finish is banana, bubblegum and vanilla all the way. No hint of bitterness what so ever! Another winner from the East End of Pittsburgh.

Sampled on draft at the Map Room this beer poured a hazy yellow-golden color with a medium sized white head. The aroma was strong banana and light citrus with a bready undertone. The flavor was tart yet sweet and lightly bitter with strong banana, moderate citrus and a touch of clove. The finish was long with banana and clove. The mouthfeel was fairly thick. Very well done.