Pinkus Hefe Weizen

Notes from St. Line wheat beer tasting 7/30/04 Small white head, fades quickly. Lightly fruity nose. Light gold, real hazy, bottom of the bottle. Light body, thin, spritzy. Wheat flavors, yeast, light citrus. Overly acidic and sour. Strange wheat beer. Dry finish.

Hazy gold/straw colors. Thick head that left rather quickly leaving spotty lacing. Heavy wheat in the nose along with some peppery tones. Some banana, though not much. Woody or earthen qualities. Again, thick wheats and malts in the flavors. The pepper is lingering among floral and bitter hops. Some citrus, and more wood. Smooth and silky wheat palate with a peppered finish.

Bottled. Pale golden with a meringue-like head. Tidbitty, woody aroma. Fizzy palate-feel, lager-like with elder notes, wood and purpurgrenadilla. Hopbitter finish.

I have encountered the name Pinkus before but had not had a chance to try one of their products until now. It came in a 16.1 oz brown bottle - A size that seems a bit unusual to me. It poured very cloudy - a good sign. It had a small white head. There was a heavy citrus aroma that was quite pleasant. A little bit of tanginess as well. The flavor was very dry and grainy. There was no specific wheat flavor but one gets the impression of munching on soggy health nut cereal. Just a hint of lemon in the finish. The finish lingered with a certain bitterness that was not particularly pleasant. The appearance and aroma gave host to pleasant expectations that alas were doomed to disappointment. In all this is a rather sub par wheat beer that I can not recommend.

sour banana aroma. not too pleasant. syrupy. head doesn’t last very long at all. not very well balanced.... just the taste of over-ripe bananas. some lemon. little carbonation. not delicate and refreshing like the best hefe weizens. not very good-- but it has alcohol in it.

Fresh, fruity aroma. Yeasty and refreshing. Slighty tart with some sour flavor. A little weak in flavor, But satisfying on a hot day!

Bottle: The aroma is more banana than I’ve ever smelled in a hefe. Banana dominates the aroma, so much that I can’t pick anything else up even with normal hefe expectation. Pours a cloudy yellow with small white head and not much retention. No lacing. The is some pepper looking sediment. Banana is the strongest flavor with citrus flavor as well. This is good but is different the any hefe I’ve had before. Not real typical of the style but still very good. Very slight sour taste tends to develop over time but really doesn't affect my opinion.

The aroma is light with notes of spice and yeast. The carbonation level is appropriatly high for the style. The palate is light dry and hoppy. I notice some off flavors that are probably caused by pasteurization. This is unlike any other German Hefeweizen that I have ever tried; there is a complete lack of the typical clove and banana flavors usually associated with this style. Its too much like an American Wheat to get my intrest.