Henry Weinhard's Hefeweizen - Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Co.

Not Rated.
Henry Weinhard's HefeweizenHenry Weinhard's Hefeweizen

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58 Ratings
no score

(send 'em beer!)
Ratings: 58
Reviews: 39
rAvg: 3.07
pDev: 14.01%
Wants: 2
Gots: 1 | FT: 0
Brewed by:
Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Co. visit their website
Oregon, United States

Style | ABV
American Pale Wheat Ale |  4.86% ABV

Availability: Year-round

Notes/Commercial Description:
Malts: Roasted Caramel Malts
Hops: Pacific Northwest Cascade Hops
Calories/12 oz: 151
Carbohydrates (g): 12.9
% Alcohol by Vol: 4.86
Bitterness Units: 16.0

(Beer added by: BeerAdvocate on 11-20-2001)
Beer: Ratings & Reviews
Ratings: 58 | Reviews: 39 | Display Reviews Only:
Reviews by MaltsOfGlory:
Photo of MaltsOfGlory
2.08/5  rDev -32.2%

So far the two worst Hefeweizens I have had were Widmers and Pyramids, however I'm sure this will make it's way onto that list, and perhaps even claim the title of worst I've had. Pours almost a two finger head into my wheat glass. The head actually fills the glass out very nicely and doesn't look that bad. Pretty fluffy and creamy looking actually, not bad at all. The lacing looks questionable, could go either way there. The retention isn't bad, I still have about a finger of head left, not too shabby. I could see sediment coming out of the bottle, and I had to swirl some out of the bottom of the bottle, so those are good signs. At first this beer didn't look very cloudy, but now that it has settled it looks pretty darn cloudy. Some pale yellow color to it, but mostly a darker orange color to it, like mango juice almost. Like I said the beer is extremely cloudy, zero visibility through the beer. The carbonation looks extremely high, which is to be expected from Henry Weinhards. Overall this beer looks better than I thought it would. We will see how the lacing goes, but heck, I even have a tiny bit of head left, it's not a bad looking beer either way. The smell on the other hand is....nowhere near as forgiving as the appearance. The first thing I notice is just your standard lager, cheap beer smell. That smell is somewhat mixed with the very small aroma of wheat, and perhaps a little lemon or orange. Pretty sour smelling, like most cheap beers are. Not really anything in the way of honey, which apparently this beer is brewed with. I mean on top of the fact that this beer doesn't smell very good, it hardly has any aroma anyways! I can barely smell anything, let alone the lame aromas I am smelling. Overall not a good smelling beer, possibly (probably) a worse smell than Pyramids Hef, and for sure a worse smell than Widmers. I'm deciding between a 2 and 2.5, but seeing as how I gave Pyramids Hef aroma a 2, and there is no way this is any better than that, it's a 2 too. Wow, that taste is even worse than I was expecting. I mean....WOW. Hefeweizen huh? Man oh man. Umm well where do I start, first off there is pretty much no flavor, just pretty much a completely flavorless, watery as all hell beer. If I have to dissect some flavor, the first I would say is there would be maybe cheap beer with a little lemon. I mean seriously guys this is a freaking tasteless beer. I mean there is some wheat in here, but it's probably the most un-wheaty, wheat beer I have ever had. No honey, no hops. Some light pale, cheap beer malts. I would say the most dominating flavor overall is just a carbonated watery taste. I really have nothing else to say here, I'm shocked at how flavorless this beer is. I think I'm going to give this a 2 for taste, but Christ, it could even get a 1.5. It's not terrible though, and it's not a adjunct lager, so 2. The mouthfeel is pretty god awful, the carbonation is very gross and worn out (possibly from me carrying the beer for a long distance), but either way, the mouthfeel is not good. Watery, only a TINY bit of wheat. It's not good any way you cut it. Not the worst mouthfeel ever, but for sure the worst for a Hef. Drinkability may be this beers only redeeming factor, I mean it's only 4.86% ABV, so it's not hard to drink. Plus it tastes like nothing, so do the math. Overall what more can I say, this beer isn't horrible, it's not like the worst adjunct lager I have ever had, but it's not a good beer, it's a bad beer. Not horrible, but for sure bad. I think I can also so pretty confidently that this is the worst Hef I have ever had. Overall, bad beer.

As you probably guessed, the appearance (other than the drinkability) was this beers only redeeming factor. The lacing turned out to be somewhat crappy, which wasn't a huge surprise, but I probably had more hope for it than I should have. I did get some lacing, but it was patchy AT BEST. I mean it was pretty non existent for the most part. The body was nice though, and so was the head, which actually lasted for a long time. I think a 3.5 is fair, considering everything was good accept for the lacing.

More User Reviews:
Photo of Rifrafboy
2.75/5  rDev -10.4%

I am not well aquainted with the style. Pours a dark, dirty yellow with a nice head. Smell is sweet. Taste is thick and malty. You definitely get the wheat and yeast flavor. This is almost too sweet for my taste, but the overall experience is a good one.

Photo of Thrasher
3.05/5  rDev -0.7%

This is an American-style wheat beer with a large amount of honey. It's sweeter than your typical wheat, and much sweeter than any Bavarian hefe, and has hardly any of the spicy characteristics. It pours a remarkably attractive honey orange brown, a shade darker than you would expect. I roughly poured the bottle into a tall pilsner and ended up with a huge, creamy head; a swirl and yeast pour makes the beer very hazy, although the yeast doesn't necessarily improve the taste. Aroma of wheat and honey. The taste itself is smooth and sweet, not particularly exciting, but refreshing. Mouthfeel light and airy; drinkability is good, except that the honey sweetness gets a little tired. Not great, but better than expected, and it can often be found for a decent price.

Photo of Beerandraiderfan
3/5  rDev -2.3%

Reinstating reviews from the Weinhard's and others purge. Pours out more of a copper color with lots of cloudiness, a little darker than what i want in a hopefully bright yellow hefe, with more white head, instead of off white. Seems like maybe they didn't use enough wheat. Aroma was pretty bland, thankfully it wasn't heavy on clove, but it didn't have all the usual precursors and aspects of a traditional hefe either, most notably, wheat.

Taste, bland, non offensive, mildly sweet. Not hoppy, still some bitterness and mineral aspects to it. Seems like they aimed for the kind of beer you could put a wedge of citrus fruit into. The wheat does come out a little more here than it did in the aforementioned aroma, or lack thereof.

Tastes more like a bland, small ratio pale wheat, maybe with some honey or splenda added to it.

Photo of lawlerj
3.3/5  rDev +7.5%

Poured from a twelve oz bottle into a mug.

A. Pours a fairly hazy orangey amber. I got a little crazy with the pour so I got a really big head but it dissipated fairly quickly. Not much in the way of lacing.

S. The standard hefeweizen yeast aroma is here. A touch of citrus and a bit of banana as well.

T. Pretty much follows the nose...Brady yeast and some fruity and banana notes. Nothing too complex here but it's decent.

M. Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation. A bit light bodied for my taste.

O. Overall, a nice beer for the price. When I'm looking for a lot of decent beer at a decent price, Henry's is usually a good choice. There are some issues, but nothing too glaring.

Photo of DOCRW
3/5  rDev -2.3%

Photo of GeoffRizzo
2.73/5  rDev -11.1%

Pours a cloudy yellow, decent bubbly head. Some malt and wheat aroma, but faint. Off the top, some wheat and honey detected, but rather bland. A finish that is a bit dry and a bit creamy, this one lacks body, not many good qualities for the style, leave the honey out of the mix and it might be a good hefe.

Photo of Spikester
3.15/5  rDev +2.6%

Pours hazy gold with a large white head. Some modest lacings.
Good but mild aroma.
Taste is unlike most hefes. Tastes mildly wheaty with a big hit of lemon. Different but tasty nonetheless.
Mouthfeel was good.
Drinkability is very good if you are looking for a light refreshing beer. Just don't expect too much hefe flavor.

Photo of Dspohn
2.58/5  rDev -16%

12 oz bottle.

Looks ok, nothing special really, pale yellow with a short lived soapy white head. Smell contains a little bit of wheat, some sweet baldn grassiness and hay, not much going on. Doesn't taste anywhere near a the standard of an authentic German hefeweizen, a bland american wheat ale as best. The mouthfeel is quite watery and thin. Super light and thin making it very easy to drink, however it's pretty damn boring and I don't find myself eager to grab another after this first one is gone. Overall pretty mediocre and I'm glad I didn't buy a whole 6-pack of these. Advertising this as a hefeweizen is pretty deceptive and if you're going into this expecting such you'll surely be disappointed. If you want a solid american take on a German hefeweizen, look somewhere else. If you want to move from BMC to better beers, maybe this is a good place to start.

Photo of foxyaardvark27
3.25/5  rDev +5.9%

Photo of Gusler
2.4/5  rDev -21.8%

The pour is a slightly murky gold color, the head modest in size with a frothy or bubbly texture with adequate lace to cover the glass. Nose malt dominated with hints of wheat and yeast, actually quite pleasant to the old schnozzle, sweet at the front, top skimpy. Finish is sparsely hopped and mildly carbonated with the aftertaste. Dry as a desert bone, it will Wet Your Whistle, but that is about it, a quite lack luster beer on all levels.

Photo of dolem98
2.42/5  rDev -21.2%

From the appearance alone you can tell this beer is not much of a Hefeweizen. It looks far too pale and you don't notice any wheat floating in it. The taste is also too pale, almost like an American Lager. Their is a slighlty sour after-taste, but I would recommend serving with a lemon to get any Hefeweizen feel at all.

The Bottom Line: Just fine for drinking to get drunk only. Not a good example of a Hefeweizen.

Photo of Reidrover
3.03/5  rDev -1.3%

Ok another Henry,s product..yes I am getting rather short of funds!
Ok right away i spot a weird thing on the label it says in big letters "hefeweizen" then underneath in much smaller "honey brewed lager"...now what a dilemma..how should i judge this beer?
Ok the beer actually looks like a dark hefeweizen actually not to bad.
smell however seems to mix the styles there is some weheat but mostly lager hopping.
The taste is pretty average..not too bad..sweet on the front then gets a smallish bitterness at the back of the tongue..more lager like..the sweetness does seem to be honeyish.
Average mouthfeel
Pretty drinkable but Im still confused as to what this beer wants to be..if it Stated Honey Lager..i would say it was pretty darn good for the style ( miles better than Michelobs version for example)..but as a hefe..its weak.

Photo of ronniebruner
4.1/5  rDev +33.6%

One of my favorite Hefeweizens around. This beer is also affordable and plentiful, but harder to find lately for some reason. If you havent tried this beer, you will be pleasantly surprised as beers in the price range tend to be a bit bitter. This is a very good beer for the buck. Definitely worth a try!

Photo of phattman073
4/5  rDev +30.3%

Photo of TR0219
3.5/5  rDev +14%

Photo of Glopez
3.5/5  rDev +14%

Photo of Frozensoul327
3.33/5  rDev +8.5%

From the bottle. Pours out to a cloudy yellow color with a short lived head of white foam. Medium level of carbonation. Minor notes of lace. Aromas of bananas, malt, and grass and hay. Not objectionable. Taste in the average spectrum; malt, estery bananas, a touch of yeasty biscuts, some grainy notes. Mouthfeel was smooth and zesty, quite nice. Drinkability is pretty good, but i've had better Hefe Weizens. For being mass-made, it's rather enjoyable. Worth a try.

Photo of jsprain1
2.28/5  rDev -25.7%

A- pours a murky golden with a thin head that actually has pretty good retention on it.
s- smells very wheat-centric. not much in the way of other smells coming off. not the traditional banana/creamyness of a hefe. more of a standard wheat beer.
t- the taste is precisely what the smell indicates. the wheat flavor is not altogether bad, but this beer simply lacks the complexity that a true hefe should feature. a one-trick pony if you will.
m- a little thin, and lacks the creamyness of a well-made hefe.
d- it's drinkable in that it's not a bad beer. it's just not what it's advertising. perhaps a step up from the lawn mowing beer for most people, but nothing worth venturing for.

Photo of smttycty
2.48/5  rDev -19.2%

Cloudy yellow-orange with a thin off-white head that quickly melted down to smooth layer of light foam. A touch of yeast in the thin nose with a touch of old cheese in the background,

A rather lagerish character in the taste with not much wheat or yeast flavor to suggest the style. No real hop character either. There is a slight, very slight, off flavor on the finish like a curdled dairy product. Fairly refreshing and crisp but nothing in the flavor to recommend this one. A rather tepid attempt at this style.

Photo of SuperMario
3.25/5  rDev +5.9%

Photo of GClarkage
2.5/5  rDev -18.6%

Consumed from a 12oz bottle in September 2004 while watching my beloved Redskins lose to the Cowboys...AGAIN!! Poured a very ugly muddy looking color. Smelled a bit of wheat, but other than that not a great scent. Very small head. Could taste some wheat, but not enough. Kind of a small skunky taste too it. Probably the worst hefe I have ever tried. Not absolutely horrible, but not one I would need to try again. Let this one sit on the shelf.

Photo of flagmantho
3.5/5  rDev +14%

Poured from 12oz bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: cloudy orange with a one-finger white head which dissipated rather quickly.

Smell: light malt with a little citrusy wheatiness. It's not bad, but there's nothing exciting at all here.

Taste: light in flavor, even for a hefeweizen. The wheat character here is a lot better and more notable than in the smell. This is actually not too bad.

Mouthfeel: medium-light body with a good level of carbonation so there is a nice creamy texture. It's certainly better than I would have guessed from the head.

Drinkability: this beer is quite drinkable. Sessionable ABV, inoffensive, refreshing; definitely the most drinkable of the Henry's offerings I've had so far.

Photo of Huffaroma
3/5  rDev -2.3%

Photo of irishgreensoda
3/5  rDev -2.3%

Henry Weinhard's Hefeweizen from Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Co.
73 out of 100 based on 58 ratings.