As much as Widmer’s version, Pyramid Hefeweizen is one of those beers that helped define a style: the American Wheat. Of course, I’ve seen a bit of pushback in recent years against the Pyramid and Widmer hefes; I don’t know if it’s because the breweries have grown into large, overly "commercial" entities that people object to on principle, or if they’re just too light for the American "extreme beer palate" or what, but for me, these are iconic beers and I quite enjoy them as they are.

Pyramid’s Hefe comes in at 5.2% alcohol by volume.

Appearance: Cloudy tan-orange brew with a dense, creamy head that’s just off-white. Nice substantial look to it, all around.

Smell: Clovey and spicy, with a touch of yeast. A hint of lemongrass sourness.

Taste: Crisp and yeasty, a bit of sourdough bread crust, some grassy bitterness that strikes me as a cross between clover and hops. A bare hint of tart and a touch of peppery-clove spice.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and almost chewy in a satisfying way. Finishes a bit dry and pretty cleanly.

Overall: It’s a pretty classic American wheat, for sure. Very well done.

On BeerAdvocate, it only scores a grade of C+. On RateBeer, it scores 2.84 out of 5 and is in their 32nd percentile. Both are fairly mediocre scores that punctuate what I was writing about at the beginning; there’s not much respect afforded this beer, which is a shame because it’s a solid brew all around.