Beer Review: Hefeweizen

Price: $7.99 for a six pack
Brewery: Widmer Brothers Brewing, Portland, Or
Style: Ale, Hefeweizen
ABV: Bottle doesn't list, but I would say around 5%
Color: Yellow to a light gold, cloudy
Aroma: Citrus, grassy, with a hint of clove
Body: Light medium.
Stomach Aspect: Medium.
Head: Poured wonderful to 1/4". Thick, dense bubbles give it a sense of being, color is a nice white.
Head Retention: Not bad it does leave a little trace from the previous pull.
Taste: sweet, grass/wheat flavor, slight hops with a creamy, malty finish that leaves a slight coating on the tongue.
Conclusion: Pouring the brew the fresh aroma of grass is prominent, the color is very nice, even though it's a bit cloudy. The head pours to a wonderful thick, creamy, dense coating, almost like a layer of whipped cream sitting atop the brew. The body is a light medium aspect. It's not a light thin body, but it's not a medium density body either. The brew doesn't leave a big footprint in the stomach aspect, which can be expected from a light colored brew. The taste is one that is unique to the Hefeweizen style brews. It has a nice sweetness, with a hint of grassy, hay flavor which goes nice with the bitterness of hops that is present at the back of the tongue. There is even a nice hint of citrus and spice when the brew crosses the mid-tongue range. The finish is a nice malty finish that leaves a little coating on the tongue. Overall this isn't a bad beer, but it's not a good beer either. It's the typical style from the Widmer Brothers, just middle of the road, ho-hum style of brew. It is refreshing, it is very easy to drink, it does taste good, but it doesn't make you go crazy for another pint. It is forgettable as are several of the Widmer Brother brews. Some people to like to drink this brew with a slice of lemon (and I've had it that way) because it adds a little tartness to counter act the natural sweetness of the Hefeweizen.
Public Aspect: This style of beer has been around a long time in the Northwest (and Germany) and usually people either like the Hef's, or they don't. Bring a Hefenweizen to a group gathering that isn't into the wheat beers and you're going to have a lot of left over beer. But, bring this to a group of people who like the wheat beers and you can't keep the coolers stocked. The beer has all the right aspects for the Northwest style beer drinker (light color, light medium body, good aroma, easy drinking).