Widmer Hefeweizen

My second day in the Seattle area included a day trip down to Portland. I was incredibly excited because I wanted to go see Powell's books and was actually not really thinking about beers to try while I was there. All of my book shopping and squealing left me hungry though so we ended up trying to find somewhere close by to eat before we headed home. About a block away from Powell's we located Henry's 12th Street Tavern. At first glance, it doesn't quite look like it will live up to its tavern name but one look at the beer list and all fears will be quieted.

There was a third panel too!

As you can see, the beer list was quite extensive (as it continued on to a third panel on the reverse side) and was even separated by types of beer so that you can pick according to the style you want. They have a few specialty beers that are denoted by an asterisk next to the name and are served in a snifter as opposed to a traditional pint glass. It should also be noted that all of these beers are on tap. There are no bottled beers in this tavern. Being in Portland, I wanted to get a beer from Oregon rather than Washington since that was more local and ended up settling on Widmer Hefeweizen, brewed right in Portland itself.

Now, I will never claim to be a beer expert. I know which styles I tend to like and which I tend to stay away from. I had never heard of a hefeweizen before so I did a little searching. Hefeweizen translates to "yeast wheat" which is an unfiltered wheat. From what I read about the traditional German style, it's supposed to smell like bananas and cloves. Widmer Brother's Hefeweizen, however, is an American style Hefeweizen so I feel that is probably why I couldn't smell either.

As you can see from the photo, the beer was a gold/orange color that was cloudy in appearance. The head was thin and white but stayed with the beer throughout the duration. It was served with a lemon which made discerning the actual smell of the beer from the lemon but the beer itself seemed to be mild. There was a definite bready aroma to it but lots of citrus as well. The taste was also fairly citrusy and very smooth. The finish was refreshing and didn't linger much after the drink was gone.

The price was not an issue, I believe it was $6 for my beer. I would highly recommend this beer to people who enjoy things like Blue Moon and would like to try something different. I had the bottled version of it later on in the evening and would strongly recommend to wait to try it as a draft if the option is available over the bottle.