Widmer Hefeweizen

Last night I had the pleasure of hanging out at the Yard House after work with a couple of friends. We pretty much only go during happy hour because it's a damn expensive restaurant otherwise, but it's hard to argue with the prospect of over a hundred beers on tap. Yes, on tap, not just waiting around in bottles or cans. My good bud Alex loves beer but feels that her taste buds are insufficiently refined and wants to work on understanding what the different flavors are and how they operate in her mouth. To this end, she grabbed one of their samplers, which comes with around two ounces each of six different beers. Don't worry, they each get a separate review.

The first beer of the night for her was the Widmer Hefeweizen, an American wheat beer in the German unfiltered weissbier (white beer) style, which mixes about half and half wheat and barley to make a light colored, cloudy ale. It's a good beer to start with because it's relatively light compared to, say, an IPA or a stout, which were also awaiting her attention.

This brew was sweet and full-bodied for a hefeweizen, somewhere between a pub ale and a Belgian according to Eric, but it was also easy to drink. Smooth as a baby's bottom, as the saying goes, although perhaps it is more like smooth as Salma Hayek's leg when she pours tequila on it for Quentin Tarantino to drink. Somehow the idea of a baby's bottom probably shouldn't be anywhere near beer. But I digress. As it's a hefeweizen, it's not too hoppy or malty, and it's basically the kind of thing you could drink for a while without getting full or queasy.

Still, whether you would want to drink it for a while is debatable. It's a solid beer but not spectacular, comparable to a Sam Adams Coastal Wheat but not as good as Bell's Oberon. If you've got it, drink it; if not, and you're looking to be impressed rather than sated, consider reaching for something else instead.

Just the facts, ma'am: Widmer Hefeweizen, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Oregon, hefeweizen, 4.9% alcohol by volume, 30 IBU.