Oggi's Sweet Spot Hefe

Aroma: 2 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 5

Poor rendition. Thin, watery and almost clear. Very, very subdued clove in the nose but not in the flavor. Obvious they are brewing for the masses and not in an effort to brew great beer.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

[Had this when it was briefly called "Hard Core Hefeweizen". Name was changed to eliminate any potential conflicts with a cider by the same name.]

Had a pint of this at the Mission Valley location on a somewhat busy Monday Night Football evening. Normally I go for Oggi's decent IPA -- but instead wanted something a little different.

Good appearence -- big-ass head of foam, with a very cloudy body. So far, so good. And the aroma? More high marks there. Not as banana/clove-y as I would like, but just fine for an American-style Hefeweizen. Like I said -- so far, so good.

But all is not well when it comes to the flavor profile. While I'm a hop-head through and through, I really rather not have a Hefeweizen packed with hops like this. The hop profile basically turns this otherwise decent Hefe into little more than a cloudy-looking Golden or Pale Ale. In other words, this is interesting as a Golden Ale, but very off-putting if one tries to consider it to be something a Hefeweizen.

Adequate mouthfeel and drinkability, that rounds out a beer that really needs some identity assistance. Fine, if you expect to *not* get a Hefeweizen.
//TB

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

This hefeweizen pours with a cloudy orange-gold body with little head or lacing. The aroma and flavor are sweet and full of banana notes, as well as, nice clove notes. Great aroma and huge flavor. Medium bodied, smooth and slightly warming.