Often times, when you order a Hefeweizen at a restaraunt in the states you are actually served a wheat. Hefeweizen is a wheat, but to me, it also means having that crisp citrus flavor. The Hefeweizens I remember from Germany all had that barely sour but distinctly banana flavor, almost like a mild Belgian Wit. The Gordon Biersch Hefeweizen looks like a true German Hefe, smells like a German hefe and tastes just like it should. To me, this is what a standard hefeweizen should be. It should be cloudy, citrusy and a little tart/sour. Without that extra little fruity sourness, a hefeweizen is really just a wheat beer. Not that there is anything wrong with a plain wheat beer... but in my opinion, the hefeweizen is the pinnacle of what you can do with wheat under the Reinheitsgebot.
