12 oz single from Ale Yeah, Decatur, Atlanta, GA, USA. A very pale, hazy yellow pour with a pretty small head and little retention or lace. Nose and tastes are citrusy and light, but lack any depth for me. It's not complex and beers of this ABV CAN BE! There are a few light (relative) sour notes. It seems to me that Bell's are getting away with a little something here. They are filling a gap in the US market, but they are doing it with a beer that's not very good. However, the gap in the...
Notes on beers in the style
American Pale Wheat Ale
Saranac Pomegranate Wheat
12 oz single, many thanks to Kevin for the chance to try this one. Pour gives a peach colored body with some light, wispy head. Lace is minimal but nevertheless it is present. Nose offers some light, acidic fruit but little else, even on warming. Tastes are surprisingly neutral. I was expecting EITHER a blast of fruit, or a blast of wheat and in the end got neither! There is a little, light fruit acidity that the nose promises but it never gets significant and the wheat never manifests itself...
Horizon Wheat
12 oz single bottle. Thanks to Kevin for the chance to try this. A nice, butterscotch colored, unfiltered look, Half decent head but not much lace. Nose is pretty light and gives up nothing more than a touch of citrus and perhaps some vegetal notes. The tastes are much better and deeper than the nose would suggest. Some citrus wheat, a little light bitterness and a decent fruity finish. Decent taste and a beer that would be interesting fresher and on tap. Delighted by the ABV as well.
Majestic Wheat Ale
Retro looking bottle (as per the BA db picture), thanks to Kevin for the chance to try this beer. Pour gives an alarming, quite dark orange color with a lot of dirty sediment and a large, billowing head. Lace is average, some stickiness. Nose gives a blast of acidity that I take as a good sign, thinking theat there may be some depth to the flavor - there isn't, or at least nowhere near as much as the appearance and the nose would suggest. Very ordinary in the mouth, the beer has a few wheat...
Wheat Monkey
12 oz bottle, many thanks go out to Kevin for the chance to try this. Pour is a pretty standard, requisite hazed yellow color that looks a tad watery. A few yeast sediment particles that ultimately dissolve to add to the murky, unfiltered nature. It is what it is, meaning it delivers a pretty average, very light, a tad watery body on top of diluted wheat notes in the nose and tastes. It's fine, it acts as a decent thirst quencher. Light grain notes in the aroma and a very, very mildly acidic...
Slammer Wheat
22 oz bottle from Hop City, GA, USA. Nice presentation, I like the artwork, and having been to the brewery it certain is in keeping with the branding that they are looking for. I first tasted this beer way back in February or march of this year when I visited the brewery. I thoroughly enjoyed it then, so i was delighted to see that the bottles had finally made it out a couple of weeks ago - good stuff. A honey colored, orange pour with nice cloudiness, a decent yeast sediment that makes its...
A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale
12 oz stubbie bottle. Good, golden clarity on the pour with an impressive amount of head and some nice sticky lace (just like that you would expect from a West Coast IPA - read on!). Nose and tastes are ALL light grapefruit with a fairly seriously dry finish which puts this beer firmly in the American DIPA/IPA category in terms of its tastes. There is a faint fruit aftertaste and the wheat lingers a little in the background, but it is very faint and without knowing that this was supposed to be...
Dream Weaver Wheat
12 oz single from Kevin - many thanks. Different label than the one currently in the BA db picture. Good looking, hazed butterscotch pour with good depth of color but a wispy, ill-retained head and virtually no lace. Plenty of banana in the nose and tastes. The finish offers a little spice and bitterness that seems like orange peel. Lingers a touch as the beer establishes its aftertaste but the spice is not as big a feature as the fruity banana. A bit prickly in the mouth as well which doesn't...
Peak Organic Summer Session Ale
So, at 5.00% this is NOT a session beer anyway, but...ho hum. 12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Mid-orange, macro like pour with good levels of carbonation and a rocky, if somewhat small head that produces some lace. Nose and tastes are both lightly hopped with some of that characteristic soap note that can flag a beer with some bitter character. Dry body and a touch more bitterness make up the back end and finish. Definitely some grassy, hay like notes which is typical of many...
White Gold
750mL bottle purchased at the brewery (or maybe Finger Lakes Beverage in Ithaca), either way, close to the source! Batch: E!022 Opening the cap gives me a gusher, and quite a profound one. It takes several minutes before the cascading, fine foam relents by which time maybe a quarter of the contents of the bottle are on the counter. Poured in two separate portions into a 16oz glass. The first pour gives a murky, yellow or butterscotch color with some good head. The head does fade rather fast...
Hop Sun (Summer Wheat Beer)
Had this a few times in the last week or so, both on tap and from the bottle. Definitely preferred the draft version and this review reflects that serving style. Bright orange pour with a decent amount of cloudiness. Seems clearer on draught than from the bottle which adds extra haze. Nice, high, substantial white head. In both cases I got a really decent amount of soap character in the taste. The hop presence seems to work up quite a big taste considering the style of the beer. If the soap...
Sweetwater Sch’Wheat
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. After a few seconds of settling down, the pour gives a very suspiciously clear, macro-esque body and a head that fades badly. Despite the description on the label, the beer looks as though it has been filtered and in that respect it's horribly disappointing. It's difficult to see how this beer creates much of a "wheat" effect at ALL. From the clarity of the look, to the lack of head and the largely watery body, the beer looks and drinks much more...
Harpoon Crystal Wheat
Filtered wheat beer in the 12 oz bottle as a single from Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. $1.19. The appearance is as expected with a decent head but little or no retention. Filtering means good clarity but somewhat lacking in character for me in its look. Lemon is very strong for me. the label suggests a "hint" but to me it somewhat overwhelms the beer and it certainly does a number on the wheat aspect of the brew. For this reason i found the beer difficult to drink and wondered why they...
Exit 11
750 mL bottle, the second in the NJ turnpike series. Thanks go out to Steve for the chance to try this one. Pour is a very nice, hazed orange with great carbonation and some pretty decent head. Light and wispy on top. Nose is very interesting since it sums up the whole beer rather well. The smell gets into this strange no-man's-land between "greater than standard/subtle", but "not quite imperial/double". The tastes are the same. It threatens...
Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat
12 oz single from Total Wine, Perimeter, Atlanta, GA, USA. Notched Mar 2010 on the label. I *think* that this is currently being included in the Sam Adams Winter 12 pack - GOD knows why - it doesn't belong there and it's a bloody liberty by BBC to put his beer in that mixer - out of order, STOP it! Marketing RULES in the USA! Pour gives a decent, hazed, honey colored body with a high white head and some really good lace in the Southampton Weizen glass. Good looker. Nose is largely neutral and...
Highland Cattail Peak Wheat
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Last time I drank this it was directly from the tank, at the brewery, on a trip to Asheville, NC back in April of this year. Obviously nothing could be fresher than THAT, but I'm curious to see how this is now. Color is very much like the label with yellow (rather than gold) being the order of the day. Definitely different to a typical macro lager that would give that golden color. Some chill haze is apparent. Head is small and not particularly...
Reb Ale
12 oz bottle, thanks go out to Jason for the chance to try this. "Greatest Nation on Earth" (usual "USA, USA" crap) on the label that ignores so much....ho hum...back to the beer. Nice color that has plenty of depth in the orange color but has a terrible lack of head, retention and lace. Seems quite highly carbonated for the style. A little prickly in the mouth. Nose has some light orange and some mild hops. The beer is very light and has a touch of light hops. It's so light it feels perhaps a...
Peak Pomegranate Wheat Ale
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Beer pours with a golden body, a lot of clarity considering the wheat (filtered?) and a decent enough head and lace. Some carbonation streams from the bottom of the glass. Nose and tastes are very much like cream soda. Not much fruit to speak of but plenty of sweet, wheat notes. I was half expecting red colortion to the beer and some strong fruit notes but neither were there. Cream sod flavoring is really quite strong and gets repeated. Tasty and...
Terrapin Reunion Beer 2009
On tap at Taco Mac on the East-West Connector, Austell, GA, USA. Golden yellow pour with a nicely formed thickish head and some very nice lace and retention. Solid mouthfeel (an important feature for the style) and some moreish qualities that make you want to have another sip. Some simple banana notes with decent alcohol warmth and some spice notes. The beer is not over-stated despite the alcoholic content and it drinks and sits less agressively than one originally may have thought. Wasn't...
ÜberSun (Imperial Summer Wheat Beer)
22oz bottle, $6.99 from Green's, Greenville, SC, USA. Pour is a bright, golden-orange body that sits underneath a rocky head with great retention. Nose gives quite a lot of syrupy, sugar alcohol and a touch of the hops. Tastes are quite a subtle combination of Saaz like bitterness and alcohol which has a slight warming effect. The aftertaste emphasizes both quite well. Smooth in the mouth with no hint of the cloying nature that I was anticipating given the style and the alcohol. Ice cold this...
Anchor Summer Beer
Seems strange to have not reviewed this over the years, so it's about time I did. Classic, Anchor bottle with e usual dot-matrixed code on the rear - 9MK (difficult to be sure if the last letter is actually that). Pour is a surprisingly well carbonated golden, clear body underneath a rocky id somewhat flimsy head. A multitude of bubbles accumulate on the inside of the glass. BIG fan of te ABV which adds to the drinkability of this beer and saves it for me a little. It drinks a little like a...
Somer Orange Honey Wheat
As usual with Rogue, it's EXTREMELY difficult to tell if this is just another alias for another one of their brews since they have so many re-naming projects going on, but because of the thread below, and because of searching around (including Rogue's site) and finding nothing, I *think* that this has a chance of being a new brew and something that should be added to the db. Anyway, it can be moved if it does turn out to be an alias of a beer already in the db (I am pretty sure this is NOT the...
Son Of A Peach
$4.75 for the pint at Taco Mac, East West Connector, Austell, GA, USA. Well, you get what it says on the label! Pour is a slightly clouded, bright orange body with some minimal head and lace. Nose is big on the peach/fruit side of things but also seems to me to have a white chocolate note. The Peach and Wheat attributes come through in the tastes but to a lesser extent than the nose would initially suggest. not much else to report here. A beer that acts well as a thirst quencher, but to be...
Michelob Hop Hound Amber Wheat
12 oz single from Total Wine, Perimeter, Atlanta, GA, USA. The latest (I guess) AB incarnation/stealth venture into the "craft" market. Strange stuff for AB, all marketing rather than a true invested INTEREST in artisanal products. Pours a dirty orange, murky and fairly unattractive color. Head and lace are both disappointing; this looks pretty drab and uninspirational. Looks a little tired already. Completely FLAT - both literally in terms of lack of carbonation and metaphorically in terms of...
Buckwheat Ale
12oz single coutesy of casemw. RJ Rocker's is a brewery with a growing reputation in my mind for some super beers and outstanding customer service. A nice combo! This one goes into the Tucher, 500 mL Weizen glass. Body is a little darker than your standard Hefe. A golden with a LOT more clarity than I was expecting. Carbonation also seems a little higher than expected. Head is small, and falls away pretty quickly but not without leaving some nice lace. Nose and tastes are certainly...
Hocus Pocus
12 oz bottle as part of a 12 pack sampler from Harris Teeter, Hilton Head Island (Main St. location), SC, USA. $12.99 for the 12 pack that included Odd Notion, #9 and Circus Boy. I've had this a few times before, time to review it now. Declares itself as "3/4 of a pint of Summer Ale" on the label. If you take Hocus Pocus for what it is - a light drinking summer time brew - then you'll enjoy it more. A pale but golden pour with a decent head and some surpisingly good lace. Looks better that I...
Dundee Wheat Beer
12 oz single from Beverage Resort, Kennesaw, GA, USA. $0.99. Purchased on a whim, this may be very old! 1787 R 09:07 4W dot matrixed on the neck of the bottle. A bit confused by this one, maybe this has already been retired, but it does not appear to be in the BA database. Adding for completeness. Huge head on the pour with a murky orange body. Head and lace are both excellent. Unfortunately that's where the good stuff ends. Slight, carbonated clove in the nose but this is followed by a...
Circus Boy
12oz bottle as part of a 12 pack sampler from Harris Teeter, Hilton Head Island (Main St. location), SC, USA. I've had this a few times before, time to review it now. Nice golden body with surprisingly clarity. The bottle is emblazoned with the label "The Hefeweizen". Has some simple coriander type notes in the nose and taste along with a little acidity and fruit. In fact the beer really is quite fruity indeed. Slight over-prickly carbonation which I don't really care for. Finishes clean,...
Wailua Wheat
12oz single from Total Wine, Kennesaw, GA, USA. Pale hazy yellow pour with very little head or lace. The look is fairly unispirational. A fairly large whiff of fruit in the nose, but not anything that I could distinguish as passion fruit - just generally "fruity". Light bitterness with a fruity edge summarizes the taste. A light wheat angle, but it is cleaner than most and slightly acidic. A bit like a fruit juice. Tasty. VERY hot days and pools/beaches is about the extent of this beers...
Coney Island Albino Python
22oz bottle into the DFH palm glass. Purchased from Reilley's on Hilton Head Island, SC, USA. Big head on the pour with some decent lace. Seems a little over-carbonated. Cloudy lemon color. Nose has quite a strong lemon, menthol, spice note. Lemon grass taste. Very refreshing, quite complex with spice notes. Orange character, some medicinal phenols and esters too. A touch of pepper. A really interesting brew. Extremely drinkable. If you like spiced beer, you'll probably love this one.
Wheat
12oz single from Mac's Midtown, Atlanta, GA, USA. Poured into the Tucher Weizen, 500 mL glass. Frankly this is a bit odd. It pours more like a macro lager, and lacks a cloudy appearance. It must be filtered? Nose is a sweetish, corny skunk and this is followed by the taste. It's not really offensive, but if this was a blind tasting I would never have put this down as a wheat. Essentially this looks, tastes and drinks much like a macro lager. Disappointing in two respects; firstly simply from...
Michelob Hop Hound Amber Wheat
16oz pour at Taco Mac, Douglasville, GA, USA. An "Amber Wheat" (whatever THAT is), so here we go. Pour has an amber colour with a decent head and some lace. Nose to me appears to be non-descript. Taste lacks any depth, description or character. I'd describe it as malt based with a watery consistency. Not offensive, but that's about as far as my praise will go with this. Happy to give A-B credit where it is due, but that's NOT here. Marginal taste, and a bland offering in the extreme. I'm...
SummerBright Ale
12oz single as part of the Mac's Midtown, Atlanta, GA, USA mixed sixer at $7.99. Light macro body, little head and no lace. Clarity is good - filtred wheat?? I dunno, along with the thinnish body, the macro grainy smell and the relatively tasteless nature of the style, this beer fails to impress. To be honest, I think it is a problem with the style as much as anything else - it just does NOT inspire on any level. Sometimes I get the feeing that breweries use "Summer" as an excuse to produce...
Sweaty Betty Blonde
12oz single from Mac's Midtown as part of the $7.99 mixed sixer. Poured into the Tucher 0.5L Weizen glass. New entry to the GA market for this brewery. I've had a couple of others in the past, but this one is new to me. Cloudy lemon color - standard. Small head and some ringed lace. Clean, medicinal nose - again standard. As is the danger with the style, one can easily fail to pull it off with authority, and this tends to leave a slightly fizzy, watery and uninteresting beer - this falls into...
Unfiltered Wheat
Thanks go out to Vancer as part of CEO/OLD Farts BIF. 12oz single in the typical Boulevard stubbie bottle. Hazy orange body with a distinct honey/orange hue. Large initial head with some serious fizzy carbonation. No lace and the head is gone within a couple of minutes. Looks a bit lifeless in the glass. Very bland without much taste at ALL. Perhaps a slight, dilutd citrus angle. In fact, the word "diluted" seems to be appropriate to me. Watery mouthfeel. Sorry, but not much to get me excited...
Raspberry Wheat Ale
12oz bottle as part of the Southern Tier mixed 12 pack (IPA, Porter and Phin & Matt's) make up the remainder. Given to me as a Xmas present - Cheers Rob. Macro colored pour, but better than average carbonation, with a small, perfectly formed head and some minor lace. Surprising clarity for a "wheat" - filtered I guess?? Aroma is that of watered down raspberries with a somewhat synthetic feel. Not all that promising. A dryish fruitiness meets the tastebuds at first, at this is not that bad....
312 Urban Wheat
From Vancer as part of CEO BIF. 12 oz bottle. Poured aggressively into the Tucher Weizen glass. Good looker - pale banana yellow body and the classic, Hefe/Weizen-like head. Apart from the look (which I think is good) this is an amazingly non-descript beer. To call it bland is an understatement. Now, without question some of this is down to the style (that I have never been able to fathom), but even so this beer is just plain uninteresting. It's not bad, but it's just got no character. A lack...
Honey Moon Summer Ale
=== New Review 06/08 - bottle === Single from Mac's Midtown in their mixed six-pack, $7.99. Stil VERY sweet even for my sweet-tooth. Remains pretty drinkable in SMALL quantities despite that as long as the summer weather is here. More than a couple and the sweetness would be getting to me. === Original Review 10/06 === Enjoyed this. $4.25 on draft, Taco Mac, Douglasville, GA, USA. Take it for what it is. Simple, sweet beer that drinks like a refreshing lager rather than an ale. Taste is...
LongShot Boysenberry Wheat
12oz bottle as part of the mixed LONGSHOT sixer, $6.49 @ Cheers, Carrollton, GA, USA. The LONGSHOT six-pack just made it to GA in the last few days. Notched label suggests Best Before June 2007. Standard cloudy pour for an unfiltered wheat with some decent head (and retention). Mild carbonation amidst the pale, clouded gold color. Aroma is a full-on artificial (kids juice) type fruit flavor that is VERY strong. Luckily this is not repeated in the taste which is much more subtle (just as well)....
Bell’s Oberon Ale
Notes added 06/20 Can, pictured. It’s funny how perspective on any given beer changes over time, with experience, and with changing circumstances. Oberon is a beer that’s been on my own radar for going towards two decades, and honestly not one that I ever think much about, but always enjoy when it is placed in front of me. The ability of this beer to hit a very particular spot in terms of drinking pleasure is quite pronounced, and as such it always pleases. Whether that’s the thirst-quenching...
Jack Whacker Wheat Ale
Not bad. Straddles an interesting divide between wheat and fruit beer. This is strictly a hot weather beer. It is amazingly drinkable - as long as you have a thirst. Without a thirst it's a pretty bland and non-descript. Cloudy, chill-hazed pour, with a butterscotch/orange color. Decent head and some lacing. Aroma has the big lemon grass hit and this doesn't let up much. It's pretty floral. I'd imagine it could put some people off. Mild acidity and a very clean taste. Mouthfeel is light, but...
Gumballhead
=== Updated Review 08/08 === 12 oz bottle thanks to Penney for bringing this back from Bloomington. As before the hop based IPA character comes through and no way in the world would I guess that this is a APWA. High head, golden body that looks like a macro lager or Pilsner. Aroma is a strong hop based one but the packaged is supported and held up wth the strong malts. Very nice beer, but a bit odd in terms of its styling. === Original Review 01/06 === 22 oz bomber. This was really, really...
Saranac Summer Ale
Actually rather good. Nice dark gold color, with plenty of good carbonation, a decent head and a some, but not a lot of lacing. A nice, mild spice and lemon aroma and taste. The lemon is not as subtle as the label suggests, but it just about pulls it off. Mouthfeel is light, but that is in touch with the style. Very refreshing and tasty. This is not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but very drinkable. Nice hot weather beer, and with temperatures still in the low 80's in Atlanta in...
Founders Weizenbier
Very attractive color, a really cloudy, light butterscotch yellow. Nice and typical head, but this fades disappointingly fast. Minimal lacing. Aroma is really very acidic, and although the beer is not especially acidic to taste, there are some profound citrus tones. The citrus is not sharp like a grapefruit or lemon, much softer in the orange family. Mouthfeel is good, with a full and smooth character. Very mild experience in the classic way that the style should provide, but not at all bland....
Summer Wheat 2005
Bar staff told me that this had been tapped for about a month at BRG. Good, yellow color to the body and a decent head, but it lasted all too short a time. Some nice lacing, and came in a "Summer Wheat 2005" 400 mL glass. For some reason I like this serving size. Nice presentation. Quite a surprising "hoppy" aroma, but light body as expected. The carbonation seemed to die a little as I drank the beer and as it warmed. Some fruit, but all the tastes were rather muted. Drinkable without doubt,...
Curim Gold Celtic Wheat Beer
Oh dear. Dark orange hazy pour with a fast receding head that lasted for all of 15 seconds. OK, so far, not so good, but not a disaster either - but wait... An extremely odd, hard to place unpleasant artificial aroma - something plastic I think. Not good. Nasty, overly acidic sourness that was not at all nice. Funny aftertaste completes the package. Worst "craft" beer I've drunk in a very, very long time.
UFO Hefeweizen
Thought I would give this another chance following my review of the draught version earlier in the year. I shouldn't have bothered. This beer is thin, watery, pale and close to tasteless. It reminds me of dishwater. This is an incredibly disappointing beer from Harpoon.
Widmer Hefeweizen
The most significant part of this beer is its appearance. Truly thick cloudiness lasts the whole way down the pint. When I first saw it in the glass I thought the barman had poured me a toffee and butterscotch milkshake - a truly unique looking beer! I gave it a 5 for appearance simply because it WAS exceptional - not necessarily good looking, but definitely exceptional! I'm assuming the yeast and wheat in this beer combine to give the amazing appearance and I was anticipating a wickedly...
UFO Hefeweizen
Very disappointing when I drank it at BB's in Memphis. I suspect that this is a brew that can vary depending on the place you drink it. The care that it is kept under and served with is likely to make a difference. I always feel that this style is particularly sensitive to it's treatment when served on-tap. Poor listless appearance. The Wheats/Hefe/Wits always have the potential to look like cold dishwater, and without a rocky head, good retention and lacing they can be somewhat unattractive....
Samuel Adams Hefeweizen
Looks good, tastes average. Part of a mixed six pack (2 Hefe, 2 Cream Stout, 2 Boston Ale) from Sam Adams @ 7.49, Publix Supermarkets, Villa Rica, GA, USA. Somewhat disappointed. As many others have noted, the Hefe tag is loosely applied here, in fact it would be much better not being associated with this brew. Excellent, creamy head, flatters to deceive. The rest of the drink is pretty watery, fairly non-descript with a distinct lack of aroma or significant yeast or malt flavors. The brew...
Sierra Nevada Wheat Beer
Nice. A real tasty little number. Pours the classic, cloudy unfiltered orangey yellow color with a decent head and some lacing. Malts are the initial aroma and flavors which lead to a much hoppier finish than I was expecting. I like the stumpy, short bottles of SN, and the labels are very attractive and colorful too. I do like this stuff, and it is certainly above average, but I find SN's products generally over-rated. To be honest a similar and better brew is the much under-rated and probably...
Samuel Adams Summer Ale
Here's my problem. To me, an Englishman, "Ale" always conjours up the image of cask-conditioned ales in pubs with roaring log fires. Associating an "Ale" with summer drinking seems, well frankly, silly! I like my summer drinks to be thirst quenchers, with much less about them. This brew pours a cloudy orange, reminiscent of iced-tea. In the summer months I'd prefer the tea to this stuff. Very poor head, with a distinctly non-lemon aroma, despite the lemon addition being hightlighted on the...