Tag Archives: wheat

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January 22, 2014

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RJ Rockers announces Peachy King details

RJRockers

Impeachment was a draft-only imperial wheat ale brewed by Spartanburg’s RJ Rockers. But sadly, Impeachment is dead. However, Peachy King will arise in its place beginning in March and – for the first time – in bottles.

Brewery reps told me last fall the name “Impeachment” was met with mixed signals among drinkers. The name came from an online contest the brewery ran and it was never meant to be a jab, but with it joining their expanded four-pack limited-release lineup, RJR chose to rebrand the beer something less political. And so, Peachy King took the throne.

On Tuesday, the new label artwork was reveled along with release details. The 9% imperial ale brewed with spices and peaches – a big brother to now-year-round Son of a Peach – will be available in four packs for the first time and on store shelves in early March.

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March 27, 2013

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Oberon returns

Bell's Oberon

It may not feel like spring here in South Carolina, but just like the blooming flowers, signs of a warmer season are beginning to pop up here and there.

Take, for example, the cases of Bell’s Oberon that arrived in stores this week. The 5.6% summer wheat ale – one of my favorites of the season – has returned to shelves to warm your insides. It’s one of the brewery’s more popular and celebrated offerings, but unlike Hopslam, you won’t see people murdering others to get their hands on some.

(Sadly, we’re not as lucky as Arizona, Florida and Puerto Rico, which get Oberon year-round. Lucky.)

You shouldn’t have any trouble finding this one.

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February 13, 2013

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Westbrook Grätzer

Westbrook Grätzer

Westbrook Brewing Co.

Mt. Pleasant, SC

Grätzer Smokey Wheat Ale

3.4% ABV

I’ve always loved and been impressed with the experimentation Westbrook puts into its beers. But aside from concocting their own unique brews, they’ve made it a point to delve into beer’s history and bring to light some original styles that have either diminished in popularity or are foreign to a lot of craft beer fans.

Their Gose is a great example of that: A style that all but disappeared generations ago that, thanks to a few adventurous brewers, was brought back into the conversation. That trend continues with Grätzer, a highly sessionable German-style smoked wheat beer. (Wrecking Bar and Wild Heaven had an excellent example of the style with Wrecking Heaven.) It’s a style so unique and unknown to the stateside beer drinkers that it’s simply listed as a “Speciality Beer” under BJCP style guidelines. Westbrook’s attempt is brewed with a variety of hops 90% oak-smoked wheat malt. And clocking in at 3.4% means drinking glass after glass of the stuff – which I could do easily – won’t leave you hurting. Too much.

While the lighter almost Kölsh-ish color of the beer would lead you to believe the nose would be just as light, it’s deceptive. At first blush, the sticky sweet campfire smell of the smoked malts is overpowering, flooding out of the glass in waves of an almost maple-covered bacon odor. But behind that, the sweetness of the wheat pokes through slightly. It’s certainly masked well by the abundant smokiness of the malt, but the yeasty sweetness provides a nice backbone.

The flavor starts with just a slight tart bitterness on the tip of the tongue with a slight lemon character. The carbonation is mild throughout the mouth and the body, as the color would entail, is pretty light. But that all disappears toward the finish when those epic campfire notes explode over your tastebuds. The sweetness of the nose is tempered a bit by the citrus flavors from the hops, which give the beer almost a tart finish and aftertaste. There’s a little bit of a peppery spice in the flavor and a really smooth, sweet yeast flavor. It’s an understatement to say how INSANELY drinkable this beer is (if you like smoked beers). At just north of 3%, you could drink glass after glass and still keep your wits about you.

This is certainly a beer that won’t suit everyone. I, for one, love smoked beers, and this had the heavy, sweet smoked flavors I really like with a lighter base beer to keep it balanced. The style itself is incredibly unique, drinkable and enjoyable.

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October 31, 2012

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21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon

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21st Amendment Brewing

San Francisco, CA

Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer

4.9% ABV

I’m a man. A real man, damnit. I like steak and sports and alcohol that makes me grimace when I drink it. I like the heavy stuff – REAL beer for a REAL man – so I don’t give in to some frou-frou fruit-flavored wheat beer.

Except this one. This one’s pretty good.

21st Amendment‘s Hell or High Watermelon is a sessionable 4.9% wheat beer the brewery puts out every summer. After brewing a classic American-style wheat beer, they put the beer through secondary fermentation with fresh watermelon. Then they top it off with a bit more watermelon juice.

Like a wheat beer, it pours a very hazy straw yellow/sunrise/blonde color. There’s maybe half a finger of head but it’s gone before you know it. No lacing and very weak alcohol legs. All expected for a light beer of the style.

The nose has the standard big rich wheat notes and a really strong watermelon smell. While a lot of fruit beers go for overpowering fruit, the watermelon is very subtle and not overly sweet smelling. It’s not artificial at all. Just a very slight hoppiness to it.

There’s a very nice tartness on the tip of the tongue. There’s effervescent and bubbly carbonation throughout the mouth. The watermelon flavor is immediately present in the middle of the mouth and again on the back. Again, it’s not overpowering or artificial, which is something they pride themselves on. It’s the right balance of sweet and tart. On the back you get that smooth wheat and a clean sweet finish. It’s perfect for summer sipping.

The fact they use real watermelon is a big plus. The beer is just the right amount of sweet, a little tart and extremely smooth and drinkable. I could easily see myself going through a six-pack poolside. It takes a real man to say that.

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October 23, 2012

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Terrapin/New Holland Social Potion

I spent the past weekend in Atlanta to celebrate my birthday, which just so happened to coincide with the kickoff of Atlanta Beer Week. My wife, our friend Josh and myself spent two days traversing the metro area checking out different events and trying new and different brews.

One beer I was determined to try before heading back home was Social Potion, a collaboration between New Holland and Athens, GA’s own Terrapin. To celebrate New Holland’s launch in the Peach State, the Michigan-based brewery teamed up with the folks at Terrapin to create a 7% weizenbock brewed with Michigan wheat, black currants and pink peppercorns. And to add another special touch, the beer was being poured only in Georgia during ABW and in Michigan.

It took about three days to track the beer down, but we eventually found it at Roux on Canton, a small Cajun-influenced bar and restaurant near Josh’s house in Roswell. It was certainly worth the effort to track down.

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As expected with a weizenbock, Social Potion pours a hazy, murky dirty-water brown. There were two good fingers worth of a billowy head on top and they stuck around for a while. The lacing and alcohol were both really nice.

The wheat was the strongest note on the nose. Behind that were the sweet dark flavors of the currants and just a very slight pepper note as well. All the ingredients are all there in the aroma.

On the front of the tongue was just a very slight tart bitterness followed with a good bite of carbonation across the palate. It’s tingly with a rich and very smooth mouthfeel from the wheat. On the back was a rich flavor of toffee and a rich tart and sticky sweetness from the currants. The peppercorns pop up again on the finish and linger a bit on the back of the throat. A really great beer all around.

This was the last beer I had on my trip to Atlanta and was a great note to end the weekend on. I’m glad folks in Atlanta get to try all the great beers from New Holland, and any time someone teams up with Terrapin, the results are pretty great.

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September 11, 2012

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Ommegang Scythe & Sickle

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Brewery Ommegang

Cooperstown, NY

Scythe & Sickle Harvest Ale

5.8% ABV

Fall is easily my favorite time of the year. The weather and scenery in the South are (generally) fantastic, the god-forsaken humidity finally breaks and I get to celebrate another birthday. Fall also means the re-emergence of pumpkin, my favorite flavor, and fall seasonal beers.

When it gets cooler, I’m much more inclined to enjoy heavier and richer beers, so seasonals and pumpkin beers hit the spot. One of the newer fall beers is Scythe & Sickle from Ommegang. “Harvest ale” is a fitting name for the beer as it blends wheat, oats, rye and barley, which is supposed to give it a rich and smooth yet biting taste.

The beer is a brilliantly crystal clear pumpkin orange. There’s about finger of a really fluffy, bubbly head that sticks around. There’s some strong lacing and just some slight alcohol legs

On the nose is a really great sweet bready note. The barley and wheat are certainly noticeable and there’s just a very slight hint of pumpkin and spice, possibly from the rye. I got only a slight hop note as well. But the biggest, most noticeable character comes from the wheat. It’s a really rich and delicious-smelling beer.

There’s a good bit of carbonation on the front of the tongue which gives way to a very smooth and creamy mouthfeel. The sweetness of the wheat pops on the back, and again there’s a slight pumpkin and spice note. The hops are very mild, which is good, since nothing overpowers the slew of grains that go into making it. There’s a big bready yeast note (certainly from the Ommegang yeast), a hint of sweet caramel and just a bit of graininess.

I was really impressed with Scythe & Sickle, as I am with most Ommegang beers. It’s sweet, but not cloyingly so. Bready, not just a touch yeasty. And spicy, but in a sweeter, more mellow fashion. I held off on fall beers until September hit, but after trying this one, I’m glad they’re back.

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July 18, 2012

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Dogfish Head Positive Contact

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Milton, DE

Positive Contact Wheat Beer

9% ABV

It’s no secret I’m a fan of Dogfish Head. Just search for the brewery and you’ll find plenty of glowing reviews of their beers from me. But I will admit, the lengths Sam and the DFH folks go to to make beers can be a little intimidating at times, and the results aren’t always as good as you’d hope they would be. Nonetheless, a lot of their recent brews have been pretty awesome, with Positive Contact being one of the best.

As with most DFH beers, Positive Contact has a pretty extensive background story and list of ingredients. The beer is another entry in the brewery’s Music Series, along with Bitches Brew, Hellhound on my Ale and Faithful Ale. The brewery teamed up with Dan the Automator of Deltron 3030 (and Gorillaz) to craft a brew that the renowned producer could call his own.

What they ended up with was a 9% beer/cider hybrid brewed with wood-pressed Fuji apples; roasted farro, a type of grain; cayenne peppers; and cilantro, all of which is bottled in packs of six 22 oz. bottles, a 10-inch vinyl LP and recipes that include the beer.

Admittedly, I was iffy going into the beer. The mix of ingredients was bizarre, more so than most DHF beers. But the result was music to my mouth.

The beer pours a super clear orange color. There’s a gorgeous pillowy head that lingers for a good long while. Incredibly strong lacing and some decent alcohol legs round it out, making the beer just absolutely beautiful.

Given the laundry list of ingredients, it was surprising to find wheat the only big discernible character on the nose, although there was a good hint of apples present as well. There’s a kind of sweet bread note with a bit of a mild hop on the back, and maybe a very slight hint of cayenne and herbs, too. But overall, it smells like a straight-up wheat beer.

That all changes in the taste. It’s very smooth on the tongue and rest of the mouth with a very slight carbonation. The wheat is very present, there’s a slight earthiness and a very slight pinch of cayenne. But as it warms, the cayenne becomes much more noticeable. It doesn’t burn or anything, but gives more of a nice slight heat. The apples are there, but I got just a very slight touch of cilantro. It’s incredibly drinkable, and for 9%, you don’t taste the alcohol at all.

A lot of my friends write off Dogfish as a gimmicky brewery. To be fair, I admit that they’re  a bit out there as far as breweries go. But as I’ve said before, I really do appreciate the lengths they go to and the risks they take. Lately, they’ve been on a role, and they’re showing they’re not a brewery you should be so quick to write off.