Just Grapes» Wheat Beer

Dogfish Head Festina Peche

Shea — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:10:15 +0000

A brief note today for this beer made with peach juice from concentrate. I guess Dogfish Head was going for refreshing, but they got unbalanced muck in the end. This pours a very pale yellow, and smells like a light wheat ale. The palate is pretty much equivalent to canned peaches pureed into a basic wheat beer and a high level of acidity/tartness. It’s a simple beer that just didn’t come together well for me.

Fair
$4 / 375ml at Brewery Creek

Southern Tier Hopsun Summer Wheat Beer

Shea — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:58:17 +0000

It’s somewhat ironic that this review finally made it up on the site one day after Vancouver’s first major rain storm of the fall/winter doldrums. So, if you’ll excuse my seasonal anachronism I’ll tell you that I was expecting a lot more from this wheat beer from New York.

The nose on this hybrid style was big and hoppy with notes of Belgian fruit esters, and unfortunately a weird cardboard edge. The dry hops continued on the palate, with hints of pine needles. But, the hops really make this beer unbalanced for some reason and the cardboard taste persisted over two bottles, making me wonder if the entire shipment to Vancouver was off. This is simple but not really that summery – which perhaps is appropriate for this tardy review.

Good+
$4/333ml @ Brewery Creek

Caracole Troublette

Shea — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 04:49:00 +0000

Summer often demands wheat beer, but wheat beer in Canada can also often be disappointing or overly simple. I got this Belgian wheat ale on recommendation, and while not spectacular, it steps up to the plate as a good summer standard.

With a mellow and simple nose and palate this Belgian white ale had pineapple, orange, fennel, and soda pop. Light and smooth, this goes down easy at 5.5% abv. Maybe lacking a little depth and freshness (not sure how old this bottle is), I still recommend it for a basic summer beer that far surpasses the likes of BC brewed wheat ales.

Very Good
$4.50/333ml at Brewery Creek