We can debate the best style of summer beer for days. Is it a hoppy pale ale? A crisp pilsner? Maybe a tangy, bitter IPA? Or maybe it’s a tasty wheat beer? At least for today, we’ll go with the latter. This style of beer, which is made with a higher percentage of wheat than barley, is a great choice for the July heat.
The first thing you need to know before proceeding is that there are different sub-styles and flavors within the wheat beer umbrella. These are American pale wheats, Gose, Berliner Weisse, Belgian Witbier, Hefeweizen and others. On the craft beer scene in the United States, versions of all of these styles are plentiful.
When it comes to summertime wheat beers, we tend to lean towards American pale wheat, Belgian wits, and hefeweizens. Below, you’ll find eight of the best wheat beers that really taste like summer in a can. What else would you like to drink on a foggy night while you watch Jaws on a projector under the stars?
8) Jack’s Abby Blood Orange Wheat
ABV: 4%
Average price: $10 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
Beer:
Labeled radler, this 4% wheat beer can be available all year round, but it is best drunk in summer. This blood orange essence-infused wheat lager is known for its light, citrusy, session-filled flavor profile.
Tasting notes:
On the nose you will find sweet wheat aromas and a ton of tangerine and orange flavors. The nose is not too exciting. The palate is more or less the same with orange peel, wheat, cracker type malts and a blood orange flavor. Overall it’s pretty light but does the job on a hot day.
Conclusion :
This beer doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t. It’s a wheat/radler beer. It’s light, lemony and easy to drink. Nothing more.
7) Odell Easy Street Wheat
ABV: 4.6%
Average price: $12 for a six-pack
Beer:
This hazy, unfiltered 4.6% wheat beer was designed to be usable on a hot summer day. It is an American-style wheat beer known for its blend of wheat and fruit flavors with a light, crisp finish. It’s surprisingly intricate, well-made, and great for summer.
Tasting notes:
For a session wheat beer, the nose is surprisingly fragrant. It’s yeasty and slightly funky with sweet malts, wheat and citrus peel. The palate is filled with bread malts, yeast, cloves and orange peel. The finish is sweet and very refreshing.
Conclusion :
Session beers are often watery and bland and bland, but this wheat beer from Odell manages to be both light and refreshing, complex and flavorful.
6) Sun Crusher Revolution
ABV: 5.3%
Average price: $12 for a six-pack
Beer:
Sun Crusher is a wheat beer that lives up to its name. It is brewed with oat flakes, 2 row malt, Carapils malt and red wheat. It is hopped with Apollo and Amarillo hops and dry hopped with Amarillo, Crystal and Mosaic hops. This creates a balanced, hoppy wheat beer you won’t soon forget.
Tasting notes:
Sweet wheat, bread malts, lemongrass, orange peel and floral hops predominate on the nose. Drinking it reveals notes of herbaceous and floral hops, orange zest, lemon peel, wheat, grapefruit and sweet malts. It is fruity, sweet, slightly tart and divinely hoppy.
Conclusion :
It is a perfect choice for wheat beer lovers who also love the aroma and flavor of hops. Both boiled and dry-hopped, it’s a memorable, summery brew.
5) Sudwerk Hefeweizen
ABV: 5%
Average price: $12 for a six-pack
Beer:
Another American take on classic German hefeweizen, Sudwerk’s version is hazy and unfiltered and brewed with a house strain of German weizen, white wheat and pale 2-row malt. It gets its floral, hoppy aroma and flavor from the addition of Huell Melon and Hallertau hops.
Tasting notes:
Traditional aromas of funky yeast, wheat, ripe banana and cloves are outstanding on the nose. Sipping it brings more clove, wheat, banana and a hint of citrus zest and other fruity flavors. Overall, it’s a great take on the style and ends with a clean, crisp and refreshing finish.
Conclusion :
There are more than a few attempts to recreate classic European wheat beers on the market. Although Sudwerk’s version isn’t perfect, it’s pretty good on a hot day.
4) White Ommegang Brewery
ABV: 5.2%
Average price: $12 for a six-pack
Beer:
The Ommegang Brewery is located in central New York, just outside of Cooperstown. But it feels like being transported to Belgium with the appearance of the brewery and the beers themselves. One of the best examples is his Witte. This Belgian-style wheat beer is brewed with malted and unmalted wheat as well as Hallertau Spalter Select rolled oats and hops. It gets its unique flavor from the addition of cilantro and orange peel.
Tasting notes:
Your senses will be transported to Belgium with aromas of yeast, wheat, cloves and orange zest even before your first sip. The palate is yeasty, slightly funky and filled with wheat, orange peel, cloves and other spices. The finish is dry and refreshing.
Conclusion :
This beer may be available year-round, but with its wheat and citrus flavor profile, it’s perfect for the summer months.
3) Allagash White
ABV: 5.2%
Average price: $10 for the four-pack
Beer:
If you surveyed random wheat beer fans, you would find that a majority would at least mention Allagash White. Brewed with malted wheat, raw wheat and oats, it gets its unique, award-winning flavor from the addition of Curaçao orange peel and coriander.
Tasting notes:
Complex aromas of lemon, orange peel, wheat, yeast and coriander fill your nostrils before your first sip. The palate is filled with chewing gum, bread malt, orange peel and sweet spices. The finish is smooth, sweet and slightly spicy.
Conclusion :
There are many reasons why this beer is so popular. The first is the fact that it is so well balanced and complex. Each flavor works in perfect unison.
2) Civil Society Dough
ABV: 6.3%
Average price: $19 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
Beer:
If you’ve never tried Civil Society Pulp, what are you waiting for? You will enjoy. This American wheat beer is dry hopped with Mosaic hops. The result is a blend of wheat, yeast, tropical fruits, citrus and hops. This is a truly unique wheat beer that is part of your summer beer rotation.
Tasting notes:
The nose is filled with sweet wheat, bread malts, pineapple, guava, ripe orange and floral hops. The palate is a symphony of tangerine, caramelized pineapple, mango, wheat malt and slightly bitter floral hops. This is a very interesting beer in the best possible way.
Conclusion :
It’s not your average wheat beer and it’s more than adequate. It’s tropical, fruity and has a nice hoppy element. A memorable summer beer, to say the least.
1) Live oak Hefeweizen
ABV: 5.3%
Average price: $12 for a six-pack
Beer:
This year-round brew is made with a traditional yeast strain designed to give it an old-world flavor profile of banana and spice. The addition of wheat malt and limited hops gives it a classic flavor profile that will transport you to Germany with every sip.
Tasting notes:
This is a well-made wheat beer. You can tell right from the start because the nose is loaded with aromas like bubblegum, ripe bananas, cloves and other spices. The palate continues this positive trend with more banana, wheat, yeast, clove and spice. A very nice interpretation of the German style.
Conclusion :
Even if you’re a fan of traditional hefeweizens, you’ll have a hard time telling the difference between this version and the one straight from Bavaria.