Blackberry Wheat
Alandale Brewing Company

 

Pours a clear yellow with 1/3 inch head. Decent retention and good lacing. Smells strongly of fruit - I got the clear distinction of blackberries, but my girlfriend thought it smelled more like blueberries. I could also pick up a little hop aroma. Fits the style well enough. Smooth, crisp, average carbonation. There's a tartness to the beer initially, but by mid-beer it mellowed into a sweetness. Overall, the best blackberry brew I've had, but a little too tart to drink easily.

Had one of these with my fiance before dinner. She gets pretty excited about anything with fruit in it.

A - Light brown/bronze slightly hazy brew with a tight little white head that leaves lots of big foamy waves of lace on the glass.

S - Blackberries, blueberries, and grainy breakfast cereal. Smells like a breakfast cereal that has dehydrated berries in it.

T - Big time sweet cereal flavors with lots of really nice blackberry flavors. This is not tart and acidic like a lot of fruit beers, nor is it overly sweet and wine-cooler like. This reminds me of Sea Dog Bluepaw. Tasty and still very beer-like under the fruit.

M - Light bodied with lots of carbonation. Finishes clean, crisp, and slightly dry. Leaves some residual beery berry goodness on the tongue.

D - A nice session brew, especially for girls and people who don't really like beer. I applaud brewpubs for offering something fruity and palatable to the masses...it's a good way to get our girlfriends/wives to come with us!

Appearance - Clear, unusual for a wheat, but whatever. The head was bright white and held for a long time. The lacing was very good and covered the whole pint after I was done. I give a 2.5 because it was not cloudy as a wheat should be.

Smell - For a BLACKBERRY beer it actually smelled like BLUEBERRIES. This caused some confusion as I thought Alandale had another berry beer that I didn't know about. There was a orangy hint to the aroma as well. The hops, assuming Centennial, were noticable but only slightly.

Taste - Light and crisp, just like a wheat should be. The blackberry flavor was there but not so overpowering that you didn't get the other atributes. The yeast produced the citrusy esters that were evident in the aroma. There was also some light malt hints there. Overall a great balance and a great beer for a warm spring night.

Mouthfeel - Light and crisp, just as above. The beer was light and smooth. Very refreshing.

Drinkability - Good. I liked this beer. I was a good change of pace from the IPA I had before it. Made for a good after dinner beer. My wife liked this beer, and she is a tough cookie to please beer-wise.

The start of this brew sample was a real paradox; frothy and sturdy white head, nice lacing in the imp. pint glass. But I’m not digging a filtered, clean straw yellow body – a wheat beer needs a healthy, unfiltered look. Oh well, onward.

Yep, the aroma of blackberry is there, on top of some subtle hints of wheaty malt. The quaff matched this, the body was sharp, crisp and finished dry. By mid-pint, it starts taking on a sweetish aspect, it starts tasting like a wheat with a blackberry extract added after the pour.

This may be a good cross over brew, or for those that enjoy fruit or sweet beers. I could not handle a second pint.