Williamsburg Wheat Ale
Williamsburg Brewing Company

Nasty!

And not in the "ooh girl, you so nasty" sort of way.

Nope, this is just a downright nasty, bad-looking, bad-smelling, and ultimately bad-tasting beer.

I got a bottle, with a slightly different label design than pictured on this site. Maybe that was the 2004 Williamsburg Wheat, and this is the 2005 batch I have. Anyway...

Not much to look at. Like a cloudy Bud/Miller/Coors clone.

Smells like a field of wheat... that a wild animal urinated in.

Taste = ugh! Definitely the worst aspect of this beer. It has that horrid "Amstel Light" thing going on. You know - the taste of cardboard and/or styrofoam, liquified and carbonated, with a lot of water added, and then marketed as "beer."

Mouthfeel is watery and lacking any complexity at all. Like holding foul-tasting, polluted city water in your mouth. Swallow quickly.

There is no drinkability. Steer clear & stay far away. If you must try this, just order a pint on tap, or only buy 1 bottle. You will thank me for the advice after your first sip.

part of mixed six-pack purchased at the brewery. Poured a cloudy-amber color with slight head. Smell was almost almost nothing. Taste had a strange metallic note, the same same as their pale ale. I don't know if I got a bad batch, but when two of their brews have the same unpleasant tastes, I feel it must be the beer.

Poured into a weizen glass and she looks pretty enough: golden, white head, many columns of bubbles. Smell is a touch fruity and a little like wet cardboard, not very inviting. Taste was rather bland, no real wheat flavors, some sugars appear midway through. Finish is a bit sweet. The smell really does intrude in the glass. Mouthfeel was medium to light. Easy to drink, but why would you put up with this smell?

Ug. What happened here? Wheats are a complex, yet simple beer to make. It is harder then you think to screw up a wheat. But...some one and screwed it up. And that person(s) was the williamsburgh brewery. This is an abhoration- a combo of a macro gone wrong and a wheat. I would honestly consider drinking american genuine or brigade over this. Now - down to the finer points...

Pours an extremely hazy light orange. A slight, at best, grassy nose, with some head and slight lacing going through it. The taste, a slight citrus taste mixed with a horrbile astringent bitterness. This does not mix well in my book. It lacks any standard wheat flavs (bubblegum, bannana, clove, etc.)

It has a pleasently light mouth feel, but is rather watery, all in all. It's lightness and "smooth" watered-down feel lends to it's drinkability. I honestly hope that something happened to this beer during my trip back from VA, other wise, it is quite possibly one of the worst wheats ever made.

Light golden body, pretty clear for an unfiltered brew. No lace, no retention almost no carbonation.
Weak fruity smell, a little banana and some malt.
Sweet taste, hint of banana and sour apple. Very little aftertaste, mostly just a sour sensation.
Thin mouthfeel, bottom-scraper on drinkability.

-Oelergud

The beer poured a pale yellow with a slight haze. The head was white and fell back quickly, but laced the glass.

The aroma is soft wheat and pineapple. Also it has a slightly sweet and fruity smell like fruit cocktail.

The flavor was crisp and fruity. The fruity sweetness is present when the beer first hits the palate, but those flavors dry out leaving a fruity impression.

The finish is dry yet fruity. The body is medium with a soft wheat roundness.

12 ounce bottle. Bottle says 4.5% ABV.

Contract brewed in Maryland

Appearance: Pale gold with a thin, quickly fading head. Few streaming bubbles.

Aroma: Wheat malt dominates, with a sweetness present. Hops are muted and mild.

Taste: Sweet wheat and spice flavors. Slightly thick mid-palate, with sweetness flowing into the finish. Mild throughout, with carbonation dominating the finish.

Mouthfeel: Flavorful, sweet, but light. Balanced, but lacking character. Light and fizzy finish.

Drinkability: A good "novelty" brew if you visit this colonial town, but not worth seeking out. Won't try again.

I was fortunate to be able to try this on tap in Williamsburg and thought it was better than this contract brewed version from Frederick in Maryland. But it's a decent beer nonetheless, and I enjoyed it almost as much. Its hazy, yellow-gold body is topped by a thin head of creamy white foam that drops rather quickly but leaves some spotty lace in its wake. The nose is distinctly grainy and malty, but it's more sweetly-doughy than sharply-wheatish. It's quite welcoming, in fact! It's medium-bodied and crisp in the mouth with a very fine carbonation from bottle-conditioning. More wheat character appears in the flavor, and although the sweetness remains, there's a subtly tart character that helps to balance but never builds on the palate. Hints of vanilla and background fruit add character and charm. The hop bitterness is subdued, but remains somewhat noticeable and lends to its dryish finish. Sweetish in it's doughy malt, but refreshing with it's slightly lemonish tartness... naturally balanced and enjoyable.

Pours with a white foamy head over yeast-hazed gold liquid. Light notes of clove with a slight lemony scent also. Taste is light-bodied & heavily carbonated, somewhat dry and fruity too. Finishes kinda...blah. That's about all I can say about it.