Orange Pollinator
St. Boniface Craft Brewing Company

Orange PollinatorOrange Pollinator
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From:
St. Boniface Craft Brewing Company
 
Pennsylvania, United States
Style:
Hefeweizen
Ranked #57
ABV:
5.5%
Score:
89
Ranked #12,428
Avg:
4 | pDev: 6.5%
Reviews:
7
Ratings:
17
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 13, 2023
Added:
May 30, 2018
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by drh88:
Photo of drh88
Reviewed by drh88 from Pennsylvania

4.16/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
An interesting take on a Hefe. Flavored with honey and orange, but these flavors were only noticeable to me in the taste. The aroma is very much like a regular hefeweizen. The flavors work well with this beer and it is quite enjoyable.
Jul 06, 2019
More User Ratings:
Photo of Lucular
Reviewed by Lucular from Maryland

3.94/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
16 oz can poured into a plastic cup. I agree with a previous reviewer that this doesn't come across as a hefeweizen (it doesn't really have banana/wheat/bubblegum characteristics) but it is a tasty orange wheat ale. With some vanilla this could be marketed as an orange creamsicle beer. Overall, it's tasty enough, but not quite what I expected.
Nov 13, 2023
 
Rated: 3.74 by Sludgeman from District of Columbia

May 25, 2023
 
Rated: 3.92 by RBorsato from Virginia

Dec 06, 2022
Photo of NeroFiddled
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
St. Boniface Craft Brewing Co. "Orange Pollinator"
16 fl. oz. can, "CANNED ON 01/21/22 5.4% ABV". Sampled on 04/21/22.
$3.25 @ Kunda Beverage, King of Prussia, PA

Notes via stream of consciousness: This is a hefeweizen brewed with orange blossom honey, orange puree, and lactose.
It's poured a lightly hazy golden body beneath a head of bright white foam. Unfortunately the head is dwindling before my eyes. Given the style, the head retention and lacing are definitely limited. In the nose it's lightly sweetish and wheaty with some citrus, clove-like phenols, and just a suggestion of honey. The flavor is sweetish, bready, and wheaty malt with a clear note of juicy orange and some clove. It's gently tart and moderately bitter, finishing dry. In the mouth it's medium leaning towards medium-light in body with a moderate carbonation - restrained even, given the style - which explains at least part of the head retention. I understand that as it can be very difficult to package beers with a higher carbonation level but this is still a bit low. My main question with this beer is why did they use orange puree? Why not just use orange juice? That would have been less expensive, and easier. It must be that they knew the puree was pasteurized but thought that juice from the grocery store wouldn't be. Anyway, this isn't my first pollinator, I just don't come across it that often. I think it's a great tasting 'orange' beer but I don't think of it as a hefeweizen. I'll recommend it, but I don't think it will score too well given the lack of head retention and lacing.
Review #7,920
Apr 27, 2022
 
Rated: 3.61 by adamstef

Oct 22, 2021
 
Rated: 4.44 by hoppyhoppy from Pennsylvania

Jun 06, 2021
 
Rated: 4.18 by MjamesL from Pennsylvania

Mar 10, 2021
 
Rated: 3.92 by George2744 from Pennsylvania

Dec 25, 2020
 
Rated: 4.5 by MouldyCrow from Pennsylvania

Dec 17, 2020
Photo of mvanaskie13
Reviewed by mvanaskie13 from Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Poured into a narrow pint glass: color is straw, slight haze, bright white head with fine bubbles and some lacing on the glass sides.

Smell is bread, biscuit, light toast, slight spice/clove note.

Taste is is slight orange, then bread, biscuit, light toast, hint of spice/clove, touch of honey character. Honey/orange are subtle but noticeable and balance potential dryness from the hefe base beer.

Mouthfeel is low carbonation, moderate soft sweetness, low bitterness, low/moderate drying

Overall an excellent spin on the style with nice subtle flavor additions.
Dec 07, 2020
Photo of dano213
Reviewed by dano213 from Pennsylvania

3.94/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
16oz can purchased from the fridge as a single for $2.99. Canned on 8/13/2020, so this is almost 3 months old.

Look: Very hazy golden orange color. Nice head upon pour but dissipated to almost nothing.

Smell: Predominant aroma of clove up front on the nose. The can doesn't say anything about clove or spices, so this element could be coming from the wheat. Also honey sweetness on the nose.

Taste: A tasty, albeit untraditional, hefeiweizen. Up front, very sweet, orange notes, and and a bit tangy. The carbonation brings the medium bodied wheat beer through the palate quickly. The finish is more sweetness, orange, honey, a bit of spiciness, and lots of clove lingering on the palate. It's somewhat crisp and quite refreshing. I cannot really detect that there is lactose in here.

Feel: Medium mouthfeel. Appropriately carbonated.

Overall: An interesting hefeweizen beer. It's been a while since I had one, so it's hard to say how it compares with a more traditional example. The additions of the orange puree and orange blossom honey along with the strong clove note really work well together and it's good that the beer is 5.5% ABV and very drinkable. I like it, it's a nice seasonal offering.
Nov 10, 2020
 
Rated: 3.6 by RV109106 from Pennsylvania

Nov 06, 2020
 
Rated: 3.59 by MGibbons from Maryland

Oct 16, 2020
Photo of peepicheep
Reviewed by peepicheep from Pennsylvania

4.23/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
On tap @ St. Boniface. They must have a color stylist in the brewery. Either that or it's the copper lamps and old time light bulbs. Another beautiful looking beer. The tiniest bit of foam that lasted for a minute. But really, this beer is all about the taste. Sure it's easily identifiable as a Hefeweizen but then there is the honey undertones. I'm putting it on my summer beer list. For those in the Ephrata, PA area your choices are on tap or cans. No growlers.
Second tasting. On tap at Olde Lincoln House in Ephrata (just down the block from St. Boniface). I really wanted to make sure that I liked it as much as I remembered. I do. Though not a limited edition, it has been tricky to come by. Let's just say I'm not the only person in Lancaster County who seems to enjoy it. Yes there is a picture of an orange on the tap handle and yes the citrus flavor is there but in my tasting the honey sweetness comes through very strong. Not a bad thing at all. Just letting you know what to expect. Still on my summer beer list.
Apr 30, 2019
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.21/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Nice work on the part of The CANQuest (tm)! Creds for the add, the pic & now, the seCANd Rating & the first Review. I CAN work on a Description.

From the CAN: "Brewed with Orange Blossom Honey[,] Orange Puree[,] Lactose Milk Sugar".

I was becoming CANxious so I Crack!ed open the vent & beCAN an inverted Glug since it was a Hefeweizen and cloudiness is the norm. That seemed to work as well as CAN be hoped for as it formed a brief finger of fizzy, foamy, bone-white head before disappearing into wisps. Color was a cloudy Yellow-Gold (SRM = 4 -5) & we would have it no other way. Nose was plenty sweet with both orange & the honey being easily discernible. Gee, Honey, are you sure that you are a Hefeweizen?

I say this because some unnamed jagov took me to task for reviewing to (my) taste & not strictly to style. Fine. My Review CAN be as subjective as needs be while my Ratings may not reflect my Review, which is why it is SO important to include a review. Who cares about mere numbers without any justification behind them? NOT me! YMMV.

Mouthfeel was medium, about par for the style. The taste was great! It was mainly orange with some honey sweetness and a bit of clove. Understand, I despise Hefeweizens for their banana esters, Here, the orange & honey had paved the way for the clove, which is not only acceptable, but preferred by yours truly. Yum! Man, was this a pleasant surprise on a Summer day! It finished fairly dry and it was very refreshing. I loved the honey/orange/clove CANbination. I would not load the entire beach-bound cooler with it, but a couple of sixers in with some Pilsners, some ciders, some mead … Brother, I'd have the honey-honey bees buzzing all around my hive!
Jul 19, 2018
 
Rated: 3.96 by Barleycorn from Pennsylvania

Jul 08, 2018
Orange Pollinator from St. Boniface Craft Brewing Company
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 17 ratings