Wind-shear Watermelon Summer Ale
Barnstormer Brewing & Pizzeria
- From:
- Barnstormer Brewing & Pizzeria
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- American Pale Wheat Beer
- ABV:
- 4.1%
- Score:
- 80
- Avg:
- 3.3 | pDev: 19.7%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 7
- Status:
- Inactive
- Rated:
- Jun 18, 2019
- Added:
- Nov 05, 2015
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 4
SCORE
80
Good
80
Good
Wind Shear will change your direction and cause some turbulence. This straw coloured ale is delicately balanced with the refreshing character of watermelon.
20 IBU
20 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by CAMRAhardliner from Canada (ON)
3.72/5 rDev +12.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.72/5 rDev +12.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Ours hazy straw with a huge puffy head that lasts forever. Light watermelon and grainy notes in the nose. Fruity watermelon and light, bready malts in the taste. Faint herbal hops in the back. The mouthfeel is medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation. The finish is drier than expected, and light.
A pretty good fruit beer. The watermelon flavor isn't very sweet and doesn't distract from this otherwise dry, light beer too much. Worth a try if you like fruit beers or want an easy drinking lawnmower beer.
Jun 18, 2019A pretty good fruit beer. The watermelon flavor isn't very sweet and doesn't distract from this otherwise dry, light beer too much. Worth a try if you like fruit beers or want an easy drinking lawnmower beer.
Reviewed by Roby923 from Canada (AB)
3.43/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.43/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Decent for an afternoon sessionable flavoured brew. Found there to be more sweet bubblegum taste than natural watermelon. An interesting beer to add onto a tasting flight.
Canned from LCBO.
Jan 13, 2018Canned from LCBO.
Reviewed by whiplash308 from Canada (ON)
3.04/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
3.04/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
To start us off, I love watermelon and watermelon flavored things. This is not one of those things.
This is the official beer for the guy named "Johnny Stevens" that sits in the back of your school's lecture hall for classes that aren't his.
It doesn't belong, just like the overwhelming bite that this beer deceptively gives.
Look: It's a slightly foggy, corn type color. Very minimal head to begin with, and faded out almost immediately after the pour.
Smell: Actually the redeeming quality of this beer. Smells exactly like those watermelon sour candies.
Taste: Unfortunately doesn't taste like watermelon sour candies. Actually tastes like oven-roasted sand with a sprinkling of parsley, artificial flavoring and sadness.
Feel: It's a dry feeling on the intro, and dry on the finish. Nothing special.
Overall: It's definitely interesting, but this is a no go for me. Definitely refreshing, I will say that. Kind of in the same way that boiling water is refreshing to put your fingers in after you burn your hand.
Nov 18, 2017This is the official beer for the guy named "Johnny Stevens" that sits in the back of your school's lecture hall for classes that aren't his.
It doesn't belong, just like the overwhelming bite that this beer deceptively gives.
Look: It's a slightly foggy, corn type color. Very minimal head to begin with, and faded out almost immediately after the pour.
Smell: Actually the redeeming quality of this beer. Smells exactly like those watermelon sour candies.
Taste: Unfortunately doesn't taste like watermelon sour candies. Actually tastes like oven-roasted sand with a sprinkling of parsley, artificial flavoring and sadness.
Feel: It's a dry feeling on the intro, and dry on the finish. Nothing special.
Overall: It's definitely interesting, but this is a no go for me. Definitely refreshing, I will say that. Kind of in the same way that boiling water is refreshing to put your fingers in after you burn your hand.
Reviewed by TerryW from Canada (ON)
3.02/5 rDev -8.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
3.02/5 rDev -8.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Big soapy head gone right away. Hazy pale golden yellow. Bubble gummy smell and taste. Bitterness and metal on the palate, quite spritzy. Not so interesting, I'm afraid. Only passably drinkable as a novelty.
Oct 28, 2017Reviewed by ConnorG from Canada (ON)
3.05/5 rDev -7.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3
3.05/5 rDev -7.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3
Look: Very transparent, light yellow
Smell: Strong aroma of watermellon, light smelling ale
Taste: overwhelming watermellon flavor with a hint of hops
Feel: light and bubbly
Overall: I enjoyed this unique beer, however I probably wouldn't buy it again.
Jul 26, 2017Smell: Strong aroma of watermellon, light smelling ale
Taste: overwhelming watermellon flavor with a hint of hops
Feel: light and bubbly
Overall: I enjoyed this unique beer, however I probably wouldn't buy it again.
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
3.71/5 rDev +12.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.71/5 rDev +12.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Tallboy can from the LCBO; dated May 24 2017 and served well chilled. I'll be grading this as a fruit beer rather than an APWA, because wheat isn't listed in the ingredients (at least, not anymore).
This brew pours a foggy, translucent straw yellow colour, with one finger of frothy white foam gathering at the surface. Retention is fairly poor, as the head requires only a minute or two to fade down to a thin collar and filmy cap. Not much in the way of lace, either. The aroma is overwhelmingly dominated by sugary watermelon juice/flesh, with only a faint whisper of grainy pale malts managing to make its presence known. I don't know if they really used flavouring or extracts to produce this beer (it just says "watermelon" in the ingredients), but the melon aroma is so concentrated that one could be forgiven for assuming that it's, well, fake.
Thankfully, this isn't exactly a fruity sugar bomb - the flavour profile is a little more balanced than the aroma, which is making me think that they probably used actual melons (vs. extracts) to brew this. Grainy, crackery pale malts comprise most of the backbone, with the watermelon juice/flesh flavours allowed to fill in whatever gaps remain. Melon rind bitterness surfaces towards the finish, providing a welcome break from the saccharine notes which precede it. Finishes with that same diluted sweetness that you get after swallowing an actual bite of watermelon. Light in body, with aggressive, spritzy carbonation that feels prickly and crisp on the palate. Easy to drink and quite refreshing; honestly a little better than I was expecting it to be.
Final Grade: 3.71, a decent B grade. Barnstormer's Wind Shear Watermelon Summer Ale is a solid, simple thirst-quencher. This is only the third watermelon-flavoured beer that I've tried over the years, and I'd have to say that it's probably the only one that I'm likely to have any interest in purchasing again. Nothing too amazing (and I still think the aroma is a bit much), but if you like watermelon and are looking for something fruity, light and refreshing to quaff on the patio this summer, I'd recommend it. The marketing blurb mentions garnishing this with a slice of watermelon, which might not be a bad idea if you're hosting friends.
Jun 14, 2017This brew pours a foggy, translucent straw yellow colour, with one finger of frothy white foam gathering at the surface. Retention is fairly poor, as the head requires only a minute or two to fade down to a thin collar and filmy cap. Not much in the way of lace, either. The aroma is overwhelmingly dominated by sugary watermelon juice/flesh, with only a faint whisper of grainy pale malts managing to make its presence known. I don't know if they really used flavouring or extracts to produce this beer (it just says "watermelon" in the ingredients), but the melon aroma is so concentrated that one could be forgiven for assuming that it's, well, fake.
Thankfully, this isn't exactly a fruity sugar bomb - the flavour profile is a little more balanced than the aroma, which is making me think that they probably used actual melons (vs. extracts) to brew this. Grainy, crackery pale malts comprise most of the backbone, with the watermelon juice/flesh flavours allowed to fill in whatever gaps remain. Melon rind bitterness surfaces towards the finish, providing a welcome break from the saccharine notes which precede it. Finishes with that same diluted sweetness that you get after swallowing an actual bite of watermelon. Light in body, with aggressive, spritzy carbonation that feels prickly and crisp on the palate. Easy to drink and quite refreshing; honestly a little better than I was expecting it to be.
Final Grade: 3.71, a decent B grade. Barnstormer's Wind Shear Watermelon Summer Ale is a solid, simple thirst-quencher. This is only the third watermelon-flavoured beer that I've tried over the years, and I'd have to say that it's probably the only one that I'm likely to have any interest in purchasing again. Nothing too amazing (and I still think the aroma is a bit much), but if you like watermelon and are looking for something fruity, light and refreshing to quaff on the patio this summer, I'd recommend it. The marketing blurb mentions garnishing this with a slice of watermelon, which might not be a bad idea if you're hosting friends.
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)
3.22/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.22/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Review from notes. 473 ml can served cold into a tulip.
Appearance - Clear, pale golden color with a pinkish hue. No head or lacing to speak of.
Smell - Artificial and intense watermelon and not much else. The watermelon isn't the most artificial I've experienced.
Taste - Watery with a slight sugary and sweet watermelon flavor. No big flavors but actually tastes more like watermelon than it smells like watermelon.
Mouthfeel - Thin and light, decent carbonation. Not much to speak of.
Overall - Ok flavored beer, but definitely doesn't stand out. Artificial flavors are sufficiently subdued to make this a decent thirst quencher.
Jun 05, 2017Appearance - Clear, pale golden color with a pinkish hue. No head or lacing to speak of.
Smell - Artificial and intense watermelon and not much else. The watermelon isn't the most artificial I've experienced.
Taste - Watery with a slight sugary and sweet watermelon flavor. No big flavors but actually tastes more like watermelon than it smells like watermelon.
Mouthfeel - Thin and light, decent carbonation. Not much to speak of.
Overall - Ok flavored beer, but definitely doesn't stand out. Artificial flavors are sufficiently subdued to make this a decent thirst quencher.
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!