Wheat 'N' Potatoes
Banded Brewing Co.

Drank from a one pint can purchased at Formaggio Kitchen, Cambridge, MA
10/08/18
Served in a pint glass

Hazy, verging on cloudy, pale straw yellow appearance. The body was topped by an inch-tall, fluffy, bright white crown that slowly fell to a cap of foam. A single ring of drippy lacing stuck along the glass.

The aroma was fantastic. Super fruity and bright. Tropical fruits came through strong. Loads of passionfruit. Some mango too. Citrus was apparent as well. Big, crisp lemon and grapefruit notes. Bit of wheaty tartness. As the beer sat, the tropical fruits subsided and citrus notes took over.

The flavor profile was much more citrus forward than the nose. Grapefruit dominated. White grapefruit came to mind. Some juicy clementine was noticeable as well. Crisp and fairly tart. Lemony and wheaty in the center. More grapefruit and pithy grapefruit rind on the back end and in the finish. A fair amount of dry, resiny bitterness lingered after the swallow.

Terrific frothy, fluffy mouthfeel. Lighter bodied overall but rather full for the style. The liquid contained a larger bubbled, lively, sprightly effervescence that frothed up beautifully on the palate.

Wheat N' Potatoes is a super flavorful yet highly crushable New England-style session IPA. Although I completely missed the potato in this (was I supposed to taste it?), the beer definitely surpassed my expectations. I look forward to revisiting this when the warm weather arrives.

 

 

From the 16 oz. can with a smudged date of 07/12/18. Sampled September 14, 2018.

Bright yellow clear appearance with a long lasting white foamy head and busy carbonation. Looks like a beer-beer.

In the aroma there are some pine and earthy hop characters intertwined with the grainy sweet malts. But overall it smells clean.

Light to medium body.

There is a big bitterness in the flavor than the aroma suggests. Same grainy sweetness at first but it erupts in a citrus-like bitter hoppy end. I did not get potatoes in this beer. Maybe it was starchier than some.

16oz can with a date of 7/12/18.

Cloudy straw colored body with a soapy white head and quite a bit of sedimentation. Fluffy lace coats the glass.

Scent is crisp lemon lime with a hint of hop spice. Perhaps a notion of tropical fruit, though only the faintest notion.

Taste is crisp with a decent hop bitterness. Lemon lime notes. Some spicy hops. The lemon becomes almost tangy at points which I take is a contribution of the wheat here. Malt is limited to the slightest suggestion of a crackery note in the background.

Mouth feel is surprisingly decent for such a low alcohol session beer. Neither thin nor watery. Crisp and dry.

Drinkability is excellent.

Well I don't know how the hell they did this with potatoes and wheat as I do not taste either other than the slight lemony tang previously noted. But considering the inherent limitations of a 4.1% ABV IPA I think this is an exceedingly impressive beer and I'll gladly buy more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 oz. Can

Yellow golden color, big haze, orange highlights. Strong and dense foam clumpy tower. Creamy and thick looking foam, big lacing.

Excellent hoppy aroma with herbal citrus and sweet pine. The adjuncts certainly pop out, I can actually smell freshly chopped-up potatoes and a tangy-earth and sour smell from the wheat.

The impression I get from the first gulp, is....thin. Watery, light and slightly dull. Although, a Crisp, earthy wheat, sharp, malt feel and flavor colors the edges. Light undertones of earthy citrus and pine from the hops give a bit of deeper flavor after the first impression wares off slightly. At only 4.1 % abv. This really feels and tastes like a session ipa. The low abv% and mild flavor brings the complexity to a low point. I like the base and structure of this beer, and with a bit more,....of everything this could be good.

 

Pours a cloudy pale straw color with a one finger off-white head. Aroma is tangy fruity with a little pepper - maybe orange, kumquat and lime? The taste is full of flavor up front - which is great for a session - and retains that citrusy flavor through to the finish. Malt is very thin understandably for the style. Feel is somewhat soft and very unsticky with a moderate amount of seltzer.

This is really a great session. I would take this any hot summer day over most others. It is refreshing like a limeade but retains that rich hop flavor.

Cloudy, like a New England IPA. It has a chalky white hue to the straw color. Very good blankets of lace from the above average head.

Nice, soft floral nose of hop. Additionally, there's a light, pale malt aroma.

I was suspicious that this might be a highly hopped wheat beer with an alcohol kicker. Instead, we have an American IPA through and through. The base pale malt holds its own throughout the tasting. While the hop bitterness is stronger, it never overwhelms. For an IPA, this has a very short aftertaste. The body weaker than most, but the carbonation is also subdued.

 

16oz can dated 1/25/18.

Pours pale, cloudy yellow with a moderate head and retention. Peach and ripe pear in the nose and quite juicy. Light bodied with a thinnish but chalky mouthfeel. Tropical fruit on the palate. Peach- forward with zero malt and a light bitterness. Finishes with lingering citrus and very dry.

This would be quite the summer crusher at 4.1%.

 

For being a low 4.1% abv brew, this had some amzing, dtrong mango citrusy aromatics as soon as i opened it. It has a nice hop bite, although might be a tad sweet but not overpowering. Getting great citrusy hop flavors coming thru and the added potatoes come in very faintly in the back end that makes way for a crisp, smooth, hoppy session ipa. Recommended! 4.1%!