Citrus Wheat
Alaskan Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

i love seeing new beers from these guys, i wish they came around more frequently, this is nice for summer, not overly fruited, very much still wheat driven, and a very nicely textured beer for its low alcohol content, its not too thin at all, and frankly drinks more robust than that, which i like in this instance. light lime and lemon notes to this, sweet orange peel, lemongrass too, even green grape somehow, slightly belgian estery to me too, not sure what actual fruit they use, but it comes across as real enough, not too sweet or anything, and appropriately dosed. there is also a light herbal hop profile to this but no real bitterness, and its easy to taste and appreciate the wheat at the core of it, not obscured by citrus. maybe not the most interesting release, but the flavors work well together, i think the texture is nice, and this should do well for them this summer. you dont see a lot of breweries owning the classic wheat style these days, its all hazy ipa and massively dry hopped everything, but here they have made a classic style with a modern seasonal twist and i think they did a fine job with it. definitely a summery drink.

Appearance: Pours a clear, medium golden color with visible LARGE pieces of sediment floating in the glass. A mild white head. SRM of 7-8. (3.75)

Aroma: Light to Moderate aromas of orange citrus upfront. Some tangerine juiciness. Some stonefruit. Some white wheat and pale malts underneath. Overall, aroma is hollow. (3.75)

Flavor: The flavor has a mild orange and mango upfront, but then leans toward a lot more lemon and unripened pineapple. Follows with white wheat and bittering citrus and wheat profile toward the end. Finishes clean and slightly sour from the citrus, and bitter from the wheat. Dry. (3.50)

Feel: Lighter bodied. Strong wheat and carbonation allow it to finish extremely crisp and dry with a light sour citrus astringency. Almost too dry. (3.50)

Compared to Surly's Hell Lager 3/21/21: Pours a darker color with more sediment. More orange, mango, pineapple. Less lemonflower and white wheat. A stronger sourness with less flavor.

Compared to Sierra Nevada Summer Break 6/11/21: Pours a lighter and hazier color. Milder aromas and falvors. Less orange/lemon/pineapple/stonefruit.

Overall: A pretty decent light and citrus beer. I might classify it more as an IPL with wheat added. or an unfiltered IPL. The body of a wheat lager, but a strong orange, mango, pineapple aroma. The flavor leans with much more lemon, sourness, and bitterness. Clean drinking, quite crisp and dry with a sour/bitter citrus wheat astringency. Huge sediment in this beer, which I assume provides the sediment and wheat bitterness. Overall, decent flavor for the lower ABV. A good beer for the summer I suppose. (Final Rating: 3.58)
Edit: Maybe I left this one out too long, but the second review didn't hold up. Minimal aromas and flavors.