Plainsbreaker
Banded Peak Brewing Co.

 

 

 

One of the 1st great beers I’ve had out west… a favourite I kept coming back to even if it’s ridiculously expensive (as is Alberta beer prices, I guess).

473ml can poured into tulip.

Pours a hazy orange with two fingers of tan head that leaves some loopy lace as it recedes.

Smells of juicy peaches, sliced oranges and grapefruit, fresh bread, unsalted crackers, cut flowers and sappy pine.

Tastes of more fresh peach and citrus juiciness, bready caramel malt, more crispy wheat and more floral piney hops.

Feels gentle and fluffy. Light bodied with frothy carbonation. Finishes off-dry.

Verdict: Highly recommended. A nice refreshing wheat ale that brings the hops.

pours a dark gold with a finger of white head that disappears rather quickly but leaves a lovely lacing on the glass

smells a little bit of citrus but less of the bitter and sour citrus and more of the sweeter side, finishes off with hints of malt

Taste is more of the bitter citrus taste rather than sweet which seems to contradict the nose. It still has a nice sweetness but not as much as the nose originally detected. Feels smooth with moderate carbonation.

Overall a very drinkable wheat ale with nice flavour and feel

Appearance - Pours a copper gold with three fingers of frothy white head.

Smell - citrus and tropical hops, citrus and orange peel, hint of mango, hint of papaya, bready malts, and earthy yeast.

Taste - mild citrus and tropical hops upfront. The citrus and orange peel, hint of mango and papaya follow suit. The bready malts and earthy yeast round out the brew.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Finishes slightly sticky with the hops and fruits lingering.

Overall - A sessionable hopped up ale. I wish there more dominance from the tropical fruits but other than that a nice sessionable brew.

 

Picked up a single 473ml can at my local stop. "Hopped Wheat Ale" is what the can says.

Pours out a hazy peach/pineapple colour, with an absolutely monstrous foaming head. That thing is alive! Leaves some excellent thick lacing on the glass, bright white and fine. The beer looks phenomenal, really.

Aroma is less of a citrus blast, and more of a soft sweet fruitiness: mango, tangerine, a little apple bubblegum, a pinch of pineapple and peach. It really hits the mark for me as a juicy pale ale. Nothing is over the top--it's just a lovely gentle sweet fruitiness that smells very appealing. Well done.

The taste is much of the same: soft, fruity flavours mix with a wonderful creamy carbonation. Very little dryness in the finish. This is just easily crushable. It's subtle, easy to drink, and with just enough fruity flavour to keep me interested.

I think Banded Peak nailed it with this beer. Must be that fresh Alberta wheat. I'll definitely be making this one of my regular summer beers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

16oz pint at Beer Revolution. Not sure why this is classified as an APA here, what with the word 'wheat' in the name. We shall see.

This beer appears a hazy, medium apricot amber colour, with one chubby finger of puffy, loosely foamy, and bubbly eggshell white head, which leaves some pitted limestone wall lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of fleshy stone fruit, bready and doughy caramel malt, further orange and red grapefruit citrusy notes, a hint of earthy pepper spice, and some testy leafy, piney, and floral green hop bitters. The taste is gritty and grainy caramel malt, a bit of crackery wheatiness, mixed citrus and peach/plum fruitiness, a touch of wet stone, subtle dead yeast, and more zingy leafy, herbal, and piney verdant hoppiness.

The carbonation is fairly low-key in its workaday frothiness, the body a decent middleweight, and generally smooth, with only the unexpected hoppy esters mucking about with my palate. It finishes off-dry, the fruity and bitter hops consolidating their stranglehold.

Overall, this does indeed come across as a hopped-up pale ale, with very minor wheat grain affectations - lots of trendy New World hops can have that effect, I suppose. Tasty in its own right, and worth checking out, but y'know, caveat emptor.