A Flowery Song

Background: This unfiltered wheat beer brewed with local honey, coriander, and orange zest is a seasonal offering from Arcadia in Battle Creek. Comes in at a nice light 17 IBUs and is only slightly hefty in the alcohol department at 6.2% ABV.

Nose: Light and grassy, with floral overtones and a bit of earthy herbal influence.

Taste: Malty and spicy. Herbal coriander and oily citrus balance a lightly bready and slightly sweet wheat backbone.

Overall: Easy-drinking and refreshing, just what I look for in a summer seasonal.

Background: Bottles claims it to be “The Hefeweizen”. We shall see.

Appearance: Crystal clear, no trace of suspended yeast. Nice pale orange colour with gold highlights.

Nose: Oranges.

Taste: Spicy wheat and citrus.

Overall: Not picking up any real yeast character (the “hefe” part of a hefeweizen), and overall it seems bland and uninspired. Easy to drink, but just as easy to forget. (I am wondering if they either modified the beer or there's a significant amount of bottle-to-bottle variability, since several reviews that I'm seeing mention significant haze.)

Background: Original recipe by Rodney Kibzey of Illinois.

Appearance: Murky brown body, fine-grained tan head.

Nose: Cloves and dark dried fruit.

Taste: Spicy banana bread, medium hop bitterness and some vanilla.

Mouthfeel: Thick and creamy, bubbly carbonation.

Overall: Very rich and chewy. Fun, well-balanced flavour, but very filling. All in all, exactly what I think of when I hear “weizenbock”. Good on yer, Rodney.

Appearance: Slight yeast haze in a light amber liquid. Minimal white head.

Smell: Muted banana, wheat malt, and caramel.

Taste: Sweet wheat malt, clove and banana esters, toasted malt.

Mouthfeel: Light carbonation, medium body.

Drinkability: Good. Light, but not uninteresting.

Appearance: Pours with a coarse head that quickly dissipates. Body is crystal clear, coloured a nice medium brown with amber highlights.

Smell: Roasted caramel sweetness with some earthiness.

Taste: Malty, with some citrus and generic spice. Low hop flavour, medium bitterness. Soapy wheat character on the short finish.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and creamy; full-bodied with medium carbonation.

Drinkability: Simple and direct. It's easy drinking, but not engendering much excitement in my breast.

Appearance: Slightly reddish peach body, sudsy white head.

Smell: Candied cranberry dominates, with some sour notes and a bit of musty malt.

Taste: Not a lot of subtlety here. Fairly sweet, with a straightforward grainy wheat malt profile with slightly tart cranberries layered on top. Minimal hop presence.

Mouthfeel: Chewy body with mild carbonation.

Drinkability: Underwhelming. Might show to better advantage as accompaniment to a meal. Definitely not much like a lambic, so viewing it as a fruit-flavoured wheat beer is in order. Balanced and drinkable.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy medium tan with a fluffy off-white head.

Smell: Smells like orange peel.

Taste: Slightly sour; coriander and orange zest showing on a background of vegetal malt sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Thick and sticky, with medium carbonation.

Drinkability: The coriander is overpowering and the beer seems very sweet. Not a winner.

Appearance: Cloudy orange body, effervescent white head.

Smell: Sweet, citrusy malt with some spice.

Taste: Biscuity malt, tangy yeast, lots of fruitiness, subdued spices.

Mouthfeel: Full-bodied, with a fairly high level of carbonation.

Drinkability: Clean, crisp, and refreshing, except…at 9% ABV it's a bit much for regular drinking. Yeah, celebratory limited release; yeah, special beer; I just wish special didn't always mean “big” to American brewers.

Appearance: Coarse foamy white head with minimal retention. Pours a cloudy light amber.

Smell: Wheat and citrus with some yeast notes.

Taste: Fruity wheat with a background of medium spicy hops and overtones of lemon. Sweet with lots of malt character.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and light. Medium to light carbonation.

Drinkability: Light and easy drinking, with a flavour profile that allows it to pair well with a wide range of foods.

Appearance: Cloudy orange-amber, excessively large off-white head with decent retention.

Smell: Yeasty, with bubble gum, banana, and lemon.

Taste: Sweet, with hardly any hops. Clean malty wheat background, citrus and mild clove notes. Banana esters. Finish is a smooth, nutty yeast.

Mouthfeel: Overly carbonated, with a creamy medium body.

Drinkability: Decently drinkable, and a good value at the price point. Average score at BeerAdvocate: 3.62 / 5.