Fordham Wisteria Wheat

Fordham Wisteria Wheat

Style: Wheat Beer

Alcohol Content: 4%

From: Dover, Delaware, United States of America

Purchased from: Beers of Europe

http://www.fordhambrewing.com/

This week I have been on a little break down to Kent, which is otherwise known as the garden of England. Whilst there, I kept thinking to myself, what a beautiful place this will be in the summer. Full of flowers in full bloom and birds singing in the trees, while I enjoy a refreshing pint in the garden. Quintessentially English you would say. With this in mind I fancied a beer that captured the essence of summer. So upon browsing the beers of Europe website, I can across Fordham's Wisteria Wheat. With its colourful label and excellent write up, Wisteria Wheat sounded like the beer I was looking for. So let's get involved.

You have to hand it to Queen Anne; she knew way back in 1703 that you couldn't start a colony without good local brews. That’s why she asked young Benjamin Fordham to start a brewery in the new port of Annapolis. Almost 300 years later, Fordham brewing was re-born in the heart of Annapolis in 1995. With the ever-increasing demand, this frothing Fordham giant was more than the small brewery could handle. In an effort to provide more people with brews, the plucky staff grabbed their recipes and moved Fordham to its new castle in Dover, Delaware. In 2007, Fordham merged with Old Dominion brewing company under the holding company Coastal Brewing Company.

Not quite Wisteria Lane

Colour: Pours a deep straw almost copper colour. There is no head which is slightly disappointing. I guess all that travelling across the Atlantic put hed to that. The beer is also very clear when you compare it to German Weiss beers but there is a slight hazing in the glass to tempt you in.

Aroma: As you would expect, big hints of creamed wheat flow out of the glass. This is blended with subtle hints of cloves and bananas. 

Body: Interestingly, this beer is not as heavy as you would expect. This is a medium bodied beer with a soft velvety carbonation. This creates an extremely drinkable beer with a mild clogging on the back of the throat. 

Taste:  Full of juicy wheat with a fantastic underpinning of sweet succulent strawberries which is certainly a pleasant surprise. It reminds me of Magic Hat Number Nine Not Quite Pale Ale which i reviewed last year (link below). The finish is full of creamy wheat cut though with a slight sour edge. The use of Perle and Tradition hops provide a very mild level of bitterness which helps to holds everything together. In short, this is summer in the glass and would compliment fruity salads.

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/magic-hat-brewing-number-9-not-quite.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/st-austell-proper-job.html

For the latest news on reviews follow me on twitter @beefsbrewery or like me on Facebook at Beefsbrewery

Meantime Raspberry Wheat

Meantime Raspberry Wheat

Style: Flavoured Wheat Ale

Alcohol Content: 4%

From: Greenwich, London, England

Purchased from: Hog's Back Brew Shop
http://www.meantimebrewing.com

Meantime Brewery was founded by Alastair Hook in 2000. The originally Greenwich brewery was originally located 0° 2' 12" east of the Greenwich Meridian, moving to a site on nearby Blackwall Lane in 2010. This mission driven company aims to help the consumer rediscover their cultural and culinary beer heritage, which it believes has, in the UK at least, largely been lost as beer manufacture has been concentrated in the hands of a smaller number of ever bigger brewers, who do not wish the consumer to have any great understanding or appreciation of beer. Since opening the brewery has gone from strength to strength and their Coffee Porter won a gold medal at the world beer cup in 2008.

I will be honest with you, i am a big fan of the Meantime Brewery. I have already reviewed two of their beers on this site; the Chocolate Porter and their London Stout. Both of these drink are amazing and are among my most popular posts so far. So as a semi Londoner, i am pleased that to see that a number of Youngs pubs in Greater london and Surrey, now carry Meantime beer on draft. These are normally their crisp London Lager and their mildly hoppy London Pale Ale. However, the focus of this post will be something completely different; their Raspberry Wheat beer.

Colour: Once poured, you are presented with a drink that looks like cloudy cranberry juice. This cloudy colour comes from the style of beer (wheat beer). A nice bubbly white head is also present but this dissipates very quickly and leaves nothing in the glass.

Aroma: As you would assume, there are very strong notes of Raspberry smothered in sugar which ooze out of the glass like a waterfall down a cliff face. You can also pick out notes of creamed wheat mixed with slight hints of banana and cloves. These latter aromas are very reminiscent of the style, but seem a little out of place against the raspberry back drop.

Body: Seeing as this is a wheat beer, the drink is quite heavy in the mouth. This is not a drink that you can rush. There is a slight acidic/metallic after taste which clings to the back of your mouth after every sip. This drink has a very low level of carbonation and is almost flat after 5 minutes in the glass.

Taste: As you expect from a raspberry beer, the predominant flavour are raspberries. These are a little tart and slightly overpowering for my palate. There are faint hints of banana and cloves but these are subtly hidden by the raspberries. The more you accustom yourself with this beer, the more the raspberry flavour dissipates. It's becomes rather jam like as the beer warms. The aftertaste has a mineral water finish to it. It's as almost as if you can taste the fluoride in the London water. I must admit that this is not my favourite Meantime beer I've tried, but its always good to try something different. One thing i know for sure is that my girlfriend would love this.

I really love the champagne style bottles 

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/williams-bros-fraoch-heather-ale.html 
Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/lovibonds-dark-porter.html

For the latest news on reviews follow me on twitter @beefsbrewery or like me on Facebook at Beefsbrewery

Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale

Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale

Style: Wheat Ale

Alcohol content: 4.4%

From: Chicago, USA

Purchased from: Tesco

OK first thing i should tell you before you read is that i love Chicago. I went there way back in 2005 and i have always wanted to go back since. Personally, i think that Chicago is much better destination to visit than New York. It has the hustle and bustle of the East coast but has the laid back charms of the West coast. When i started reading more about beer, I was excited to learn that in Chicago, the craft beer movement is flourishing. I just wish i had been 21 at the time so i could actually enjoy all they had to offer. Must go back for a taste at some point!

The brewer Goose Island was first opened by John Hall in 1988. John had be travelling around Europe for a number of years and found that there was an amazing range of beers on offer. He found difficultly finding some of these beers in the United States, so he took matters into his own hands and created Goose Island. The company now has an amazingly diverse range of ales on offer including some seasonal beers. The 312 gets its name from the telephone area code for downtown Chicago and is part of Goose Islands Urban Ale line. Now i will admit, that i have tried the 312 several times before down at the Pigs Ear in Richmond. But recently Tesco's have began stocking the 312 along with the Goose Island India Pale Ale.    

Colour: Pale yellow, straw like hue. When i think of wheat beers; i often think of German Weiss beers which due to there unfiltered nature they are extremely cloudy. The interesting thing about the 312 is that it is also unfiltered however the colour is extremely pale.

Smell: As soon as you pour a 312 you are hit with floral and citrus notes. As this is a wheat beer a large head is created when you pour. I accidentally got a bit to close to the head and ended up with a nose full of froth. However, this allowed me to pick up a very sour undertone to the flavor; which is certainly stronger than any thing that i had smelt before. I felt as if i had just been hit in the face with a lemon meringue or key lime pie.

Body: Very fine bubbles on the pour that stay with you thought out the drink. It also has a creamy texture to it which can be rather odd at first but as you get use to it the drink goes down a treat.

Taste: On the pallet you are smacked with a taste of Elder flower with a bitter lemon finish. It does taste a bit sour but it is not over whelming. These taste dances around your mouth while you enjoy every sip. It's a bit like Mel and Kim in the Video for Respectable. Good song (don't judge me) but interesting dance moves. There is no bitter finish to this beer due to the Liberty and Cascade Hops they use. It would go down very nicely whist having a picnic in Hyde Park. Your perfect summer time ale.

Summer in a Glass

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