Shock Top Wheat IPA

These days, brewers across the country are in a race to find the next new thing with which they might entice beer aficionados.  The latter, to be sure a fickle lot, are always quick to jump on the latest trend, and if you catch them at the right time you might even be able to make a few bucks. I think that is exactly what Anheuser Busch is trying to do with Shock Top Wheat IPA, their newest entry into the craft beer market. The beer is newly released in February 2012 as I type, and I happened to sample a mug from a freshly tapped keg at my local Taco Mac this evening.

Before I dive into the meat of this review, I think I should admit that I really enjoyed the last Shock Top offering, their Pumpkin Wheat. I appreciated the pumpkin and spice character of that beer, both on tap and in the bottle. I’m not averse to enjoying a beer just because Anheuser Busch brews it as some beer geeks are, and that one was the proof.

That said, I can now trounce upon Shock Top Wheat IPA with no sense of guilt whatsoever. Just what is this beer supposed to be? Let’s ask Anheuser Busch:

Shock Top Brewing Co. announces a new, full-time addition to its family of unfiltered wheat ales that brings a unique flavor to the craft beer category.

Shock Top Wheat IPA (WIPA) is not a traditional beer. It’s a unique hybrid that brings the refreshment and smoothness of a wheat beer and marries it with the crisp hop bitterness of an IPA. The result is a beer like no other.

I will agree with that latter assessment, that this is a beer like no other. Let’s see why.

Shock Top Wheat IPA pours to a hazy yellow orange color with a light creamy head formation and a faint fruity nose. From the first sip, I get a light crackery wheat palate that segues into an even lighter hop finish. That finish offers a faint bitterness almost no hop aroma. The coriander is barely discernible, though the citrus peel comes though rather gently.

Shock Top Wheat IPA tries to be both a wheat beer and an IPA, a hybrid of both styles as it were. Sadly, it fails at both. The hop character to even approach a pale ale, let alone an IPA, seems missing to me, and I can’t even enjoy this one as a wheat beer.

AB claims the brew has an alcohol content of 5.8% by volume, but does not offer an IBU content. It can’t be much. The only redeeming qualities were that it washed down a few tacos well enough (though didn’t really add to the experience) and was cheap at $4.50 a pint. Still, not a beer I would order up again.

For a much better attempt at a "White IPA" check out Samuel Adams Whitewater IPA .

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.



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