Friday night was
St. Patrick’s day as I type this a few mornings later, and I and my Beloved
Barbara celebrated that uniquely Irish holiday at
Summits Wayside Tavern
, one of our preferred local watering holes here in Atlanta. And when I
entered, one of the first things that caught my attention was the ornately
designed tap handle for Spring Heat Spiced Wheat, a decidedly
un-Irish wheat beer brewed at least in name in the Belgian Wit style.
One of the interesting things about Spring Heat Spiced Wheat is the very
company that makes it: Anheuser-Busch, makers of top-selling brands like
Budweiser and
Michelob . With craft brewed beers the only segment of the brewing
industry that has seen growth in recent years, Anheuser-Busch is determined
to get a piece of the action with its own craft brews.
So far, these brews have been mostly draft only, and are intended as a line
of seasonal specialties. The first of these, Jack’s Pumpkin Spice,
was also sold in bottles as
Michelob Pumpkin
Spice . The second, Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale, was only available in
select establishments on tap.
Such is the case, too, with Spring Heat Spiced Wheat. And since Summits had
it, I had to have it too. In style, this is supposed to be a Belgian styled
Wit as I mentioned above. Such beers are often made with the addition of
Curacao Orange Peel and coriander. In a slight departure from that style,
however, lemon and lime peels are also used for the Spring Heat.
My pint of Spring Heat Spiced Wheat arrived before me with a very
light head formation sitting atop the slightly hazy, yellow-orange colored
liquid. This is an unfiltered wheat beer, so the haziness should not be too
surprising. The nose was very faint, and I did not immediately detect any
spice here.
A sip revealed a fairly non-descript palate. There’s a little bit of
crackery wheat that makes the beer a good refresher for a warm spring day.
The citric notes are definitely present, though they’re surprisingly subtle
and could have been better represented to make this a more interesting beer.
The coriander was entirely lacking, and although I allowed my beer to warm
up a bit to better detect the spice flavors, they were still not evident.
The finish is a bit thin, smooth but lackluster. A little more wheat
tartness or citric character in the finish would have been a nice touch.
At just over 5% alcohol by volume, this is an average strength brew. But in
the flavor department I found it fairly uninteresting. Still a step up for
Anheuser-Busch, however, and more experiments from them are to be
encouraged. It’s worth a try, but try it soon: this seasonal will only be
around for a few months each spring.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft