I may get kicked out of the Hardcore Beer Geek Club for this, but I love a good American hefeweizen. Come to think of it, I never wanted to be in the Hardcore Beer Geek Club, anyway. After all, if you can’t enjoy a tasty, refreshing beer like Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat, who needs to be a member of that clique?

Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat is an American hefeweizen which you probably figured out from my earlier allusion. American hefeweizen is much like the classic Bavarian hefeweizens, except that it uses a different yeast strain that is much cleaner than the traditional German strains. It doesn’t throw off the familiar banana and clove notes German weissbier is known for.

Widmer Hefeweizen was the first example of an American hefe for me, I think, along with Redhook Hefeweizen. Widmer used a unique altbier strain of yeast, and the result was a clean but tart and wheaty tasting brew. American hefeweizens are still brewed with a substantial amount of wheat in the grain bill and bottle conditioned with live yeast for conditioning.

Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat is, to me, a tasty example of the style. Although it is rather one dimensional, I find it refreshing in the warm weather. My bottle says best by 11/29/2102, but I’ve kept it cold since I bought the six-pack last fall. Boulevard says their Unfiltered Wheat Beer is the best-selling craft beer in the Midwest. It has 4.4% alcohol by volume and 14 IBUs, low but appropriate for the style. I paid $8.99 for a six-pack.

The neck label says:

In time-honored brewing tradition, we’ve added a small amount of yeast to this beer just before packaging to produce a secondary fermentation in the bottle. The yeast, which settles naturally to the bottom of the bottle, encourages further maturation and contributes to the beer’s complex flavor.

I am not so sure I would use the term “complex flavor” when describing an American hefeweizen, but there you go. And here we go with a bottle of the beer.

Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat pours to a hazy yellow color with a surprisingly light head formation and a tart, crackery wheat nose. The beer is quite refreshing in the body, with tart crackery wheat and a hint of citrus zest in the finish. Aside from that, though, there isn’t a lot going on here. Definitely an American Hefeweizen, you won’t get any banana or clove here. Still, the beer is refreshing enough, and I like it on a warm day, and would buy it again.

Beers don’t always have to hit you over the head with flavor, as long as they have enough to satisfy and quench the thirst. Dare I add a slice of lemon? I just might……

Update 12/21/2014: Normally I enjoy beers the likes of Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat in the warmer weather. That's not to say that I don't enjoy them in the cooler months, too. I certainly do, just not as often. Today was one such occasion, though as I enjoyed a mug of this tart, refreshing wheaty beer at Taco Mac while watching football on a Sunday afternoon. The beer really hit the spot with an order of wings, and was easy on the wallet as well at just $5.

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



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