Well my friends it’s here, finally and at last: the warm weather. And with it comes a desire for lighter, more thirst-quenching beers. Beers like New Belgium Sunshine Wheat. A beer that served for me to be a quenching refresher after a hot day toiling in the sun.

Following the beer enthusiast (some would say beer geek) circles these days, I get a kick out of the reluctance to allow any beer to age longer than 5 minutes these days. To be fair, it’s true that beer is best enjoyed fresh-most beer anyway. A beer like New Belgium Sunshine Wheat is certainly best enjoyed fresh but-don’t panic-my bottle was enjoyed in May, and has a “Best Before” date of October 27^th, 2013. It has sat in my beer fridge, chilled since last fall when I bought it, and remains quite fresh.

From the label:

Sunshine Wheat Beer is brewed for year-round enjoyment, using equal portions of wheat and barley malts. It is spiced with coriander and orange peel in the Belgian wheat beer tradition.

Ingredients from the website:

HOPS: Target

MALTS: Pale, Carapils, Wheat

FRUITS/SPICES: Orange Peel, Coriander

New Belgium Sunshine Wheat has an alcohol content of 4.8% by volume and 14 IBUs. I bought it in a 12-pack “Folly Pack” sampler along with other brews such as Blue Paddle Pilsner for just $12.99.

New Belgium Sunshine Wheat pours to a pale golden color with moderate foamy head formation and a light spicy nose of coriander and citrus zest. Taking a sip the beer has a light American wheat body and crackery breadiness to it. Spices are light, very soft with just a bit of pungent coriander and bitter orange peel. There’s a charming dry finish to this light refreshing beer as well.

This is a nice break from the sledgehammer beers, and a perfect brew for spring and summer refreshment.

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

Home