For a long time I avoided most types of wheat beer. I’ve never been a fan of hefeweizens and only like a few Belgian style witbiers. My experience with American wheat beers was mostly with Sam Adams Summer Ale and similar wheats. I am not a Sam Adams basher, I love a number of their beers, but I detest the Summer Ale, I would honestly rather drink Bud Light. This led me to avoid wheat beers almost entirely. I started to change my attitude on wheat beers when many local breweries (especially Trillium) started featuring NE IPAs brewed with a substantial amount of wheat in their grain bill. The wheat malt helps enhance the flavors of the hops, so the natural follow up to these IPAs were American wheat ales that incorporate large doses of New World hops. A great example of this is Demo Tape Eleven from Exhibit A Brewing Company, the latest release in their series of test-batch Demo Tape beers. The first batch of Demo Tape Eleven sold out extremely quickly and I didn’t get a chance to try it. Fortunately they made Side B, a second batch that was double dry-hopped. Exhibit A Demo Tape Eleven Side B is available for a limited time on draft and in 16 oz tallboy cans, unless people really like it and they make it into another regular release beer. So if you try it and like it make sure you let them know!
Exhibit A Demo Tape Eleven Side B pours murky light orange with a small white head. The aroma is a nice burst of hops, citrus and tropical fruit. The flavor is also very hop forward, notes of guava, tangerine, lemon and mango along with minimal bitterness. This is balanced by a mild malt backbone, hints of crackers and wheat bread. Demo Tape Eleven Side B is super light, easy to drink and sessionable at 4.2% ABV. The finish is crisp with some lingering hop flavor. This beer is delicious, tons of hop flavor and aroma but not the one-note forgettable beer that so many hop-forward session beers turn into. I really hope this becomes one of Exhibit A’s regular releases. Hoppy Boston score: 4.5/5.
Previous Exhibit A Reviews:
Exhibit A Danko, Exhibit A The Cat’s Meow and Demo Tape 5
Gritty McDuff’s Vacationland pours clear light yellow with a solid white head. The aroma is a mixture of light malts and floral hops. The flavor is balanced. The hops are pronounced for a blonde, notes of lemon, cut grass and herbs along with a crisp bitterness. This is balanced by pale malts, touches of white bread and crackers. Vacationland is light and very easy to drink, sessionable at 4.8% ABV. The finish is crisp and dry, very clean for an ale. Gritty McDuff’s Vacationland is a very nice summer beer, crushable, refreshing and full flavored. Hoppy Boston score: 4.25/5.
Deciduous Mosaic Sylph pours a clear bright yellow with a massive white head. The scent is a mixture of tropical hops and expressive Belgian style yeast. A fruity strain of yeast leads the flavor with notes of apple, apricot and pear. This melds well with the Mosaic hops which add hints of pineapple, mango and grapefruit. A mild malt backbone rounds out the flavor with hints of white bread and crackers. Mosaic Sylph is very light bodied and effervescent, but packs a little punch at 6.3% ABV. It has a dry finish with some lingering fruit flavors from the hops and the yeast. I love a thoughtful combination of New World hops with expressive Belgian style yeast, and this is a very good example of the style. I’ve been impressed with the Deciduous beers I’ve tried and this one is definitely worth picking up. Hoppy Boston score; 4.5/5.
Night Shift Bennington pours dark brown with a mild tan head. The scent is a mixture of rich roasted malts and cocoa. The beer is very malt forward, notes of milk chocolate, toffee and mocha. The cocoa and syrup meld well with these flavors, also adding a little sweetness. There are minimal hops, just enough to add a little balance and crispness to the finish. The oatmeal leads to a rich and full body that sips easy, it packs a little punch at 7.4% ABV but is far from an imperial. The finish is clean with a little malt flavor and lingering sugar. I have been asking for more tasty stouts and porters with more moderate ABVs, and this is a very nice version. My only quibble is that it skews slightly sweet for my personal taste, but it is still an interesting and flavorful beer. Hoppy Boston score: 4.25/5.
Medusa Black Ale Project
Berkshire Brewing Oktoberfest
Notch Infinite Jest
Oxbow Barrel Aged Farmhouse Pale Ale
Berkley Red Rye Ale pours deep amber with a minimal off-white head. The scent is mostly fruity esters from the Belgian yeast. The yeast leads the flavor, notes of pear, green apple and bubblegum. The malts add a touches of bread crust and honey along with a noticeable hit of spicy rye. A hint of earthy and grassy hops round out the flavor. Berkley Red Rye Ale has a medium body and drinks smooth, not too boozy at 5.4% ABV. The finish is dry with some lingering yeasty esters. This is a solid beer nice mixture of flavors from the yeast and malts, although I would have liked a little more assertive rye character. Hoppy Boston score: 4.0/5.