Cottonwood American Wheat Ale

Brewed by Carolina Beer Company
Style: Wheat Ale
Mooresville, North Carolina USA

Had at greensboro NC sumertime brews fest. Diacetyl, diacetyl, diacetyl. This wasn’t due to a dirty line since it was a freshly opened keg at the festival. Obvious pediococcus contamination. The diacetyl overwhelms anything and everyting else. I took two sips then had to pour it out due to the disgusting pedio contamination. This is absolutely unforgivable. A brewery that takes pride in their beer would never let this batch be released to the consumer.

Lacked punch i.e. wheat flavor. I drank this out of the bottle and the label provided more information than the beer itself. Not real good. BTW, had this at Joel’s in Mooresville and I think I saw Ricky Steamboat there.

Pours a golden color with a white head. Has no lacing. Has faint taste of wheat throughout beer. Has the best taste of wheat at finish.

A hazy yellow beer with a beige head. The aroma is sweet with light wheaty notes. The flavor is sweet with light notes of wheat, and with a dry wheaty end. Boring, but won’t offend anybody.

Aroma is tart, wheat. Flavor hits tart, but then just finishes bland and dry. Pours pale yellow, thin head. Fairly thin. Decent with a meal, not much else,

Bottle. Pours a cloudy light gold with a fast fading white head. The aroma is quite yeasty with some citrus notes and grains and a weak sour funk. In the mouth it’s fairly tart and semi-lemony but is very thin all around. Great way to cool down. Not a great way to sit down and commune with a complex brew.

Cloudy dull straw colour. Really strong tangerine/lime aroma. Fairly bland flavour. Lightly yeasty (foot), citrusy (key lime) and malty (white bread) flavour. There is a light tartness in the finish, rendering it more refreshing and thus more enjoyable than it probably deserves to be.

From notes 8/24/04: Pours a slightly hazy/murky golden yellow leaning towards an orangey-amber hue. Fluffy white head forms and audibly fizzes away to just a thin cap. No lacing. Very weak aromas. No oomph here. No interest. Just a slight malt tone and due to the power of suggestion I think I detect a wheaty smooth air. Otherwise, this has no smell. Flavors are a touch better, with a modest malt base, and more of a detected wheat smoothness. Little in the hop department, if at all. Thin mouthfeel, even with the wheat character. Averagely drinkable. As a Cottonwood seasonal, I had such high hopes only to be dropped on my head in disappointment.