Dundee Wheat Beer

Brewed by High Falls Brewing Company
Style: Wheat Ale
Rochester, New York USA

Pours a hazy gold with a dense, frothy, white head. While it looks quite nice, this beer is a perfect example of the adage that "looks are only skin deep". The aroma is a dusty, straight wheat and little more. Light-bodied and thin with a sour and lightly dry finish. The flavor is sour wheat with an acidic, almost metallic, finish. This is definitely not the refreshing easy drinker that I’ve grown to expect from an American wheat. Put simply, it’s just not very good. Perhaps I sampled an "off" bottle, but finishing this beer was not a prospect that I entertained for even a second.

Re-Rate on 4/2/08: I recently discovered the remainder of the six pack I purchased back in September ’07. I thought, "what the hell", and cracked one. It’s still a pretty poor example of the style, but it wasn’t nearly as offensive as I remember it being. Don’t get me wrong. It’s still a pretty poor example of the style and I will never purchase it again, but in hindsight, I’ve had worse. It’s pretty odd that 6 months of aging would improve a standard wheat but it did. I’m giving it a modest bump, because upon further review it doesn’t deserve to remain at the bottom of my rated beers. [Original Rating: 1.3; 4/4/2/2/1]

Pours a slightly hazy caramel-amber with virtually no head. Smells a tad grassy. Smooth in the mouth and carries a little bit of a sweet caramel flavor. There’s also a little bit of an aftertaste. It’s not bad but nothing special.

This is certainly no Hefe- and for an American Wheat, it’s kind of boring. I compared their Amber Lager to one of Michelob’s brews and the similarity between JW Dundee’s and mass produced MIchelob continues....

Aroma: freshly harvested grain. Nice cloudy straw color with persistent small bubbles. Flavor is respectable hops with citrus, pine and faint metallic notes, understated wort. Palate is full and satisfying with good carbonation and decent hop aftertaste. I am not much of a hefe fan, but I would drink this again.

Some wheat in the aroma and taste but overall was pretty boring. If it wasn’t in a mix pack I would not buy again.

The aroma had a hint of wheat, and the finish had a lemon taste to it. The body was yellow, and with out much head at all.

Hazy yellow with no head. Light wheat aroma with some lemon tartness in the taste.

Bottle: This poured like an American wheat, orange and hazy, with a bit of the requisite yeasty sediment. Why do American brewers call their American wheats hefeweizens ... it’s different .. and so is this. Gristy and musty on the nose, citrusy and sweet, rathery than clovey and yeasty. This doesn’t drink much differently than a lot of American golden ales. Well made, pleasantly balanced. I suspect it loses props in the ratings (including mine) due to the inappropriate and presumptive name. (#3066, 8/27/2007)