Napa Ale Works Hefeweizen Wheat Ale

Very faint nose of wheat and little else. Thin and dissipating palate with high carbonation. Non-existent finish.

(12 oz bottle: Cannery Wine Cellar in San Francisco, CA) Okay, so not only has this beer been dead for a few years, but I bought it in a tourist shop with horrible conditions for beer. Not surprisingly, the beer is sour and nearly undrinkable. But I had this back in 2002 also, and I’ll have to rely on those notes for the flavor and aroma. I wrote: "Not much wheat flavor in this beer. The mild hops bitterness has a very floral nose and balances the light malt. The flavor is quite floral as well." So in it’s day, seems like it was a pretty bland but inoffensive beer with not a lot of wheat beer characteristics. But the appearance can be judged today, and it’s a pale yellow color, fully clear, but lots of carbonation bubbles rise quickly through the beer. The white head pours to half an inch and retains a full layer, thanks in part to the carbonation bubbles. There’s even some patchy lacing. Light bodied, but very lively on the tongue. Not bad for what’s probably at least a 2-year old bottle of beer.

A beer from the wine country of California. If only the brewers knew half as much about beer as their neighbors know about fine wine. This, by the way, is an american wheat, not a german one. There is not one iota of wheatiness to be found here. Lame. Lame. Lame.

Very odd taste. says its from the wine country on the label, and when you think about it, it does taste a lot like a wine. It claims to be a hefeweizen, but i can taste nigh a hint of wheat. Very malty nose, and taste with a mad tingle in the palate, somehwat alcoholic. Very very sweet tasting. smells like a skunky version of warsteiner. Yea...very wine like in smell, palate, and taste. Odd. Otherwise im totally indifferent to it. Eh.

The beer I tried was Napa Valley Wheat and it was filtered so if I’m in the wrong place here let me know, or just cahnge the name since noone else rated yet. Weak flavored iced tea with a touch of lemon and a mild hop bite. It could have been a blonde ale for my interpretation.