North Coast Blue Star

Brewed by North Coast Brewing Company
Style: Wheat Ale
Fort Bragg, California USA

Tap@North Coast. Lemony and tangy, wheaty, grainy malts, a bit short, American wheats never seem to work.

Very cloudy yellow, no head except for a thin white ring ’round the edge of the glass. A few yeast chunks at the bottom of the glass. Very light citric aroma (lemon) with whiffs of wet grains. Banana, wheat, and lemon flavor, with the wheat constantly fighting for dominance and eventually coming out as champion. Wheaty and grainy, dry finish. Rather thin mouthfeel. Slightly better than average. Don’t kill yourself trying to find this one.

Pale yellow out of the bottle with a thin white head and a clean, subtle lemon nose. Crisp citrus notes to this otherwise uninteresting beer. I agree with quaffable. Another average drinking hot weather beer.

Hazy light golden hue with small fizzy head and some lace. The aroma has notes of wheat, banana, clove, toasted bread, and honey. Almost smells like a light Belgium Ale than a weizen! The taste starts twangy citrus and dusty wheat notes. Additional undertones of the yeast characters and malt background found midsection. The finish displays a light bitterness and light spice tones. The mouthfeel is lively and refreshing, thin as expected. I have better American Wheats and much worse too, so I would say this is average, quaffable. Needs more citrus on the nose and more wheat on the palate.

Has virtually no head and pours a relaxing light honey color. Not expecting a good beer before the first sip, this beer despite its weak body has a surprising complexity to its flavor. Nevertheless, aroma (as with other brews from this outfit that I’ve tried) is virtually nonexistent. There are some effervescent plum and mineral-water elements to its flavor, however. Malt, and to a lesser extent hops, are naturally subliminalized in this beer style.

Hazy light golden amber with a thick quickly diminishing white head. Aroma of light toasted bread, lemon, honey, and wheat. Medium watery body with a moderate amount of carbonation. Somewhat refreshing, I could see myself drinking a few of these in a row. Flavor of wheat bread, hints of citrus, pepper and honey. Good, but uninspiring.

Pours slightly turbid straw, with medium head. Decent aroma of lemon and yeast. Hints of hops, citrus, slight banana, and slight dryness in the taste. Finishes smooth and crisp. Decent.

Light aroma wafting from a straw golden body with little head. Taste is mostly sweet malt with a lemony zing. Not a bad wheat.