Oaken Barrel Razz Wheat

Brewed by Oaken Barrel Brewing Company
Style: Fruit Beer
Greenwood, Indiana USA

(12 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with atpayne, thanks Adam!) I haven’t had a lot of fruit beers over the past few years, in part because I’ve been so discouraged by how many of them are on the lame side. This raspberry wheat features a moderately tart fruitiness that starts out pretty authentic tasting. But that lasts about two seconds, and as soon as I swallow the beer, the aftertaste immediately begins to transform into that sweet, artificial berry flavor I’ve come to expect from American fruit beers. That sweetness in the finish even tastes fake, like artificial sweeteners found in diet beverages. There’s no real sign of wheat flavor, but isn’t that usually the case? Body is light, but the fizziness is somewhat refreshing, well at least until the aftertaste sets in. But at least the rest of the beer’s characteristics are decent. The very pleasant nose smells like genuine raspberries, and is tart rather than sweet. The color is that of pink grapefruits, with a slight maroon tint, and it’s fully cloudy. A fizzy, off-white head builds to half an inch, but quickly dissipates to a small ring. This is a beer where the easiest real way to get rid of the bad aftertaste is to quickly take another sip. The better alternative is to just bite the bullet and stop sipping this beer, and that is the option I’ve elected.

Bottle found in Fort Wayne, IN. Reddish/golden color with a off-white head that diminished quickly. Good sweet wheat aroma. Medium body with fruity texture. Moderate sweet fruit flavor with a sweet finish of average duration.

Obvious berry aroma, wheat aroma as well. Head dies quickly, surprising for a wheat. Fruity in flavor with wheat character as well. Dry for beer. I am not a fruit beer fan at all, but I think the raspberry character is pretty good, where other fruit beers taste almost of artificial flavorings.

Very purple in color and fizzy. Tastes more like kool-aid than beer but is light, tangy, and sweet. Not the best for quality drinking but goes great with a light meal.

Bottle acquired in trade with atpayne (thanks!). Poured a medium and hazy pinkish red color with a smaller sized head. Aromas of mainly raspberries. Tastes of lightly tart raspberries with some light wheat. Lightly sweet with a light tartness to it. Thinner body.

Opaque pink grapefruit body with off-white head. Aroma is medium sweet, raspberry. Taste is medium sweet, raspberry, light tart, some artificiality but not too strong. Light body, some crispness.

Bottle: This pours a sickly caramel-pink color with a quickly dying white head. The aroma is all raspberry. The carbonation is fairly lively for a wheat. The taste is rapberry and a citric tartness. Clean finish. This was my last Razz-Wheat.

On tap at the Oaken Barrel. Pinkish color and cloudy in color. The aroma is very much raspberries and there is a little wheat present as well. The flavor is tart raspberrries quickly followed by a decent wheat presence that has a little bit of a balanceing citric character. It finish is a bit gritty and grainy.