Wheat Beer — the American version of Witbier — is one of the most approachable styles in craft. The versatility of wheat complements practically every ingredient. When brewed into beer without any other additives, wheat creates a crisp, clean character, lighter than in brews made exclusively with barley. This makes it an excellent choice for pairing with many types of food, particularly fruits like raspberries and watermelon, and even savory dishes like beer can chicken.
The American Wheat Beer is widely considered one of the most refreshing styles and has historically been a favorite beverage during warm weather. But, if you look around your local grocery store or even specialty bottleshops, you won’t likely find many Wheat Beer options.
Where did all the Wheat Beer go?
Boulevard ambassador brewer Jeremy Danner told AllAboutBeer.com, “[if it’s] not an exciting or extreme, crazy beer, it suffers in reviews.” So, it’s no wonder the simple Wheat Beer style is no longer trendy. However, breweries seem to use the flakey ingredient more commonly in craft beer today than ever before — it’s just found a new home in other styles.
Breweries like Weldwerks and Toppling Goliath use flaked wheat to create a thick body and pillowy mouthfeel in their Hazy IPAs and Pale Ales, including the famous Juicy Bits and Pseudo Sue.
Off Color and Mobcraft use wheat in their Sour Ales like Yuzu Fierce Berliner Weisse and Gose Pack Gose. These styles are traditionally brewed from five parts wheat to one part barley. This is to deliberately create a clean base, ideal for incorporating sourness — either by a secondary fermentation in the bottle or by adding Lactobacillus — a lactic acid bacteria.
The Wheat Beer’s German, unfiltered cousin, the Hefeweizen, with its refreshing flavors of banana and clove, has withstood the popularity test of time better than the American Wheat. You can still easily track down a Hefe at most German or European-style pubs around the world. One Tavour member favorite is Urban Chestnut’s Schnickelfritz.
So, if beer fans struggle to find a ‘Wheat Beer,’ remember — it’s no longer easy to find one by that name. Though, if it’s the chuggable, multifaceted wheat character you crave, just look at the ingredients on brewery websites. Wheat is now a part of so many beer styles; you’re likely drinking a ‘Wheat Beer’ more often than you realize!
Buckle-up hopheads! We’re about to take a delectable trip down IPA memory-lane.Coming to us from some of our favorite brew joints around the country, each of these hop-loaded delicacies sport their own level of craft fame. Some grace the pages of Thrillist, Vine Pair, Food & Wine, or the Beer Travel Guide. Others sport out-of-this-world scores on BeerAdvocate, Untappd, and Tavour! So, we’re highlighting a few juice-soaked sippers that have filled Tavour members’ crates and rattled the craft-o-sphere in the best way possible. Here are 10 of the most popular IPAs to ever hit the Tavour app.
Read MoreEvery beer nerd knows there’s a shortlist of Stouts that you can’t pass up. They’re the holiest of grails in the craft beer kingdom — brews that are hard to come by and are among the highest-rated anywhere. The beer nerds that use Tavour have very discerning tastes, and they know immediately when one of these beers stares them in the face. In fact, our members often snatch them all up with lightning speed, so we have to keep bringing them back! If you’re ever eager to try some of these top-rated Stouts, check out the app — you’re practically guaranteed to see these 8 fan favorite, Dark Beer diamonds at least once every year:
Read MoreRemember IBUs? The “International Bitterness Unit” once appeared on beer labels and bar menus everywhere as the globally agreed-upon measurement for how bitter a brew is. But, as you may have noticed, it’s become an increasingly rare sight over the past few years. In fact, there’s a chance you didn’t see a single IBU in your last craft beer delivery, or store trip. There’s a reason for that, and it has a lot to do with how far craft beer has progressed.
Read MorePick and choose your own beers, get them shipped right to your door