Harvest Dance Wheat Wine

Harvest Dance Wheat Wine

And Krampus

“Harvest Dance Wheat Wine” from Boulevard Beers is one of those wheaty, fruity beers I don't normally prefer. As one might gather from the frequency with which Russian Imperial Stout appears in this blog, I'm a black beer guy. I'm not close-minded about other types of beer, though- I enjoy a lot of different flavors. This week I decided to try the wheat wine, just to introduce a little variety.

The impression I had on my first sip is that this was a very good beer. Yes, it does taste kind of fruity, but the flavors are nicely balanced and very pleasant. The only bad side, and I think it's typical of this type of beer, is that it's also very foamy. This makes it a heavy beer when you try to drink more than half a pint of it, and as it gets heavier and heavier, the flavor also becomes cloying.

 

If you want to really enjoy this beer, I would suggest drinking only a small glass of it at any one sitting. That way you'll get the most of the fruit flavors without being overwhelmed by them.

 

I also tried out “Krampus,” a beer named after a sort of Anti-Santa of European folklore. Krampus is supposed to have a goatlike appearance, and a stick with which to beat naughty little boys and girls. Well, I must have done something wrong, because drinking this beer was a little too much like getting beaten up by an evil goat monster. Which is just my way of saying that Krampus is a really disgusting beer, and I would avoid it if I was you. Brewers of America, “intensity” and “character” are not always the same thing! The art of brewing is about balancing the different flavors, not walloping me about the head with one or two of them just so you can say your beer is “in my face”!