Southern Tier Raspberry Wheat

Brewed By: Southern Tier Brewing Company in Lakewood, New York

Purchased: 6-Pack from Friar Tuck's in Urbana, IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Fruit Beer/Wheat Ale, 4.9%

When you think about summer beers you think light, fresh, refreshing; fruit and wheat beers certainly come to mind. Southern Tier’s Raspberry Wheat isn’t the first wheat-fruit hybrid I have encountered, but it is my first raspberry wheat beer. I grew up on a steady diet of raspberries; fresh, legit, straight out of the garden raspberries. My grandma grew her own raspberries, she made raspberry wine, she put raspberry syrup in her tea, she put raspberries in ice cream, and she made me pick the damn things on hot summer days. The point is, I love and know raspberries, and I enjoy fruity wheat beers.

But don’t get caught up in semantics. The gimmick is that this is an American Wheat, not a German Wheat. When you think German Wheat you think Hefeweizen and your brain radiates to bananas, grass and funk. This beer should be more along the lines of Bell’s Oberon or Sam Adam’s Summer Ale. So don’t expect bananas.

The beer pours with almost no head. The head that is present is white. The body of the beer is pale-yellow or gold, and looks very much like a pilsner. There is a moderate amount of rising bubbles which can be seen through this nearly transparent beer. This beer must be filtered, because it is incredibly clear. Right out of the gate I get lots of raspberries on the nose. It's not an artificial raspberry smell, but it is slightly medicinal. Raspberry really dominates the nose, with maybe a hint of wheat but it is hard to tell. 

Grainy wheat, raspberries, and carbonation are the first three words I would use to describe the body. There isn't a whole lot going on here, and there may even be hints of oxidation. The bottle claims this is a "Malt beverage brewed with raspberries," and that it utilizes two varities of hops and two varieties of malts. There is some malty smoothness in the body, which combined with the carbonation pop and the light body of this beer make this very very drinkable.

The mouthfeel is thin; the body is very light. The beer does not linger, as you get refreshing raspberries and carbonation on the front end, some malt in the middle, and a sudden drop off. Where did you go, beer? On the plus side this is pretty damn refreshing.  At 4.9%, this beer is incredibly drinkable. It is light, refreshing, and finds a nice balance between malty and carbonated.

Rating: Below-Average

Score: 50%

Le Conclusion: I'm kind of conflicted on this one, because it was refreshing and drinkable and would make an okay lawnmower beer...but this is clearly more of a malt beverage than a "wheat" anything. The bottle clearly advertises "wheat" and "raspberry" as well, and in those two realms this beer fell short.

Straddling the line between average and below-average, ultimately this beer failed as a vehicle for raspberries and as an example of a Wheat Ale. What we have here is a thin, quenching malt beverage with some raspberry notes. This is a beer you might consider downing after mowing your lawn, or a beer to drink when you want to drink 6 beers. But a 6-pack of this was around 8 or 9 bucks. At that price, you might want to try a different raspberry wheat. There are better fruit beers out there, better raspberry beers, and better wheat ales.