Shipwrecked Brewing Company – Cherry Wheat Ale

Shipwrecked Brewing Company

 Egg Harbor, WI (Door County)

 www.shipwreckedmicrobrew.com

Cherry Wheat Ale

IBU – Unavailable

ABV – Unavailable

When I read that Shipwrecked Brewing Company’s Cherry Wheat Ale is brewed with fresh Door County cherry juice I was a bit frightened. We were just up in that neighborhood camping last week and we ate cherries until we nearly burst. That said, I know just how sweet they can be. The thought of a beer with that sweetness made me cringe. Wine coolers should be sweet. Beer should taste like the malt, the wheat or the hops with just a hint of other flavor. This is my opinion anyway, but it is why I don’t drink a lot of those fruit/wheat beers. Sorry.

 Have I rambled long enough? Good. Let’s move on.

 I poured my glass of Cherry Wheat Ale. It was golden in color, though I swear my eye caught the slightest bit of red. I could be imagining things. Now that I’m getting older, my mind tends to wander.

It had a nice white head that was about an inch thick and it seemed to linger a while and caused me to get bit of a “beer foam mustache”.

 Cherry Wheat Ale smells malty with a strong cherry aroma. The first thought to pop into my head was Kool-Aid. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Trust me…some of my fondest childhood memories involve an ice cold glass of Kool-aid.

 The first sip was sort of odd. I was expecting and even dreading a ridiculously sweet, cherry flavored beer, but the first thing to hit my tongue wasn’t cherry at all, but a pleasant sweetness, a bit of the sort of rich wheat flavor that sometimes is reminiscent of banana…and the slightest hint of cherry that seemed to sneak in the backdoor.

In case you couldn’t tell from my babbling at the start of this, I don’t care much for Fruit/wheat concoctions. However, Shipwrecked Brewing’s Cherry Wheat Ale was enjoyable and was actually a pleasant surprise. I’d say it’s probably a 3 and a half star beer as I’m not sure that I would have another…I’d much rather have a pint of the Shipwrecked IPA or even their Peninsula Porter, but I think Cherry Wheat Ale is a good beer.

Cheers.

Josh Frank

Shipwrecked Brewing Company – Bayside Blonde Ale

Shipwrecked's Bayside Blonde Ale

 

Shipwrecked Brewing Company

Egg Harbor, WI (Door County)

 

Bayside Blonde Ale

 

ABV – unavailable

IBU- unavailable

 

 

This lovely blonde ale is brewed by Door County Wisconsin’s only brew pub. For some, being the only game in town might make you a bit complacent, but not these guys. I’ll go into some of Shipwrecked’s other offering over the coming days and weeks, but you can be sure that when you grab a pint of shipwrecked ale, they’re brewing their very best for you.

 I don’t drink many blonde ales. I’ll say that up front. So maybe I’m not the best judge of this style.

 As I poured the golden, yellow ale into one of my many Great Lakes Brewfest souvenir glasses, I was honestly expecting not to like it. I was hoping that at best, I could give a fair review.

 I held the glass to my nose…then took a few seconds to watch as the white head quickly dissipated. I took another whiff and found the aroma to be sweet and malty.

 Bayside Blonde is crisp, clean and nicely carbonated. It’s sweet with the slightest bit of bitterness at the finish. This ale goes down nice and easy…seems like it would make a great session ale.

 As I mentioned at the beginning, I don’t make a habit of chasing blondes. It’s just not my style, but this ale makes me think that maybe I should give blonde ales another chance.

 I’d say that Shipwrecked Brewing Company’s Bayside Blonde is a 4 star example of just how great a blonde can be.

 

Cheers.

 

Josh Frank

jfrank2264@gmail.com