Introducting Amstel Wheat: The Bier Drinker's Wheat

Last week I had the fantastic opportunity to attend the product launch event from the Amstel portfolio - Amstel Wheat (Disclosure: Heineken USA is one of our clients). The new beer was introduced just this month in select on-premise accounts in cities across the US, including New York, Boston, Providence, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis and San Francisco. 

The event was held at the Back Boy Social Club in Boston, where I unfortunately missed an Amstel Light and cheese pairing, along with a significant chunk of draught specialist Mark Lang's Amstel Wheat tasting session, due to one extremely late arriving bus (darn you, Greyhound!). But I did still have plenty of time to enjoy a couple of steins of the new Amstel Wheat paired with a light, flavorful dinner menu. But first, let me recap some of Mark's tasting notes.

Mark broke down the idea of tasting a beer into what he describes as The Five S's: See, Swirl, Smell, Sip, Swallow. Upon implementing all of these steps, you'll realize that Amstel Wheat is certainly an accessible and authentic European wheat beer. 

See: The beer has a great golden color and is slightly cloudy, as you would come to expect from this style of unfiltered wheat beer.

Swirl: How does one describe a swirl? I'll just hope you're playing along at home! 

Amstel Wheat pairs seamlessly with seafood, chicken and  light vegetarian entrees, such as this Fettuccine with Portobello Mushrooms.

Smell: On the nose, I found the Amstel Wheat to have a bountiful amount of citrus notes. 

Sip: This new beer definitely has yeasty flavors when you take your first sip, but I also happened to get a lot of peppery spice up front, too. 

Swallow: Coming in at a low 4.5% abv, Amstel Wheat has what can be described as a very floral finish. It really cleans the palate nicely before heading in for that next wonderful sip! 

Here are some other interesting tidbits I learned about Amstel Wheat throughout the evening:  the beer has a low IBU (International Bittering Units) of 11 and one 12 oz serving has 135 calories.

Dessert at the Back Bay Social Club with an Amstel Wheat beer.

Next time you're out in one of the aforementioned cities, see if your favorite watering hole is carrying Amstel Wheat and give this new brew a try for yourself. The beer is light, accessible and easy to drink and certainly will not disappoint Wheat Beer fans! 

Cheers!
SJ

An Old Style Beer at a Historic Ballpark

Nothing speaks summer in the U.S. like baseball. And, at one of America’s quintessential ballparks, nothing speaks a day at Wrigley Field like kicking back with the local brew, Old Style Lager.

For those of you who have not yet been to Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, it is a stunning ballpark. Drenched in history and covered with ivy, it is cherished by loyal fans for its attentiveness to and pride in everything local and everything historic.

Enter Old Style Lager. First appearing in stores back in 1902 – even before Wrigley Field was constructed on Chicago’s North Side in 1914 – Old Style has seen very few changes since. The lager goes through a double fermentation process called kraeusening (pronounced kroi-zen-ing) and is explained on Old Style’s web site as so:

“Kraeusening is an additional step we take in the brewing process that brings extra carbonation and a complex richness to this premium beer. Doubly aromatic and singularly intricate in taste, Old Style now has more body and more flavor with a cleaner finish.”

I got to make my second ever trip (with, hopefully, many more to come!) to Wrigley a few weeks ago and of course imbibed in several Old Style Lagers. And, for my (unofficial) review of it: Will I be drinking this while sitting and watching a baseball game on a beautiful summer afternoon? You bet. Will I be picking up a six-pack to take home for the evening? Probably not. Without the backdrop of Wrigley, and the baseball game, and the soft pretzels, and the sunshine…well, it is a pretty forgettable beer. It’s light, slightly watery, and doesn’t really pack the punch with the hops that I traditionally enjoy in my beer.

With that said, I can still assure you that even with the new premium beer options introduced to Wrigley fans, I’ll still be ordering an Old Style when I catch my next Cubs game.

Cheers!