Sunday, July 3, 2011

Wolaver's Wildflower Wheat Ale


If your wife/husband/roommate/frenemy came home one day and said "Hey! I brought home Wolaver's Wildflower Wheat!" what would you think they brought home?

a) a loaf of some new-age organic local fresh-baked bread
b) the new Yanni CD
c) a six-pack of beer

The correct answer is c. I hope you passed the test, because I would have failed if I didn't already know the answer.

Vermont's Own Wolaver's Fine Organic Ales (yes that is their full name - I guess they want you to know that they LOVE Vermont and that they produce FINE products) is located in Middlebury, VT and is somehow partnered with Otter Creek Brewing Company. I think they used to be all packaged under the OCBC label, but because Wolaver's possibly grew too big, they decided to spin them off to their own label (and website). From what I can gather, Wolaver's also brews four other beers, an IPA, brown ale, oatmeal stout, and a lemongrass curry lager. Oh, and all of their beers are organic, which appeals to green-minded people, both big and small.

The Wildflower Wheat Ale is named this because it is brewed with fucking flowers. This is a fact. Chamomile to be particular. Also, this beer is brewed with organic Vermont honey. You might now be asking yourself, "is this dude so wasted that he is reviewing an herbal tea on a beer blog?", which is a perfectly reasonable question to ask. But actually this beer is made with chamomile and honey, and it pulls a double-take on your taste buds, because you can really really taste the honey and chamomile, in addition to a slightly malty beer-y taste. I sometimes drink chamomile tea at work in the afternoon. I wonder if it is acceptable to stock my work fridge with this beer and drink that instead. If not, I might end up like this guy. Once you get over the herbal tea taste, its actually a pretty decent beer. But because it tastes like tea, I was expecting to get a little caffeine buzz, but instead I got a beer buzz, so I guess that makes me a winner. This beer is really light, so drink 'em down while you enjoy your crumpets. It is a paltry 4.25% ABV though, and runs $9 a six-pack (on sale, probably $10-11 normally), so the value isn't really there. The logo is kind of cool, it has a farmer with a pitchfork and a jug. I wish the jug had "XXX" written on it. The farmer reminds me of slavery though, so maybe Wolaver's should come up with a new picture for their label.

If you like herbal tea, and can get over the confusing taste, you might like to try this beer out. No hard feelings if you don't.

Drinkability: 7/10
Taste: 6/10
Value: 3/10
Curb Appeal: 5/10

Overall: 5.25/10

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