A big dose of wheat in the grain-bill gives beers a soft fruit flavor and a refreshing zesty crispness. In other words: the perfect summer brew. Here are five favorite wheat beers to have in your fridge when the thirst strikes.
5 Wheat Beers to Try:
• Oberon Ale from Bell's Brewery: Orange and spice all up in here.
• A Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale from Lagunitas Brewing Company: Snappy fruits with lingering grassy hops.
• Festina Pêche from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery: Brewed with peaches and lip-smackingly tart.
• Dancing Man Wheat from New Glarus Brewing Company: Lots of traditional ripe banana, bubblegum, and toasted clove flavors with this one.
• Gumballhead from Three Floyds Brewing Co.: Lemony hops bounce around a big creamy yeasty fruity wheaty middle.
American wheat beers give a nod to traditional German hefeweizens and Belgian witbiers. They can veer toward the banana and clove flavors of the former or the coriander and orange character of the later, but don't always count on it. Many wheat beers forge ahead on their own path.
What is generally true is that wheat bears are made with roughly half wheat and half barley. With some stretching of the imagination, you can get a sense of fresh bread wheatiness beneath the citrus and fruit top-notes. Wheat beers are usually lightly hopped, giving the beer just enough herbal and grassy hop character to ensure a crisp finish. The wheat also gives beer a creamy, milkshake-like quality (especially when left unfiltered) with thick, sturdy head of foam.
What is your favorite wheat beer for summer sipping?
Related: Summer Ales & Winter Lagers: Why Are Beers Seasonal?
(Image: Flickr member stevendepolo licensed under Creative Commons)
How to Make Easy 3-Ingredient Energy Bars at Home
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Straw Mat from The ...
Must-See Small Cool Homes: Week Two
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
+1 for "orange and spice all up in here"! Bell's Oberon is a summer classic.
Ditto on the Sumpin' Sumpin'. Lagunitas never disappoints.
<3 Oberon. I went to college where Bells brewery is so very spring equinox when they release Oberon we would cut classes and have porch parties and drink Oberon. This stuff always takes me back.
Blanche de Chambly! (from Quebec)
21st Amendment in San Francisco has an awesome watermelon wheat beer as their summer seasonal. It's not sweet nor does it have that gross, cloying fake watermelon taste. It is my favorite.
Festina is a little off this year - just keeps on getting more and more artificial tasting, sadly. Still a good beer, but not a true sour.
Love me some Sumpin' Sumpin' as well.
We're getting ready to brew a coconut wheat beer, fermented with coconut water and then dry-coconutted. Had an experimental batch at Dogfish Head, and are going to try to re-create it at home. Good stuff!
Westbrook Brewery's White Thai is amazing. It has lemongrass and ginger root instead of the orange and coriander. Proudly brewed in SOUTH CAROLINA!!! http://westbrookbrewing.com/beers/year-round-beers/white-thai/
These mostly sound great, hope I see them around! Would love to try this White Thai, too. Sounds tasty.
Festina peche though - maybe I had an odd bottle, but I found it cloyingly sweet, not tart at all. It's the first Dogfish Head beer I've actually disliked, sadly.
Oberon is my absolute new favorite, it's delicious and light.
Another "yum" vote for Oberon.
Not my absolute favorite wheat beer, but darn good.
I live a mile from the brewery in K-zoo, and as the first poster mentioned, it is almost like a holiday in town when the beer hits the shelves.
Even us older folks have some porch parties and afternoons in the sun with a case (or a mini keg) of Oberon, and it is a sign summer is coming, even if it is still chilly and grey out when it is released.
Even better now the weather is perfect!
Kansas City has a local brew that makes an excellent wheat- Boulevard Brewing Co