Okay, it’s confession time. There are some beers that I’ll drink even though they go against most everything I believe in when it comes to beer. Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy is a great example, as it combines an uninspired wheat beer (not my favorite style) with lemonade (don’t fruit the beer!) to create a summertime treat I adore. It’s a guilty pleasure, one I look forward to as the weather warms. It probably has something to do with when I first had it (beautiful summer night in the Wisconsin Dells on vacation with the family and eating a good meal on a breezy patio). Anyway, it gets past all my hang ups and notions about what beer should be and finds a home in the beer fridge every summer.
But now there’s a new sheriff in town: Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. It’s like Summer Shandy turned up to 11. Better wheat beer? Check. Sweeter cherry flavor? Check. Don’t feel like a tool drinking it? (surprisingly) Check. It’s the new lawnmower special at my house.
I didn't think to take a picture of this beer, so I've created this highly scientific diagram to tell the flavor story. Hope it's not too complicated.
This beer got on my radar, because I had brewed a wheat beer with the intention of creating my own, superior version of Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy. But with 5 gallons to play with, I also started thinking about doing another flavored version with a gallon or two. My wife suggested cherry, and the next day I saw Sam Adams Cherry Wheat at the beer store. I didn’t get it then, but it kinda stuck in the back of my head.
Anyway, I totally chickened out fruiting my own wheat beer. I didn’t order the cherry extract in time, and the thought of adding sugary lemonade to my beer sounded fool hearty. It’s only my second brew and the first time I ever bottled, so I was certain that I’d over carbonate my bottles and then – BLAMMO – lemon lined walls in the garage. I decided to bottle the wheat straight and add the lemonade to my glass, which is how most Shandy’s are done anyway. Hopefully the garage walls will be better off for it.
Brewer. Patriot. Fruity Beer Guy.
But I had developed a hankering for Cherry Wheat, so I picked up a six of Sam’s for bottling day. And it was a taste treat. Delicious, sweet, crisp, and clean. It was a warm and beautiful day, and there’s something about sunshine hitting your skin while this beer is hitting your tongue that’s irresistible (at least to me).
I’m not going to go into great detail here as to what the beer was like. I didn’t even take a picture of it, as I didn’t think I’d be sharing my guilty pleasure. In a nutshell, It’s a well crafted wheat beer with a strong cherry nose, a strong cherry taste and a super clean finish. It’s enough of a beer to avoid the sensation that you’re drinking cherry Kool-Aid, but just barely. It’s a delightful summer sessional and one that I intend to enjoy on hot summer afternoons.
So there’s my confession. I like fruity wheat beers. Shout it from the rooftops. I feel so liberated!!
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
Now you’ve gone and done it…You are a fruity beer nerd! I knew you were headed that way back in September of ’09 when you did that review of Dogfish head’s black and blue. Here is the link in case you forgot: https://beerandwhiskeybros.com/2009/08/25/black-blue-and-confused/
You were on a slippery slope back then and now you a fully fruit infused beer drinkin junkie! I say good on you! Let your freak flag fly brother!
Enjoy your guilty pleasure, that’s why they make it.
It’s sooo tasty! I also love DFH Forte (a raspberry beer) and Troeg’s Mad Elf (honey and cherries) so maybe I am a fruity beer nerd. But that’s okay, right?
I think it’s funny how I’m so resolute in my thoughts about beer until I taste something I like that doesn’t fit into my worldview. Then I just make an exception. I guess it’s the silver lining of being an Idiot (with a capital “I”), you become very comfortable with being wrong!
I have some nice Berry Weiss with your name on it, Jim. And maybe some of that other stuff you like, what is it? Oh, Wild Blue… you like that… it’s 8%…
I’ll have to stop in and be educated in the way of the fruity fru fru beers.
Just keep your education in that department to yourself! Hahaha! Just kidding… I probably won’t taste too much of that sweet stuff.
It’s kinda funny how I mostly like the cheap sweet stuff. Sorta like getting into cigars and gravitating towards White Owls.
I thought I had tried this beer at one point but couldn’t remember – so I dug around and yes, I did!
While I didn’t hate it, the beer didn’t thrill me either. I think it was partly because I was still recovering from my Strawberry beer tastings (Don will agree) that shook my faith in what brewers sometimes try to pull off!
Don’t fret Jim. I’ll admit that I’m going to give the Summer Shandy a try this year based on your recommendation, and I’m also thinking about trying the Sam Adams Blackberry Wheat. Ever have that one?
The thing that’s remarkable here Scott is that this is not a great beer, but one that nailed my sweet spot. I really enjoyed it as a guilty pleasure (for a beer nerd) and totally understand that the rest of the world is kinda “meh” about it.
I’m interested on your take of Summer Shandy. I recommend trying it for the first time on vacation in Wisconsin (the home of Leinenkugel’s), on a breezy and warm summer evening. It’s also best if you’ve never heard of it before and have no expectations of what you’re about to drink. This way you can be pleasantly surprised. I recommend making all of your travel arrangements and then getting kicked in the head by a donkey. Once you’ve had the Leinie’s, repeat the kick to set your brain back to normal, just like the cartoons. Viola!
I’m on the same train. In fact, SA Cherry Wheat was one of my favorite beers while I was still peeking into beer geek territory but into the craft beer world like I have been for the past year.
Somebody made a post about it a month or two on a non-beer website talking about how he liked it and of course the “no fruit in beer” crowd went crazy.
When I mentioned that I thought it was a good beer and that most of the negative crowd probably drank Bud Light as their “real beers” I had a guy tell me how drinking fruit flavored beer makes me a pansy and that he’ll take his Two Hearted Ale any day.
I pointed out first of all that if his measure of a man is what he drinks he’s not much of a man and asked him how he liked the citrusy flavors that came from his manly Two Hearted Ale. Never heard back from him.
Sorry for rambling. Bottom line is I’m totally cool with fruit beers even if they’re not my favorite. I’ve also tried the SA Blackberry Witbier and though it was good and Founder’s Cerise is pretty decent too. The New Glarus Cherry Stout was outrageously good but my favorite fruit infused beer is hands down the Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad.
Cheers guys!
I tend to pause before buying a fruited beer, unless it’s from Dogfish Head or New Glarus. For some reason those are manly and good and not too fu-fu. And I hear you about the “no fruit” crowd. Eventually they’ll get sick of drinking the same old stuff and come around (at least you’d hope, right?). I wonder what they’d say about sours.
I’m more likely to buy something with cherries because it’s pretty much my favorite fruit flavor whether it’s yogurt or malts or whatever and you can have some pretty good cherry flavors without it coming off as a “fruit beer”.
New Glarus’s Cherry Porter comes to mind, Tyranena’s Doubly Blessed CherryPorter and my favorite of them all is Boulevard’s Bourbon Barrel Quad.
Either way, like I keep telling people on both sides of the debate, if YOU like it then it’s a good beer.
Oh, and I just had the Aprihop a week ago from DFH and it was fantastic! Reminded me of Town Hall’s Mango Mama which is right up there for my favorite fruit flavored/infused beer.
Yeah, and it was manly, too! That’s a great beer. Those guys are nuts at DFH, and it’s wonderful. I can’t wait to taste what they’re brewing up in collaboration with Victory and Stone!
Whatever it is, I hope I can get some in Minnesota!