American Wheat Beer

A pale, refreshing grainy, doughy, or bready wheat beer with a clean fermentation profile and a variable hop character and bitterness. Its lighter body and higher carbonation contribute to its easy-drinking nature.

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Approximate color illustration of American Wheat Beer

3–6 SRM

Parameter ranges

Alcohol · ABV

4–5.5%

Bitterness · IBU

15–30

Color · SRM

3–6

Original gravity · OG

1.040–1.055

Final gravity · FG

1.008–1.013

Ranges describe a style, not an individual beer. Color is an approximation. Light and glassware change its appearance.

Appearance

Usually pale yellow to gold. Clarity may range from brilliant to hazy with yeast approximating a Weissbier. Big, long-lasting white head.

Aroma

Low to moderate grainy, bready, or doughy wheat character. A light to moderate malty sweetness is acceptable. Moderate esters optional, usually a neutral profile; banana is inappropriate. Low to moderate citrusy, spicy, floral, or fruity hop aroma. Not typically dry-hopped. No clove phenols.

Flavor

Light to moderately-strong bready, doughy, or grainy wheat flavor, which can linger into the finish. May have a moderate malty sweetness or can finish quite dry and crisp. Low to moderate hop bitterness, sometimes lasting into the finish. Balance is usually even, but may be slightly bitter. Low to moderate citrusy, spicy, floral, or fruity hop flavor. Moderate esters optional. No banana. No clove phenols.

Mouthfeel

Medium-light to medium body. Medium-high to high carbonation. Slight creaminess is optional; wheat beers sometimes have a soft, ‘fluffy’ impression.

Notes

Different variations exist, from an easy-drinking fairly sweet beer to a dry, aggressively-hopped beer with a strong wheat flavor. American Rye beers are covered under Alternative Grain Beer.

History

An American craft beer adaptation of the Weissbier style using a cleaner yeast and more hops, first produced by Anchor in 1984 and later widely popularized by Widmer.

Characteristic ingredients

Clean American ale or lager yeast. German Weissbier yeast is inappropriate. Wheat malt (often 30–50%, lower than is typical in Weissbier). American, German, or New World hops.

Style comparison

More hop character and less yeast character than Weissbier. Never with the banana and clove character of Weissbier. Generally has the same range and balance as Blonde Ales, but with a wheat character as the primary malt flavor.