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Brewery and Country of Origin: Thunder River Beer of 313 Dousman Street, Green Bay, WI, 54303, USA

Date Reviewed: 9-04-12

It is a commonly held belief that bears are attracted to bee hives because they are obsessed with honey. While bears do occasionally express interest in satisfying their inner sweet tooth, they are actually usually more interested in eating the bee larvae which grow within the honeycomb. Sure, we all know about Winnie the Pooh, and his near clinical addiction to honey (which is probably a primary contribution to his apparent obesity), and we know that honey is sometimes sold in plastic squeeze bottles in the shape of bears. And even in Russia, where the bear is a national symbol, the russian word for bear (including many of the derivative languages stemming from roots in the Soviet Union), medved, means literally "honey eater." Interestingly enough, this can be relatable to the beer we have here. This is a wheat beer. And for an added touch of character, the brewers down at Thunder River in Green Bay, WI have decided to throw some honey into the mix. And though it would make sense that this beer should be quickly associated with honey, it turns out that there really isn't much honey like presence going on. So we're sorry, Bruin, but you and this beer are as closely related to honey, as french fries are as close to France.
Date Sampled: 8-31-12 At: 7 Prescott Place, Allston, Boston, MA, 02134, USA
Beer Style: American Pale Wheat
Alcohol by Volume: 4.20%
Serving Type: 12 oz Bottle, 16 oz Stange Glass
Rating: 2.57

Look

This is a slightly hazy beer with a light amber/dark gold color which glows somewhat in the light. This beer features a smooth pour with low carbonation action, giving it a very thin foam head with very little lacing.

Aroma

This beer has a biscuity aroma with some bread like notes accompanying a clove and wheat mixture. The aroma is light overall with some malty notes present in the biscuity bits, and almost no sweeter honey notes are present.

Feel

The Honey Wheat is a light bodied beer with a whispy or airy feel overall. A low weight with a low viscosity makes this a very easy drinking, easy going summer time/hot weather beer which should go well with the sun. The beer finishes with a dry, crisp finish.

Taste

This is a wheat like and malty beer with a bread like presence and malty flavor overall. This is a fairly strong tasting beer considering how light the rest of the beer is in terms of its feel. Unfortunately, there is almost no real honey presence detectable in the aroma or the general flavor. This beer finishes with a dry, bitter aftertaste with a low level of lingering.

Our Take

While the Honey Wheat is a respectable summer time beer, the reason why you pick this up off the shelves over all of the other hot weather beers out there, is because you are interested in what effect a little bit of injected honey has on a beer's overall experience. And unfortunately, this will not give you the answer you were looking for. Sure, this is a sweeter beer than many of the ales and bitters that make up many bars' and breweries' summer line-ups, but one can easily tell that this stems from a bit of sweeter detectable wheat, and a fair bit of malt. And it gets worse. Because if you were actually interested in the so-called unique experience of honey, look to your left, and look to your right. There are plenty of other beers out there which will satisfy your inner faux pooh... just not this one.