Na Zdravi !: Watermelon Wheat Ale

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Watermelon Wheat Ale

"A refreshing watermelon ale that combines our Harvest Wheat with natural watermelon essence for exemplary aromatics while maintaining a light, crisp and refreshing flavors. Brewed with a combination of wheat and crystal malts; unfiltered."

Big fruit presence both on the nose and taste buds. For a flavored beer, this is pretty darned good. Imagine it would be even better if it were a 100+ degree central valley mid-July day rather than a couple days before Christmas.
Light, very drinkable, and a clean finish.

5% ABV

Na Zdravi!

A 10-second take.
Not really reviews, just my way to keep track of the beers I've tried.

My mother's family is Czech. They emigrated from Bohemia and settled in Nebraska in the mid-1800s.
They were from the region that included the town Pilzen (Pilsen) where a brewery called Měšťanský pivovar Plzeň, now Pilsner Urquell (Plzeňský Prazdroj in Czech), started brewing a uniquely Bohemian-style beer we now know as pilsner.
So, as I raise a glass in honor of my Bohemian roots ...

Na Zdravi! (to your health).

Hops?

A "hop" is the cone shaped resinous flower of the female hop plant. It is used in brewing to add bitterness, flavor, aroma, and stability depending on when it is added.

Hops are one of the 4 basic ingredients of beer although they are not esential in the brewing process. The are used simply to add flavor and complexity to the brew.
Double and even triple IPA's feature an extreme amount of hops, and an ABV to match.
Noble Hops - The traditional varieties of hops that were used to make early European beers. Medieval brewers used Hallertau, Saaz, Spalt, and/or Tettnang hops. All are from Germany except Saaz from the Czech Republic (Žatec in Czech). All are still used today.