Out to dinner the other night at the always excellent Zydeco in Bend, I tried a beer I had not had before: New Belgium Brewing‘s Sunshine Wheat. I wasn’t totally sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised—it was spiced with coriander and orange peel, very much in the style of a Belgian witbier (or white beer). (I thought it was a bit odd that there was a wedge of orange—instead of lemon—on the rim of the glass, until I tasted the beer and realized what it was.)

It was very good, though I might be biased because I really like coriander in beer in the witbier style—which is odd since I’ve only had maybe two or three other beers like that. It’s a perfect summertime beer, New Belgium has another winner (I’ve yet to try a beer of theirs that I didn’t like). I’m keeping an eye out for it in the store.

BeerAdvocate gives it an overall score of 80, with mostly average reviews; clearly it’s not a style for everybody, but it’s also hard to go wrong trying it out. If you like wheat or lighter beers in general, check this out.