This is a late entry for Wheat Beer Week, originally intended for last Friday. But I was out of town without internet access so I’m running it today.

Another beer from Pyramid Brewing; this Crystal Wheat Ale is fairly recent I think—there’s nothing about it on their website—and according to the bottled it’s based on their original Wheaten Ale that they first brewed in 1984. (Indeed this was one of their first beers ever.)

It’s 5% alcohol and is a good all-around summertime beer.

Appearance: Very clear, golden in color, but a fizzy, thin head that didn’t last.

Smell: Surprisingly, hops are the first thing I notice, spicy and a bit green. Then there’s a bread dough character below that, but overall it’s fairly clean.

Taste: Crisp, very clean and has a bite. Oddly enough, it reminds me more of an American Macro Lager, only done well—there’s a bit of sweet corn, nice grassy wheat notes, and lightly toasted malts.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied and very, very clean on the palate. Nice edge to it, too.

Overall: Refreshing, enjoyable to drink, a definite win in my book.

On BeerAdvocate, with only nine reviews it scores a B grade. On RateBeer, it scores 2.85 out of 5, and is in their 32nd percentile.