Crystal Wheat Beer
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Crystal Wheat BeerCrystal Wheat Beer
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From:
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
 
California, United States
Style:
American Pale Wheat Beer
ABV:
5%
Score:
81
Avg:
3.48 | pDev: 14.08%
Reviews:
23
Ratings:
31
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 25, 2016
Added:
Jan 03, 2003
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by mfrogs:
Photo of mfrogs
Reviewed by mfrogs from New York

2/5  rDev -42.5%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Had a taste on draft at The Gate in Brooklyn on a magically lovely summer evening. Unfortunately, the mood could not transform this beer which was disappointingly bland. Looked like Bud, had a weak and watery and lacked the character of a usual wheat beer or of a usual Sierra Nevada brew, for that matter...Don't bother.
Aug 18, 2006
More User Ratings:
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3.56/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Yellow beer, nice 3/5" white head. Great clarity for a wheat beer. Plenty of lemon like hop notes, wheat bread like.

Taste is super clean, refreshing, carbonated, fruity yeast. Plenty of lemon and other citrus notes. Cool summer beer, a little more hopped than average for style, nothing too exotic, mostly Cascades. I'd venture in the 30ibu range.

Pretty no frills and everything it does it does well.
May 25, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by popery from California

Jan 28, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by ThomasG19 from California

Aug 17, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by TireMan

Jun 03, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by furthurgone from California

Apr 03, 2012
 
 
Rated: 3.5 by John11486 from California

Feb 21, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by bob727 from Florida

Nov 21, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by litheum94 from California

Nov 16, 2011
Photo of Swimsum
Reviewed by Swimsum from Oregon

3.31/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
From notes taken in 2009. Served in an imperial pint glass at the brewery.

The body is a beautiful light golden color. There is a one finger bubbly white head that sits atop the liquid. As the name states, the body is crystal clear and a stream of bubbles can be seen in the middle of the body coming from the etched bottom. This causes the head to stay around for the whole session. Even with a constant head, no lacing is formed in the glass as this beer goes down though.

Not a lot going on here for me. Mostly just bready malts and a night floral hop presence.

Taste is much like the smell, not a lot going on. Slight hops with a lot of bready malt taste. The finish is nice and crisp. Wish I had spent a bit more time looking for flavors in this bee.

Pretty thin bodied with a good amount of carbonation. This goes down very easy. But at times seems a bit watery.

This is a pretty drinkable beer due to it being fairly light. With that said, there isn't a ton of flavor here either. I could easily see myself drinking a good amount of this if Pale Wheats were a style I liked more. I'm glad I got to this this because I don't know how far outside the brewery this gets distributed.
Jan 03, 2011
Photo of Eriktheipaman
Reviewed by Eriktheipaman from California

2.85/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Got this one from my girlfriends Dad who was just in Chico and able to bring some back.

The head was lacking which I though weird for a wheat beer. Super clear yellow color.

The smell is kinda strange as well and Ive been trying to put a better word to it for a minute or so but all I can come up with is urine.

The taste is a good bite of carbonation and slighttt malt as well as very slight hops.

Its a decent beer for what it is and I think they use it as their BMC alternative for people who visit the brewery.
Nov 23, 2010
Photo of Beerandraiderfan
Reviewed by Beerandraiderfan from Nevada

3.77/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Now released in bottles, Butte Co. only from what the dude at the brewery said.

A perennial favorite of mine, used to be drafthouse only as far as I knew, but then, bam, they have it in bottles at the brewery 2 weeks ago. Yellow pour, a limited amount of head and lace, but decent enough for style.

A bit of hops, lemon and clear, refreshing wheat feel. This was the first wheat beer I actually found good flavor in back in the day. Big citrus level in the style. Can tell its from SN. But they don't crush the skull with hops or alcohol, which is nice. You don't have to do that on every beer, nor should you. A little bit of banana, but nowhere near the amount in the kellerweis.

Overall, a much better option than Summerfest in my opinion.
Sep 30, 2010
Photo of Amalak
Reviewed by Amalak from New York

3.13/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
I had off the tap at a bar in Brooklyn. Gold color, clear, with some head and lace. Fairly bubbly. Had a slight wheat scent.

The taste was interesting: tart, tingly taste. Very dry aftertaste. Very interesting sweetness that I can't put my finger on. Not loving it as I drink it more.
Apr 21, 2010
Photo of donniecuffs
Reviewed by donniecuffs from New Jersey

3.68/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Poured a relatively clear straw yellow with a thin head, little carbonation, and decent lacing. The aroma revealed surprisingly little complexity for a wheat ale, with only lemon, pine, and a little bitterness present. The flavor was much better, with a little more woodiness and banana present, but it still didn't rank in the upper echelon of American wheat ales that I've had (Flying Fish Exit 11 comes to mind). The mouth feel was thin, and the finish was a little too bitter/dry, e.g. imbalanced. While this certainly was thin enough to session, the flavor was lacking.
Oct 02, 2009
Photo of ThreeWiseMen
Reviewed by ThreeWiseMen from California

2.91/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Ordered a pint of this at The Endzone in Chico a few nights ago. Review written from notes.

Served in a standard pint glass.

Appearance: (Crystal) clear gold body with loose, sticky, white head. Head dissipates to a thin film quickly, dragging nice, cobweb-like lacing in its wake. Light carbonation can be seen. What's it supposed to look like?

Smell: Faint wheat malt, lemon, and a touch of skunkiness.

Taste: Light and wheaty. Citrus (particularly lemon), spice, and pine needles also join in. That's about it; nothing special.

Mouthfeel: Light, crisp, generously carbonated, and clean.

Drinkability: I had heard a lot of good things about this beer, but this was like a lightly-sweetened, wheat Budweiser for me. Easy to drink, but very lame. I will revisit this one at the brewery sometime soon.
Jun 29, 2009
Photo of melagnus
Reviewed by melagnus from California

2.83/5  rDev -18.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4
A: Straw in color. No floating yeast and very clear; true to style. Little carbonation and no head, which was probably due to how it was poured. No lacing, though head retention was good post-swirl. Definitely an American interpretation of the beer!

S: Mild aroma. Noble hops were possibly used, though if so, not much. No real malt smell and very little hops coming off the beer.

Later, beer smelled bright and almost sweet. Could it be the wheat? Crisp!

T: Wheat taste finishes off with bitterness. The balance is very mild and doesn't seem to have a lot of flavor.

M: Smooth slightly wheaty, though nothing like the German versions (Kristalweizen) of the style.

D: Probably it's best trait; smooth and very drinkable.

C: I can't say I have ever fully appreciated a Crystal-style Wheat Beer like I have the non-filtered Hefeweizens, but nonetheless, this beer just strikes me as leaving a lot to be desired.

As a huge fan of SN, I definitely was disappointed in this one!
Apr 01, 2009
Photo of LilBeerDoctor
Reviewed by LilBeerDoctor from New York

3.26/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Reviewed on 9/3/08. On tap at BT. Pours a clear orange with a small white head. Aroma is weak, just some light sweet malt. Flavor of sweet malt, some light fruits, wheaty finish with bittering hops. Had a champagne-like spritziness. Not bad-- it was pretty tasty and drinkable.
6/4/7/3/14 (3.4/5)
Dec 23, 2008
Photo of Nickls
Reviewed by Nickls from District of Columbia

3/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
(From notes)

A - Clean light gold, with little head or even retention. No haziness or rising carbonation

S - Faint wheatiness; really have to try to tease out that it's a wheat based beer

T - Not very complex, and not very representative of the style. Lacks tartness and other characteristics (such as yeastiness) that are often associated with the style.

M - Light viscous body, with a little touch of carbonation

D - It's nice and light, but really doesn't deliver on the taste front.

Overall, I was confused as to what SN was trying to do with this brew. I wouldn't bash this brew, but would not go out of my way to recommend.
Sep 21, 2008
Photo of RblWthACoz
Reviewed by RblWthACoz from Pennsylvania

3.13/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Hate this style. Haaate it. Pours a slightly hazed gold amber. Thick white head falls fast. Flavor is acidic, bitter, and just wrong. Too much grain. Too much tang. Feel is boring and uninspiring. Man this beer is lame. Yet another reason I hate this style.
Sep 01, 2008
Crystal Wheat Beer from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 81 out of 100 with 31 ratings