Hoosier Honey Wheat - Bee Creek Brewery

aasher

Indiana

3.95/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured out of a 12oz bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: Golden in color and very transparent. Good amount of carbonation, fizzy.

Smell: Smells very sweet and of honey, very slight yeast smell on the backend

Taste: Very good flavor. For a comparison I'd say it's similar to Gumballhead from 3 Floyd's, but sweeter. It's sweet and the presence of honey is very noticeable. One of the guys I was with said it reminded him of some kind of bubblegum.

Mouthfeel: Crisp. Is very light and carbonated. It's almost like drinking a soda.

Drinkability: Is highly drinkable. Is both flavorful and light. The 7% may surprise and isn't overly present.

I really enjoyed this beer. It was something new and had a higher alcohol content than most other Pale Wheat Ales. I really appreciated how genuine this interpretation on the Pale Wheat was. I'd recommend picking up this six pack if you can. It's a good summer session beer with a subtle kick.

Edit: After having this beer several times I can say that there is a lot of "batch" variation. Now it seems to feature more honey that it did initially and doesn't feature the hoppiness it used to. I officially retract my statement that it's anything like Gumballhead since the first batches of this are superior to today's product.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2010 13:42:24 | More by aasher

MSandahl23

Indiana

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%

12-14-2012 06:15:51 | More by MSandahl23

JKIRBY

Wisconsin

3.25/5  rDev -14.7%

11-24-2012 17:23:17 | More by JKIRBY

bzach

Indiana

3.25/5  rDev -14.7%

10-21-2012 05:14:17 | More by bzach

Yesdog

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%

08-18-2012 02:03:21 | More by Yesdog

MichaelBurns

Indiana

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%

07-24-2012 19:27:35 | More by MichaelBurns

mbp2679

4/5  rDev +5%

04-04-2012 23:10:03 | More by mbp2679

quintonmaximoff

Indiana

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%

01-31-2012 23:13:12 | More by quintonmaximoff

freewill35

Indiana

4/5  rDev +5%

01-28-2012 21:58:58 | More by freewill35

beerme626

Kentucky

3/5  rDev -21.3%

01-15-2012 22:40:03 | More by beerme626

IdrinkGas

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -21.3%

01-04-2012 01:17:27 | More by IdrinkGas

Jason

Massachusetts

4.22/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz brown bottle with no freshness date.

LOOK: Pale amber, clear with a thick head on top

SMELL: Alcohol, ripe plantains, bandaids, powdered clove, citric rind, taffy, pound cake

TASTE: Smooth, bigger body, malt sweetness, bready, grainy, ripe fruit, fruit cake, banana pudding, spicy, medicinal, white chocolate

Holy bananas! This beer came out of left field ... did not anticipate this, it is not like I had lower than expected hopes for this beer. Great taming of the German wheat yeast, alcoholic yet not anything crazy which keeps the drinkability in check in a good but deceiving way. Amazing.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2011 01:30:55 | More by Jason

1Adam12

Indiana

3.53/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Yellow orangish color, small head. Smells of wheat, honey, bananas, oranges, and yeast. Tastes very yeasty, but I can really taste the honey as well. Taste finishes with banana. Weak finish, but tastes nice anyway. Very light with quite a bit of carbonation. Not bad. Not particularly special, but not bad.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2011 22:59:57 | More by 1Adam12

richkrull

Wisconsin

3.88/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Got this as an extra from my buddy SuperNova777.

Poured a cloudy golden yellow color. Not much head at all.

Smell is malt, wheat and yeast. Not too bad.

Taste is full of honey. Good malt flavor.

Mouthfeel is light and refreshing. Maybe a little overcarbonated for my likely. Very bubbly.

Overall a pretty good beer. I wouldn't mind drinking it again.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2011 00:31:16 | More by richkrull

ncmussell

Minnesota

3.93/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle received as an extra in trade. Nice one finger white foamy head. Smells likes a hefeweizen and frankly tastes like one too. Nice clove and banana on the nose. A little honey but not a ton. I think this is actually really well done and I would definitely seek out more in the future. The German yeast really shows through here that differentiates it from your normal american wheat.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2011 21:56:37 | More by ncmussell

mpcrump

Indiana

4/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from bottle into pint glass.

A: Pours a light golden color, decent head that dissapated quickly, fair amount of carbonation, some sediment.

S: Very light aroma - not over powering as well as light smells of clove, some fruit, and a hint of honey.

T: Wheat, clove, banana, citrus, and a hint of honey as well. The ABV is slightly noticeable.

M: Medium to light. Good carbonation.

O: I tend to really like wheat beers on hot days when I'm really thirsty. This one can work but the alchohol is a bit higher than most. Pretty good stuff though.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2011 02:30:46 | More by mpcrump

HosP

Indiana

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Heard about this but finally found one on the shelf. 12 oz bottle into pint glass.

A- Pours hazy golden color. Some sediment at the bottom. Fluffy white head that retains well.

A- Interesting nose. Sweet smell with hints of banana and citrus back and forth. Some spice comes at the end.

T- Sweet taste up front. A little banana and honey tastes are present, but stay to the background. Some citrus hop flavors in the middle. Nice bitterness to cut the sweetness. Got a lot of carbonation that took away from the flavors though.

M- Medium body, but pretty light. Over carbonated that brought down the beer.

D- The flavors were different and nice. Take out the carbonation factor and it would have been a much better beer with the flavors going together nicely. Hope to pick up some more of this to try it out again.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2011 01:34:48 | More by HosP

BrewerB

California

3.03/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Thanks to aasher for sending me this brew. Great to sample from brewery I've yet to try.

Label states 7.5% ABV, slightly above what's listed here.

Pours a slightly hazy, medium golden color with yellow highlights. 1-2 finger off-white head formed densely but didn't retain well. Nose of bananas, cloves, and lavender with the yeast-driven phenolics being most prominent. More of the banana character making its way to the palette. Hop bitterness is medium-light and a medium finish borders on lightly sweet. Medium-full in bodied with a moderate-high carbonation, nearly spritzy.

Overall a moderately refreshing wheat ale though I don't feel this fits the style well due to an overwhelming presence of non-American yeast character.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2011 03:55:08 | More by BrewerB

lsrose

Indiana

3.63/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Purchased on 5/6/11. No date to be found, but bottle clearly labeled 7.5% ABV rather than 7.0%.

A - Beer had a lot of sediment at the bottom. I was unsure if this was yeast or added honey so I swirled it around to free it up. This left it with an opaque hazy golden color. Otherwise it might have been a clear golden lager color. It poured a bright white head that left a solid coating.

S - Bananas, and then maybe some honey flavored bananas?

T - Again, a lot of banana taste and some honey.

This beer is very drinkable for 7.5%. Just too much banana flavor though for me. Was really hoping for more honey kick. Does make a nice local beer to try. I want to try their coffee stout as well and almost snagged it too.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2011 03:03:52 | More by lsrose

RunForYourBeer

Indiana

4/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours a light golden color that has a think white head and shows lots of carbonation bubbles.

S: Smells of clove, banana, and some honey.

T: Follows the smell for the most part. Lots of clove and banana with a bit of citrus.

M: Medium with some nice carbonation.

D: Medium to high.

The honey is not overpowering here, but adds a nice bit of sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2011 04:42:17 | More by RunForYourBeer

nickd717

California

3.7/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Finally tracked down this whale thanks to aasher.

Pours a hazy golden color with a fairly effervescent white head which stops short of totally disappearing.

Very nice aroma of hefeweizen yeast (banana, citrus, and clove), wheat, honey, sweet malt, and floral notes. I can believe they used Weihenstephan yeast here.

The flavor is good, although the alcohol comes through a little more than I'd like. Behind that are honey, wheat, and lots of orange. Banana and clove on the finish.

Medium-light bodied, as it should be, and a little on the boozy side.

This is pretty nice for a wheat ale overall, but I'll take an actual Weihenstephan beer over what they've created from the yeast here.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2011 04:44:44 | More by nickd717

PDXHops

South Carolina

3.95/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle courtesy of Ryan011235, poured into a Duvel tulip. Cloudy gold body with lazy carbonation and white head that's little more than a skim, but it does leave some scattered lacing.

The beer's description and the hearty dose of banana and clove suggest this isn't necessarily an 'American Pale Wheat Ale' (per BAs description) at all, but some sort of hybrid. A darn tasty one, too. Tastes more or less just like it smells: full of banana, cloves and wheat, with a certain yeastiness and a fair amount of fruit- apple, pear, perhaps something else from the orchard. Just a touch of honeyish sweetness. The feel is on the thick side of medium, but the carbonation is more than enough to keep things moving along. The lack of booziness makes this one potentially dangerous.

Overall impression: Easy recommendation for one of those local gems that never would have been on my radar. The appearance rating drags my overall score down a notch or 2, but let the record show this one was quite enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2010 17:52:50 | More by PDXHops

Gosox8787

New Hampshire

3.7/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Presentation: 12 oz. bottle poured into a Sam Adams perfect pint glass. Served at room temperature.

Appearance: Cloudy golden yellow in color with a two and a half finger pillowy white head. Really good retention.

Aroma: Bananna, a touch of citrus and some breadiness in the aroma. Very sweet but not overpowering.

Taste: Bananna and honey upfront. The honey is actually very nice and not overpowering or cloying at all. A little touch of citrus in there too. Clean and refreshing finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and crisp. Works nicely with the refreshing aspect of this beer.

Drinkability: Very smooth for the ABV, but the ABV is high for this style and makes me think I would stop at a couple.

Overall, a nice clean interpretation of the style. The honey is really nice. Not something that will blow you away, but all around solid.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2010 00:48:04 | More by Gosox8787

cadizkyguy

Kentucky

4.38/5  rDev +15%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A very unique brew from Bee Creek Brewery of Brazil, Indiana -- a small town just outside of Terre Haute, IN where I picked up a six pack at Bourbon & Canal, a beer and wine store two weeks ago.

This beer looks and smells like Three Floyd's Gumballhead on steroids.. Not a wimpy beer at all. The addition of honey also reminds me of Bell's Hoplam, minus the intense hop kick, but with a 7 percent ABV that is up front and bites back.

According to the Bee Creek website, this is Bee Creek's signature beer..

"The use of Weihenstephan Weizen yeast gives this wheat beer a hint of clover, orange, and banana flavors that blends well with the added wheat malt to produce a crisp, refreshing ale perfect for any time of year."

I say "great job" Bee Creek. Looking forward to trying your other brews.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2010 04:57:05 | More by cadizkyguy

Lukafer

Indiana

4.33/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

Pours a slightly hazy gold with two fingers of off white head that leaves decent lacing.  Smells are wheat, a little honey, banana, slight citrus and some sweet malts.  Tastes are yeast followed by honey, some banana and some wheat.  The yeast really shines and the honey sticks out but isn't too over the top.  Really nicely balanced, very surprised and impressed.  Mouthfeel is good with good carbonation and drinkability is very high.   I didn't expect this caliber of beer from such a new company.   This is a very, very good wheat beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2010 23:50:54 | More by Lukafer