Wheat Monkey - Lakefront Brewery, Inc.

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.13/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

On tap at the brewery. Good marketing but this is an american sour wheat. Not so drinkable. Not as big a head as I expected.Sweetish malty aroma. Not as good as it smells.Citrus hops do not save it. Apparently many people do not like this and so a Belgian wit is available.

Serving type: on-tap

09-08-2011 01:31:41 | More by northyorksammy

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.45/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap @ the Lakefront Brewery (Milwaukee, WI) on 8/8/10. Served in a clear plastic cup.

Pours a hazy gold, with a finger of bright-white head. The look here has the same fizzy looking retention and lacing that the cup of Klisch Pils I just drank before this had. The aroma smells of fruit, crisp wheat, a little honey, and some grassy tones. This is actually decent if you really get your nose in the glass.

The taste is about exactly the same as how the aroma came off, with notes of crisp bread, sugary honey, light fruit, and some flowery and earthy hop flavors. The mouthfeel is lighter-bodied, with a sharp smoothness to the carbonation which keeps this crisp in the mouth. Maybe a little too light and watery on the edges at times but overall not too bad.

Maybe it's the fact that this was on draft, where the flavors had some extra pop, but I actually didn't think this was too awful. This was easy drinking enough stuff and had just enough flavor to keep me interested on this warm summer day. Based on the reviews though, maybe I'll not push my luck and skip this one in the bottle...

Serving type: on-tap

08-24-2010 19:35:52 | More by Kegatron

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

2.86/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3

This poured out as a very pale and clear looking light yellow color. The head was white with hardly any retention and no lacing at all. The smell of the beer is sweet with grain, some wheat and corn. The taste is similar to the nose here on this, the sweetness is there as well as the corn and a subtle breadiness also. The mouthfeel is very light, modestly carbonated and kind of watery. Overall the beer is decent but nothing something I would need to have again.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2013 02:56:41 | More by Knapp85

jsisko01

Michigan

3.4/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance - Pours a hazy straw color with a centimeter thick head that dissipates quickly. Leaves a nice lacing.

Smell - I can barely pick up an aroma. Just smells like wheat mostly.. along will a very light trace of citrus.

Taste - Seems to be quite watery.. It has a strong wheat flavor (which I like). Pale malts, a medium sweetness, grains, and bread. Has a weird bitter citrus flavor in the finish..

Mouthfeel - Light bodied with high carbonation.

Overall - This is just a very simple wheat ale. No special ingrdients, just mostly a plain wheat flavor. It's very drinkable in my opinion, just unsophisticated is all..

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2013 03:59:16 | More by jsisko01

MadScientist

New York

3.33/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: A lightly hazy pale gold. The creamy white head is thin and doesn't last very long.

S: Moderate wheat malt and moderately-low citrus hops aroma.

T: There is a moderate soft malt flavor and slight more hops bitterness. The low hops flavor is citrusy. The balance is somewhat bitter. The finish is dry and the aftertaste is a of a light fruit ester.

M: Smooth medium bodied with moderately-high carbonation. A little creamy.

O: Not bad but it doesn't impress me; I'd like more hops flavor and aroma. An average American Wheat.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2012 00:01:08 | More by MadScientist

jimmah120

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +25.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle about 1.5mo old; review from notes

Pours a terrific looking cloudy yellow gold. Looks a bit like Mt. Dew. smell is bready: wheat, grain , yeast, coriander, spice, as it warms there's pumpkin. Taste is more of the same: bright/clean yeast bread/wheat, some lemon, coriander, light pepper. Finish is crisp grain. Feel is a tad thin, maybe little undercarbonated.

Great tasty wheat, with moderate complexity. I could drink this all day.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2012 11:10:22 | More by jimmah120

riversider76

New York

2.88/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours a light golden with way too much head. Decent lacing when the head finally disappeared. Nose is grassy,with hints of lemon...Something not quite right.Body is light and carbonated, but dry, not crisp Taste is grainy, with some hints of fruit. tart finish. Barley average. Don't go out of your way....

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2012 23:57:49 | More by riversider76

scruffwhor

Illinois

3.1/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pale straw color and lightly hazey. There's some columns of sluggish bubbles rising to the top. No head or foam after the pour.

Straw, crackers, pilsner malt, a little grass, and maybe a little yeasty fruit aromas. Very subdued overall.

Flavor is light cracker, pilsner malt, and barnyard straw. Tastes earthy, very little yeast flavors noticed. Very plain, and watered down tasting wheat ale. Easy, bubbley, crisp palate makes for very easy drinking.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 23:16:28 | More by scruffwhor

daledeee

Iowa

3.18/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Like the Lakefront IPA so I thought I would try this one.

Pours a clear yellow with head that wants to go away. Not typical of a wheat beer. It should be cloudy with volumounous head.

Nose is grainy and not right

Taste is like a strong pilsner. Malty and some citrus but not the typical wheat beer.

Not enough carbonation to really give the mouth feel that is needed. Overall, OK to drink but the beer itself could be mistaken for a lager. Strange.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2012 01:14:05 | More by daledeee

Florida9

Illinois

3.1/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Very pale pastel yellow in color. Cloudy. Barely forms any head and what does form fizzes away quickly.

S: Mild, but appealing aroma of grassy hops and pale malt.

T: Fizzy, yellow beer. Taste is full of wheat and carbonation with some grassy hops and a mild medicinal aftertaste.

M: Aggressively carbonation and a light body gives this one a prickly mouthfeel.

O: A fairly average American wheat beer apparently brewed for mass appeal.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2012 19:34:54 | More by Florida9

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

3.3/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle poured into a Lakefront imperial pint.
Bottled during May Wk3 (2012) notched on label.

A - After swirling the bottle to disperse the sediment, Wheat Monkey poured a totally cloudy goldenrod color with a soapy white head. As large bubbles pop, the loose head lowers at a moderate pace, plastering some lace to the pint.

S - Strong wheat aromas come from this beer with a trailing dryness, but there is also quite a bit of harsh grainiess and musty straw as well. A small amount of hard mineral water traces can be picked up behind a delicate bubblegum and citrus twang on the finish.

T - Wheat Monkey is wholly wheat-forward, but ditches the intrusive elements found in the nose for a better outcome. With light coriander spice and a citrusy zing on the back end, Wheat Monkey is subtle and simple in flavor.

M - Medium-light in body, Wheat Monkey is a fully carbonated beer that has a very dry finish and a slight citrus zing to it. Though hops aren't noticeable, the beer remains balanced enough to be quite refreshing and drinkable on a hot day.

O - I wish, with Wheat Monkey's label, this was a banana ester-rich hefeweizen, but as the label's art suggests it's a playful, whimsical beer, devoid of any banana depictions. Very wheat-laden, Wheat Monkey, with little to excite, seems an unfit replacement for Lakefront's previous Cattail Ale, or what drinkers called their, "lightest beer", to which some at Lakefront despised.

While quite quaffable and refreshing for a hot day, Wheat Monkey remains little more than an average wheat beer suitable for the masses. If you're looking for something with depth or uniqueness, skip this one and grab yourself a Wisconsinite.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2012 20:36:57 | More by BeerFMAndy

beagle75

Iowa

2.43/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 4 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a becker glass.

A: Hazy, light golden color with one finger of white foam head. Heavy ropey lacing remains on the glass and bubbles lazily climb throughout the column.

S: Mild wheat, faint herbaceous hops that seem a bit stale, and scatter-shot carbon dioxide that disrupts other qualities.

T: Begins dry, with immediate carbonic acidity that is pungent and dominating throughout the first act. The middle sees acidity that is slow to recede, exposing neutral malt that is unremarkable until a whiff of crusty wheat joins later. The finish also yields some faint bubble gum esters but no detectable bitterness.

M: Thin viscosity, wet and slightly acidic on the palate, with moderate carbonation.

D/O: This wheat beer is likely to disappear completely amongst others of its style, with no distinguishing or particularly attractive features to set it apart. The harsh acidity that dominates its flavor profile volunteers some palate-scrubbing features, but ultimately goes overboard in its intensity. It lacks artful qualities, instead putting far too much emphasis on apology.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2012 00:26:05 | More by beagle75

falloutsnow

Illinois

2.9/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Bottle from Hyvee in Omaha, NE
Bottled November 2011
Poured into a Weihenstephaner weizen glass

Lakefront's American Pale Wheat Ale is a fairly generic, light wheat beer designed for easy summer drinking. While it may go down easily, there's nothing particularly memorable or interesting about the beer, its mediocrity for both flavor and style a serious flaw. In one word: boring. I will not seek this out again.

Pours a fluffy 1cm head of fairly small bubbles, white in color. Head recedes to a very thin cap atop the beer throughout my sipping of it. Minimal lacing along the sides. Body is a golden yellow, opaque due to my pouring in of the yeast. Carbonation visible along the sides.

Aroma of faint wheat malt and yeast. Fairly nondescript, have to inhale deeply to discover even this.

Taste is similar to aroma, with wheat malt contributing some flavor and sweetness, tied together with a very mild yeastiness. Again, rather bland, though about average for this style.

Body is medium-light in heft, carbonation is moderate and causes the beer to foam up pleasantly on the palate. Easily drinkable, somewhat watery. Finish is semi-dry.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2012 01:49:34 | More by falloutsnow

Jparker37

Wisconsin

3.28/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured into tulip. Bottled week 2 of October 2011.

A - Slight haze to it. Golden in color with a small white head.

S - Pleasant wheat malt, not pouring out of the glass. Some mild flowery hops.

T - Sweet fresh wheat malt with a tingle of some yeast. A pleasant hop bitterness to cleanse the palate.

M - Light to medium body. Nice creamy moderate carbonation. A little bit of sweetness comes across well appreciated.

O - Straight forward clear view of what a gentle fresh summer brew should be. Doesn't overstep boundaries and be a wild adventure, just a relaxing quaff.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2012 01:37:34 | More by Jparker37

minterro

Michigan

3.25/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottle from gf's parents

S&A: yeasty, sweet malts, grassiness, slight metallic tones. Not really powerful. Very carbonated, pale, pale yellow. Weak white fizzy head that pours a finger and dies down to a ring in no time.

T&M: primary sweet malts with a slight yeastyness to it. Light bodied, pretty highly carbonated.

Overall: Nothing to write home about.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2012 22:01:52 | More by minterro

ForWhatAlesYou

Minnesota

3.13/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle from the brewery into a tulip glass.

A: Cloudy yellowish cream color. Respectable white foamy head.

S: Wheat, light citrus (lemonade).

T: Really wheaty. Thankfully, they avoided all of the citrus and spice often crammed into these beers. Rich and full. Aftertaste is a little strange. Bagel, lemon essence, candi sugar.

M: The best element here. Viscous, oily, rich, with drying carbonation.

D: Okay.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2011 16:49:27 | More by ForWhatAlesYou

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.4/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle. Number 3 in the convenient mix pack.

This beer pours a slightly cloudy, pale straw colour, with one thin finger of fizzy white head, which leaves but a few specks of rapidly sinking lace around the glass in its equally hasty wake. It smells of very faint sweet wheat grain, and subtle savoury spice - coriander, mostly, a twinge of lemon. The taste is moderately sweet wheat, with bubblegum undertones, a bit of pale malt, and mild floral hops. The carbonation is on the low side, the body light, but not thin, and agreeably smooth. It finishes off-dry, the waning malt in good company with the already paltry offset.

It's American, it's pale, it's wheaty, and it's ostensibly an ale. It's the real deal, even if that seems all too anticlimactic.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2011 03:39:34 | More by biboergosum

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev +11%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

355ml bottle poured into pint glass 8/11/11

A hazy bright golden yellow with a fair amount of bubbles feeding a short lived finger of foam that leaves no lace

S a little lemon and coriander with some sweet grains, not bad but not very strong

T mimics the smell well with more cereals, nothing stands out too strong fairly tame

M light and refreshing with decent carbonation, fairly clean finish

O an OK beer that went down pretty quick but didn't amaze me in any area

perhaps a little out of season, more suited for a hot Summer day opposed to this chilly fall evening

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2011 06:48:51 | More by wordemupg

canucklehead

British Columbia (Canada)

3.03/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Low ABV Summer patio beer with little to separate from the herd. Smells and tastes like a lager with the wheat not very noticeable in the flavours. No real complaints as it does what is made for ( entry level beer for BBQs and parties) but I fail to want to buy this again.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2011 02:12:01 | More by canucklehead

JackieTH

Minnesota

3.03/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Yellow with a half-inch of white foam that faded quickly leaving no lacing. Faintly wheat and lemongrass nose and taste, however the taste being the weaker of the two. Medium-light body, moderately carbonated. Neither bad nor outstanding. Drinkable, certainly. Overall, another fairly non-descript beer from the 8-sampler pack.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2011 21:35:18 | More by JackieTH

jwinship83

Illinois

3.23/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle picked up by my wife on her recent trip to devils lake. drank from a standard american pint glass.

A- the pour yields a lightly hazy golden straw colored body with a small bright white head on top. the head lasts for a little while before falling, and leaves behind small spots of lacing.

S- faint odor of malted wheat and some other pale malts. a light spiciness (clove and coriander) along with some faint bubblegum. the nose is light on this.

T- the taste begins with more of the pale malts and malted wheat that i could smell. after that i get a little bit of banana and bubblegum with some traces of spices as well. coriander, clove, and maybe a hint of black pepper. a little bit of spicy and herbal hops at the end.

M- the body is on the light side. the carbonation seems a bit high.

O- american pale wheats arnt my favorite style, but i definitely didnt find anything offensive in here. easy to drink and somewhat of a lawnmower beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-10-2011 19:08:50 | More by jwinship83

brdc

Wisconsin

2.53/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Fromt the sampler pack. Small capped bottle poured into a pilsner glass.

Light yellow colored, with a large white head that shows no retention, with minimal lacing.
Aroma is some wheat, faint cookie and cinnamon. Really faint. Very light, with minimal cookie and wheat taste. Very limited.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2011 01:50:05 | More by brdc

beerthulhu

New Jersey

3.05/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: A crisp lemon coloring has a brilliant clarity and a dense high rate of effervesce. The head is spongy, a finger high, with a chalk white coloring. Retention is short lived with a clean lacing.

S: Lemon peels and dry wheat are to be had on the nose with a basic complexity and strength. So far average by most expectations.

T: The flavor is malted wheat and oranges, again as basic and vanilla as can be expected per style. Some lemony cascade hops appear later on and upon warming but seems to little to late. Neither strong in character for a wheat, much less a pale wheat with limited hopping and complexity.

M: The mouthful was crisp, one of the few bright points of this drink. Bubbly activity with a light-medium fullness does give a sharp feel on the tongue.

O: Mindless downer, wont give much second thought when consuming nor receive much praise during consumption. A basic wheat meant to delivery basic no thrill results. Manageable for a few.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2011 22:59:02 | More by beerthulhu

cjgator3

Florida

3.33/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle

A- Pours a slightly hazy golden yellow color with an off-white head.

S- The aroma is pale wheat malt, citrus and some yeast. 

T- The taste is malt up front with some citrus zest and a hint of hops in the finish.

M- The mouthfeel is light bodied with a high amount of carbonation.

O- Overall, this one does exactly what it is intended to do. It is a light bodied, drinkable wheat beer that is perfect for the hot summer months.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2011 02:10:50 | More by cjgator3

DesMoinesMike

Iowa

2.9/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I feel that giving this beer an average rating is a bit generous. The cloudy orange color and white cap looked good but the almost complete lack carbonation seemed peculiar. The aroma had some orange and lemon on top of the wheat which was light. The taste was unimpressive, the wheat and citrus seemed thin to the point I could almost taste the water. Thin, we has it. I have had several similar brews that were better examples of the style and just plain more enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2011 03:20:47 | More by DesMoinesMike