Pyramid Breweries
Portland, OR
Available: WA, OR, CA, CO, TX, MO, OH, MN, OK, NC, VA, AZ
Crystal Wheat Ale was inspired by Pyramid’s first beer, Wheaten Ale, brewed in 1984—the first year-round wheat beer brewed in America since Prohibition.
ABV: 5.3
ABW: 4.2
Color: 5.2
Bitterness: 16
Original gravity: 1049
A pale bronze color, the beer has a grainy aroma with citrus fruit and light hop resins. Tart fruit, spices, juicy malt and a gentle hop bitterness dominate the mouth while the finish has tangy fruit, hop resins and ripe grain notes. Splendidly refreshing — enjoyable with a penne pasta dish or a not too overpowering curry of the korma variety.
It pours deep gold and strikingly clear — it’s certainly crystalline as advertised. The rocky white head stands proudly. The aroma is faintly wheaty with some hops lurking in the background, but it’s subdued overall. Hops jump in snappily up front, followed by a light-bodied dry center showing wheat flavors and slight acidity. It has a crackling dry finish. Streamlined and sharp at the edges, this beer is linear and unexciting, but it’s also refreshing and very well brewed. That makes it a good lawnmower beer for people who like bitterness. Its straightforward nature also lends it versatility with a wide range of summer foods — I’m thinking fish tacos.
Roger Protz is the author of Complete Guide to World Beer and 300 Beers to Try Before You Die. He is a respected beer authority and editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
Internationally recognized brewer and expert on traditional beer, Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and the author of The Brewmaster's Table.
