Shock Top Shockolate Wheat

AB continues to do well by their "cool" brand after an abortive attempt at pseudo-craft beers under the Michelob banner about ten years ago. While flavored beers are not at the top of my list, I can get behind them during the season that is bounded by Thanksgiving & Yule. Winter warmers, spice beers, chocolate ales, you name it - this is the time of year for such ale-imals. Shockolate Wheat poured a deep brown with chocolate and and even more so, vanilla, the predominant tastes. Hard to tell whether it's a wheat or not, or even detect the Belgian-ness in there, but I'm willing to cut it some slack! Surprisingly high on the IGB Beer-o-Meter: 7.5...

Anchor Winter Wheat

Typically, when you think of a wheat beer, the image is of a refreshing summer ale, light in color and mouthfeel, maybe with some coriander or lemon thrown in for good measure. Anchor's new winter brew is a wheaty version of the seasonal winter warmer. For the most part, the style is a dunkelweizen, i.e. dark wheat, with lots of depth and complexity. The top notes are coffee and pepper, A hint, but no more than a hint, of chocolate. The heaviness could almost cause one to mistake it for a porter, partially due to the rich chocolate hue and thick brown head. If you're a winter warmer guy or gal, try this one. Now...really...now!