SevenPack Beer Blog » Blog Archive » New Belgium “Sunshine” Wheat Ale

I swear, these guys can do no wrong. I rarely have a chance to have a New Belgium beer unless I find myself in the Northwest. However, each time I do, I am again impressed. This trip, I chose the New Belgium Sunshine wheat ale. Seeing as it’s wintertime in Seattle, I figured a little sunshine might do me good.

The pour of this beer is a clear, filtered golden. The aroma is heavy with coriander and spice with just a light hint of citrus. In the mouth, the beer is crisp, sweet, and refreshing. The first taste you get is of some citrus near the front of the mouth. This quickly transitions to a sweet and mildly spicy flavor around the middle of the tongue. Here you can really taste the orange peel and coriander that is typical of the Belgian variety of a wheat ale. On through the mouth, we catch a light bitterness near the back of the mouth that last just a moment and subsides into a slight malt aftertaste. Overall, I’d consider this more complex than many American brews of this variety. It is heavy enough to be substantial, but light enough to be refreshing and a good session beer. Cheers to New Belgium for choosing the Belgian version of this beer (I guess it’s necessary, given their name), and cheers to them again for executing it wonderfully.