Review: Shock Top Honey Bourbon Cask Wheat Beer
This new Belgian-style unfiltered wheat ale from Shock Top is brewed with honey and caramel malt, then is aged on “bourbon cask staves” (so, not in casks).
What’s wrong with that? Just about everything. The nose offers vague honey intertwined with hospital notes. The body is thin. And the palate is simply bad: Melted Bit-O-Honey candies, quinine, and mints from your grandma’s purse. Wholly unbalanced and unsatisfying, with a funky and sickly sweet aftertaste that’s difficult to get rid of.
A complete miss for the Shock, alas.
5.5% abv.
D- / $8 per six-pack / shocktopbeer.com
Shock Top Honey Bourbon Cask Wheat Beer
$8
1
I bought this beer with great anticipation. My boyfriend had purchased an IPA aged in Kentucky Bourbon barrels before and it was very good. I got it home, got it chilled and cracked one open. The first thing that hit me was the super sweet smell that emanates from the bottle. I took a sip and it left a distinctly awful aftertaste. I thought maybe it’s what I’m eating. So I tried again and thought maybe I need to let it breathe. Tried it one last time and set it back on the counter. I couldn’t finish it. Now I have five bottles still sitting in my fridge that I have no clue what to do with. Very, very disappointed. And I had such high hopes. :(