The American take on wheat beer — uses American ale yeast rather than Bavarian weissbier yeast, so it lacks the banana-and-clove signature of Hefeweizen. Typically 3.5–5.5% ABV, pale straw to gold, often slightly hazy when unfiltered. Clean-fermenting with moderate wheat character and a light, refreshing profile. American versions often include modest American hop character, especially in the dry-hopped or “hoppy wheat” subcategory.
In the glass
Origin
Wheat was rarely brewed in the United States before the 1980s. The style took shape that decade as start-up microbreweries set out to emulate European wheat beers, especially Bavarian hefeweizen, but fermented them with their regular ale or lager strains instead of a Bavarian weizen yeast — yielding a cleaner beer with subdued fruitiness and none of the clove-like phenols of the German original. The pivotal commercial example came from Widmer Brothers, who opened their Portland, Oregon, brewery in 1984. In 1986 a regular account, the Dublin Pub, asked for a third beer; with only two fermenters and no room to add one, the brothers simply kegged their existing wheat beer unfiltered, producing a cloudy ale they billed as the first American-style hefeweizen. Other breweries soon established the style across the country: Boulevard Brewing, founded in Kansas City in 1989, made its Unfiltered Wheat a flagship and one of the best-selling craft wheat beers in the country, and Bell’s Brewery in Michigan launched the beer now known as Oberon in 1992 (originally called Solsun, it was renamed in 1996). Hop-forward interpretations followed, such as Three Floyds’ Gumballhead, an American wheat ale dry-hopped with Amarillo for bright citrus aromatics.
Notes
The defining difference from a Bavarian hefeweizen is what’s absent: American wheat ferments with a clean yeast, so it skips the banana-and-clove signature of the German style. Confusingly, many American brewers still label their wheat beers “weizen,” “weiss,” or “hefeweizen,” so the name on the bottle is a poor guide to whether you’ll get the German profile or the cleaner American one. The pale color and gentle flavor also make the style a popular base for fruit beers — raspberry was common in the 1990s, with lighter, less assertive fruits more typical now.
Defining examples
Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat·Widmer Brothers Hefe·Bell’s Oberon·Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat·Three Floyds Gumballhead (adjacent, hop-forward)