Sam Adams Cherry Wheat

Sam Adams Cherry Wheat is a Massachusetts-brewed wheat beer flavored with cherry, sold here as a six-pack of bottles. Wheat beers in this style usually pour a hazy gold to pale amber with a soft, full body from the wheat malt, and the fruit sits on top of that base rather than turning the beer into a soda-like sweet drink. Expect a cherry aroma that reads as ripe fruit with a faint almond-like edge, which is common when cherry is used in beer, backed by bready, lightly grainy wheat notes. Bitterness in fruited wheat beers tends to be low, since the hops are there to keep the beer from tasting cloying rather than to show up as a flavor. That leaves the finish fairly clean and slightly tart, with a moderate level of carbonation lifting the fruit. Specific ABV and IBU figures aren't listed for this product, but wheat ales of this kind generally sit in the moderate-strength range and drink easily at that level. At the table, the combination of cherry fruit and soft wheat suits foods that benefit from a little sweetness and acidity. Salads with goat cheese or a vinaigrette, grilled chicken, pork chops or bratwurst, and soft cheeses such as brie or fresh chèvre are all natural matches. It also holds up against mildly spicy dishes, where the fruit and carbonation take the edge off the heat. For dessert, try it alongside a plain cheesecake or vanilla ice cream. Serve it cold, around 38 to 45°F (3 to 7°C), which keeps the fruit bright and the carbonation crisp without muting the aroma. A weizen glass or tall pilsner glass works best, as the narrow base and wider top show off the color and concentrate the cherry aroma. Pour at an angle and finish straight down to build a modest head, then leave any yeast or haze in the bottle if you prefer a clearer pour.