Sam Adams Cherry Wheat
By John on January 28, 2007 @ 10 PM (23 Comments)
This beer is bad. How bad? I poured 4 of the 6 bottles down the sink. A single tear was shed because I hate to see any beer go to waste, but this was undrinkable bad. Too hoppy, too much cherry – it was almost medicinal. Yes – almost like that cherry robitussin you had to choke down as a kid. I think any kind of fruity beer should have a hint of fruit, not an overpowering taste of fruit. Don’t waste your money on a six pack or a single. Sam Adams can make some good beer, this just isn’t one of them.
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I think you are completely wrong with this review. It is a great tasting beer, I found only a hint of cherry flavour, definately not overpowering as you stated. I am a fan of wheat beers and tried this one for the first time. Enjoyed it a lot.
I think you either love this beer or you hate it. I had always said it tastes like children’s tylenol. Totally medicinal. Artificial cherry flavor. I hate it.
Those who say this beer is medicinal tasting and artificial are the same anoying snobs that are wine tasters who get more pleasure out of giving their unwanted and over exadurated opinions on the fine nuances of wines. This is a great tasting beer for an ocasional breakaway from the classic beer flavor. Suck it up ,sissy!
No wine snobs here Jason – we’ll man up to any number of lambics, strawberry beers, blueberry beers and any other fruited beers that are done right. A hint of cherry – good. A cherry mouth rape – bad!
this is the best beer in the world for breakfast!
waking up in the morning cooking eggs and bacon drinking a sam adams cherry wheat, nothing is better ! advice: only drink 4-6 before noon and switch.
Great Beer, only wish it was avail. in Canada. 8%m zowwee!!
After seeing all the comments on this beer I thought I would try it again so I got a single. The overpowering aroma was of a jar of cherries I used to put in vodka collins when I was courting the Lovely Mrs. Beer Love in the early 70′s. It had way too many hops for a wheat beer. It started pretty bad and as it warmed it got pretty nasty. If this was the only beer in the world I wouldn’t stop drinking but would drink a whole lot less. I love the comment from Bruce, saturated fats, cholesterol and nitrates in the AM work for me too but I would probably just have 4-6 red beers and then maybe a nap before switching. Everything’s better with bacon.
IMO this is by far the best beer sam adams has to offer. I don’t think it’s too overbearing or medicinal at all. It has a nice hint of cherry and I like the hops. You want nasty, try the blackberry witbier. SA blackberry witbier is one of the worst beers I’ve ever tasted, along with magic hat#9. One of the best fruit/wheat beers out there is Ithaca Beer Co. apricot wheat.
I absolutely love this beer. I’m stunned by the review. My brother introduced me to it over the holidays and I drank a whole six pack. I do think it has just the right touch of cherry and no unpleasent flavors on top.
I do admit to being pretty picky about beer, though. And I’ll agree it gets nasty when it gets warm.
I agree that this one is a pretty lame attempt by Sam Adams. I love their Boston Lager so trying the Cherry Wheat was a natural move, but this is underwhelming. It’s not balanced, the cherry flavor is all in the nose and not on the palate, medium bodied like the lager, but quickly dissipates and isn’t pleasant at all.
I wouldn’t rate it a 0, more like a 3. There are plenty of nasty, watery, flat, boring beers out there to fill up the 0 column.
Where are all the Belgian reviews?
It really depends on what you’re pairing the beer with whether it’s overpoweringly sweet. It has the distinctive flavor of benzaldehyde and that’s the only flavor note, i think they added a bit too much cherry flavor and ought to have soured the beer with Brett like a lambic and added more bittering hops. It makes a good drink on its own, but mixing it with salty tostadas +avocado is a bad idea, and eating it with fresh berries makes both the berries and the beer taste like a packet of aspartame. I could take it or leave it.
Not a big fan of cherry flavors except in of course cherries, but the reviewer who said the blackberry witbier was nasty needs his or her head examined. Most “fruit” beers ARE nasty, however the blackberry witbier isn’t one of them. Normally I’m a stout or porter guy, but I usually try Sam’s brewmaster packs as released, and the summer selection this year had two standouts the Blackberry and the Summer.
I’m not a huge fan of fruit beers or lambecs but I like this one. I cooled it way down and sat on the front porch on a hot summer day and tried it. I didn’t find the cherry to be overpowering at all. I could smell it and slightly taste it but not enough for it to be cloying. I had a couple and bought another six a few weeks later. My girlfriend, who is not a beer lover, liked this one enough to drink one also.
Cherry Wheat is really good! I honestly dont know how this beer is medical tasting or over powering. If you like flavor then pick this beer. If you like simplicity and more of a beer type of taste then dont get it. In my opinion I give this a 5/5. One of my favorites.
Both Cherry Wheat & Blackberty Witbier are FANTASTIC beers!!!
John and I had the Blackberry Witbier at a beer dinner last June and I was favorably impressed. I am not able to find it locally but will keep an eye out for it.
I think it’s pretty obvious from the reviews here that the cherry flavor and aroma in this beer are hit or miss with people’s different pallets. I’m on the bandwagon of giving this beer a 0 as well. But some people really seem to enjoy it. To each his own. This is why you can’t just go by how other people review a beer. You need to try it for yourself! Thanks for the site fellas! Cheers!
I first tried this beer a few years ago and instantly fell in love! It is by far my favorite beer. I love the sweet cherry taste! I buy a case every year while on vacation. I can not imagine vacation without it. I don’t understand how anyone can say it tastes like medicine. I can’t stand cherry medicines. This tastes like a Shirley Temple mixed with beer. It’s AMAZING! I will agree though, it tastes bad when warm but I think all beer tastes bad warm.
JennO – A Shirley Temple mixed with beer? I don’t know what to do with that! Although I do enjoy a good radler (beer with sprite or lemonade).
However you’re completely wrong if you think all beer tastes bad warm. We used to think the same thing and now we have something called the “60 degree test” – if a beer tastes good when the beer temperature gets above 60 degrees it’s a well crafted beer. A lot of darker beers – porters and stouts – will meet this criteria. Dad and I have even had some beers pass the 70 degree test. Usually the higher the alcohol content the warmer the beer can be and still taste great. You’ll also find as beers warm you pick up way more flavors. Most American mass market beers won’t pass the 60 test as they’re marketed on “cold” because that’s the only thing that can stun the taste.
Well, I have tried this beer and amazingly enough , I am drinking one as I write this. I am amazed at how you first taste all cherry notes through the palate and the nose, then the cherry flavor dissapears, revealing a very hoppy, almost english beer flavor. Both flavors are quite robust in nature. The cherry side tends to be a bit acidic, where the malty side almost balances it out with a heavy , hoppy frothy note. I found this experience interesting and it kept me intrigued enough to continue enjoying it. I will probably not get it again as this really is something you will either like or completely dislike. I find it heavy and complex, and yes it needs to be absolutly ice cold to enjoy in my opinion. Pairing this beer with a dish will prove to be a challenge due to it’s two – fold nature. This beer is a real work of art for tasters, but only if you tend to enjoy the more fruit styled beers, would I reccomend it.
I just tried this beer, and can honestly say it is the most unpleasant brew I’ve ever downed, with the exception of a dirty martini. And the Sam Adam’s Cherry Wheat is as diametrically to a dirty martini as possible. Both, however, I find undrinkable and try desperately to foist off on other people.
I agree that it tastes like cough syrup. I got it on draft, and maybe if it had been super-chilled, it would be palatable, but that’s always a bad sign.
I’m one of the ones in the “love it” camp. I always buy a 6 of this and a 6 of one variety of my local microbrew’s stuff (usually an IPA or an amber ale). It’s a better change of pace than almost anything else I’ve tried. I’ve don’t ever drink two of these in a row, so that might be part of it, but I think it’s a great change of pace beer.
Wow, came to this site for the first time and was a little shocked at the review on this one. I too, can’t stand beers with too much fruit in them. I have always shyed away from the beers with Orange, Lemon, etc. in them. To me a great “fruit” beer just needs to have a slight hint of the fruit flavor and not overpower the beer. I think Sam Adams’ Cherry Wheat does that. I love it. Drink it all the time. Maybe the reason is I am a fan of the Dopplebocks? Not sure. Granted…and a warning…you need to drink this beer very cold…and keep it cold. If you drink it too warm the cherry flavor will be stonger and you will get some bitterness. I’ve had this beer from a tap at Flying Saucer and it was downright amazing…especially after a long hot Southern day outside. If drinking from a bottle, try pouring it into one of those frozen mugs from your freezer. Enjoyed reading all the comments.