Review: Molson Canadian Wheat

When life gives you beer, drink it. I got a parcel in the mail today, not knowing it was... was excited to open it. It was a package from MolsonCoors and there were two bottles of Molson's new Molson Canadian Wheat Lager, which is an unfiltered wheat lager with standard two row barley (uh.. doesn't that defeat the purpose of a wheat beer?) and Soft White Spring Wheat. I'm not a picky guy, I'm willing to try any beer for the purpose for "why the hell not?" so that's why I'm reviewing it today.

Appearance: As soon as you pour the Canadian Wheat Lager, you immediately notice it doesn't look like your standard Molson Canadian, in fact - it looks more like a Rickard's White, which I've been a fan of since it first came out in 2006 and finally made the witbier style popular throughout Canada. It's a hazy golden wheat, light orange, a bit of sediment, your standard unfiltered wheat ale for the most part. A decent amount of soapy & snow white head at the top.

Aroma: A slight musky aroma with a scent that only can be described as the "Molson Canadian aroma", with a hint of wheat added to it. Sweeter than your standard Molson Canadian, but nowhere as sweet as a Rickard's White, a bit corny, but overall.. a more pleasant aroma than the standard lagers from Molson (Coors/Canadian/MGD).

Taste: Perhaps it's from the Doritos I just ate immediately before doing this review, has a bit of corniness to it. It tastes like a standard Molson Canadian.. with a wheatiness to it and some citrus,

which is a bit of a lemony & orange citrus but lighter than I expected. Not much bite there, but seeing that this is a lager, but with wheat.. not really surprising, but a bit sweeter and yet still better than standard Canadian.

Overall Thoughts: Not truly a Wheat Ale/lager as it uses the standard two row barley WITH some soft white spring wheat added to it, it's not surprising that this beer tastes like your standard Molson Canadian, with some wheatiness added to it. This won't be on the list for beer geeks to try, but the wheat gives it a nice flavour to it over the standard Canadian.. and with most pubs here in Manitoba not having any micros on tap, I'd likely drink this when it's 25C like it was today. For those who like lagers like Canadian, I'm sure they will appreciate the wheat addition to the beer, but I'm a bit disappointed that it's not a full out wheat ale. Easy to drink, and at 4.5%, if you want something just for lunch on a very hot day, this will quench the thirst without getting you tipsy.

One thing I found weird on the back of the bottle was the serving instructions, telling you how to pour the beer: Something that's not new to beer geeks, but for those who just like to drink beer wouldn't expect it.

www.molsoncanadian.ca/en/wheat/index.aspx