Wheat

A bit of wheat is hard to beat—and it shows up in a bunch of today’s most popular beers and styles, even if most drinkers have no idea it’s there. Well beyond wheat beers and weizens, the golden grain has become one of the most useful ingredients in the modern craft brewery.

Based more on an ingredient than an existing tradition, American wheat is arguably the United States’ first truly native modern beer style. Refreshing and easygoing, attractive and flavorful, it arrived just in time to help American craft beer grow.

Extract brewers can embrace this indulgent wheat show smacking of fresh bread and jammy fruit, while letting the all-grain brewers enjoy their gummy stuck mashes.

Human civilization has evolved alongside wheat, whose properties create a wide swath of beer’s diversity of flavor and texture—from quenching weissbier to soft, hazy IPA. Randy Mosher digs into its history and chemistry.

The traditional white beer from Berlin has had many guises over the centuries, from simpler Lacto sours to fruit-packed smoothies, via enigmatic, mixed-fermentation constructions more closely aligned with its history.

Ready for Wheat Beer School? Bluejacket head brewer Ro Guenzel connects the dots between the history of wheat and barley, their importance to civilization, and the unique properties they bring to Bavarian-style weissbier.

The composition of a Bavarian-style weissbier guarantees ample, sturdy foam—if brewed well. Bluejacket head brewer Ro Guenzel demonstrates the traditional pouring technique into a typical weissbier glass.

In this clip from his video course on how to brew traditional Bavarian-style weissbier, Bluejacket head brewer Ro Guenzel explains the monikers and origins of the style.

Ro Guenzel, head brewer of Bluejacket in Washington, DC, has a special love for authentic, Bavarian-style weissbier. In this video course, he tackles the history of the style, traditional brewing methods, food pairings, and much more.

As a root of civilization and the soft heart of some of the world’s most drinkable beers, wheat deserves more love.

In case the colder months get you down, this brightly hopped wheat beer offers a taste of Southern sunshine.

Unmalted grains such as barley and wheat can add flavor and foam stability, among other benefits. Steven Anan of Archetype Brewing takes us beyond malt to look at brewing with alternative grains and other fermentables.

Steven Anan of Archetype Brewing takes us beyond barley to look at brewing with alternative grains—beginning with a few words on wheat.

Steven Anan, head brewer and co-owner of Archetype Brewing in Asheville, takes you through alternative grains—including oats, wheat, rye, and non-cereals. He provides an overview of the ingredients and how to use them to formulate a better beer.

Leave understatement to the lagers. These big, estery wheats celebrate the fine flavors of rich fermentation.

Want to change up your wheat-beer game? Here's John Mallett, director of brewing operations at Bell’s in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on forging a deeper relationship with this versatile ingredient—and how it can improve your next recipe.

There are choices you can make when it comes to picking the right wheat for your grain bill. But by going a little deeper and using artisanal varieties of wheat Nile Zacherle of Mad Fritz Brewing says you can really draw out new flavors in your beer.

In this video you'll learn how to add watermelon to a tasty wheat base beer, select the right yeast strain, compensate for added sugars, and more!