Fruit Wheat Beer Style
- Color: Generally straw to light amber, and often influenced by the color of added fruit.
- Clarity: Chill haze is acceptable. These beers may be served with or without yeast. When served with yeast, appearance is hazy to very cloudy.
- Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavor: Low to medium-low
- Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavor: Low to medium
- Perceived Bitterness: Low to medium
- Fermentation Characteristics: These beers can be fermented with either ale or lager yeast depending on the underlying wheat beer style. Low fruity esters are typical. Diacetyl should not be present. In versions served with yeast, yeasty aroma and flavor should be low to medium.
- Body: Low to medium
- Additional notes: The grist should include at least 30 percent malted wheat. Fruit or fruit extracts contribute aroma and flavor expressing true fruit complexity. Versions served with yeast should demonstrate a full yeasty mouthfeel. Fruited examples of wheat beer styles that are not commonly brewed with fruit and do not exhibit attributes of wood aging should be categorized as Fruit Wheat Beers. These could include fruited versions of various wheat beer styles of European origin such as Weizens, Adambier or Grodziskie. Fruited wheat beers that exhibit sourness fall within various fruited sour beer categories. Such beers could deviate from parameters shown for those styles but should be suggestive of the underlying classic beer style with fruit added. Fruited versions of Berliner Weisse or Contemporary Gose fall within those categories as they are commonly brewed with fruit. Within the framework of these guidelines, coconut is defined as a vegetable, and beers containing coconut should be entered as Field Beers.
When using these guidelines as the basis for evaluating entries at competitions, brewers may be asked to provide supplemental information about entries in this category to allow for accurate evaluation of diverse entries. Such information might include the underlying beer style upon which the entry is based, or other information unique to the entry such as fruit(s) used or processing which influence perceived sensory outcomes.
Fruit Wheat Beer Vital Statistics
- Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.030-1.110 (7.6-25.9 °Plato)
- Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.030 (1.5-7.6 °Plato)
- Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 2.0%-9.5% (2.5%-12.0%)
- Bitterness (IBU) 10-35
- Color SRM (EBC) 2-10, or color of fruit(4-20, or color of fruit EBC)
2020 Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines used with permission of Brewers Association.
Credit: 2020 Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines – Hybrid/Mixed Lagers or Ale – Fruit Wheat Beer