Leinenkugels Sunset Wheat

What the hell is in this stuff? It tastes nice and fruity, with a good wheat body to it and a clean aftertaste. Anyone know how I might re-create this? I detect some orange for sure, some blueberry, with some unknown grain bill. My palate isn't developed enough to tell. The important thing is SWMBO likes it, and she is most certainly not a beer drinker. Any ideas?

mike

I'd also be interested in a clone of this... I've drank plenty of them trying to figure it out. heh

I love this beer. I with it was in a pop top so I could reuse the bottles since I drink so many of them.

I came across this on another board. I can't remember which one and this is all I copied. This was a 2.5 gallon test batch from what I wrote down. I haven't tried it.

...blueberry extract (1/2 bottle) at bottling.

3# Wheat (60/40) DME
.25 oz Cascade 45 min
.25 oz Cascade 10 min
2 oz coriander 5 min
WLP001
OG: 1.050
FG: 1.010

eww, add some fruit loops maybe?

hmm yeah I guess it's either you love it or hate it...

I finally tried this one recently. I wasn't overly impressed, but for a commercial wheat, it wasn't bad, either. A well done clone recipe would probably blow the real deal right out of the water.

For the AG folks, might I suggest mashing a bit high? It tasted pretty sweet to me.

Wow there are actually people that like that garbage. Eeeww. Check out my thread from a year ago about it:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=8543


If you can stomach it, more power to you. To each his own.

I'm definitely in the "hate it" group. I bought a six pack last summer, and still have some left that I try to unload to unsuspecting friends. It tastes like fruity pebbles cereal with beer instead of milk, to me.

Anyway, from their website, they say they use cluster hops and coriander, wheat malt and pale malt and it's 4.9% alcohol. Otherwise, I have no idea. I'm sure someone must have tried to clone it, though, because quite a few people seem to like it.

I've never had it in bottles, only on tap, and didn't pick up on the Fruity Pebbles at all (although I'm sure I will now if I ever try it again).

I think I was more trying to define the coriander... would be interested in trying a wheat beer with some if it wasn't too overpowering. I thought I picked up on a touch of mint as well...

Absolutely picked up the fruity pebbles, it was the first thing my friends said when they tasted it! But don't get me wrong, if I was on a desert island with only one choice of beer, this wouldn't be it. SWMBO is a fan, and I can drink it in limited quantities, so its definitely something I want to try for. Think of it as a gateway beer

But as for recipes, the wheat malt and pale with coriander simply sounds like a belgian wit to me. Maybe there is a certain yeast they use? I'm still not sure.

mike

Hmmm, i'm familiar with the brew too. I can honestly say its one of only 2 beers that i have tried, and been unable to finish (the other was the "berry Weiss" from the same brewer)

Have you tried there new "Summer Shandy"? Imagine a light beer mixed with Lemonade. Not bad, but not really my type of brew.

The first thing I thought when I sipped it was "blueberry waffle".... though Fruity Pebbles is pretty dead on : )

I didn't care for it either... I was only able to drink 3 then had to give the rest to a friend (atleast I still hope he is

Interesting. I just had this beer a few weeks ago -- from the name I was expected a New Belgium Sunshine Wheat style ale -- more grapefruit lemon-y than blueberry.

I would have to say that I did enjoy the berry weiss back in the day, but I haven't had that in three years. It was a good beer to have one of on a hot summers day because it was very refreshing but the I'd move on to something else.

In comparison, the sunset wheat had a soapy blueberry taste that did not hit the pallet quite right. This was actually the first taste of any leinies I've had since they were bought by Miller (I live in a new region where they wouldn't have distributed beer before). I also had a few other leinies that night and found that all of the flavors were blander and the taste less complex than I remembered them being.

I guess this is my first experience of having a great microbrewery being bought by a macro brewery and seeing the taste suffer as a result. I think that a blueberry beer, in practice, could be a great brew for a summer evening, but skimping on the ingredients (but not on the $$$!) can create a wretched beer.

I just hope that BMCers don't drink this beer and swear off craft brews as a result.

Edit: previously I wrote that they were bought by Coors. it was actually Miller and they were bought far sooner than I had tasted them. I do know that they didn't used to be distributed here in DC (I have seen them only since I moved here). So that doesn't explain the poor taste.