Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat - Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)

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Samuel Adams Cherry WheatSamuel Adams Cherry Wheat

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3,479 Ratings

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Ratings: 3,479
Reviews: 1,103
rAvg: 3.13
pDev: 24.28%
Wants: 29
Gots: 338 | FT: 0
Brewed by:
Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams) visit their website
Massachusetts, United States

Style | ABV
Fruit / Vegetable Beer |  5.30% ABV

Availability: Year-round

Notes/Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.

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Ratings: 3,479 | Reviews: 1,103 | Display Reviews Only:
Photo of kgotcher
2.83/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Pours a very cool orange color with a pretty dense head with very tiny bubbles.

Aroma is cherries all the way but not like fresh cherries, more like a jar of marrachino cherries, it is really too overbearing. Taste is not so bad but the aroma really takes over before you can even get the beer into your mouth. I actually had to hold my nose and take a drink just to get a better taste of the beer without the aroma. Taste is also cherries but much more muted than the smell. You get a bit more of the crisp flavor from the malts and a bit of spicyness from the hops. Overall I really did not enjoy this beer, it smells like they just poured jars of marachino cherries into the fermenter and although the flavor was not bad I would need to drink this with a straw to really get any enjoyment from it.

Photo of allengarvin
2.83/5  rDev -9.6%

This somewhat hazy straw-colored beer has a nice dense very white head atop it. The nose is dominated by cherries, but it smells more like cherry syrup than actual cherries. Highly sweet flavor, resembling cherry cough syrup, and little else of note. Bleagh.

I was in the mood for a cherry beer, but I picked the wrong one with this offering. I love cherries and have brewed with them myself on occasion. This is not a good cherry beer, by any measurement.

Photo of GregoryVII
2.83/5  rDev -9.6%

Poured a 12 oz. bottle into a boston lager glass. The appearance and aroma are probably the most alluring parts of this beer. It pours solid amber, perhaps with hints of a cherry color, with a solid head you would expect from a wheat beer. There is no hinting cherry in the aroma. Cherry is the aroma, which is actually a perfectly natural breeze of strong cherry scents. I do feel as though I am sticking my nose into a bag of fresh cherries from my farmers market, rather than a big whiff of cherry grenadine or something of that nature. Unfortunately for me, the flavor profile doesn't deliver in quite the same way. The mouthfeel is crisp and refreshing, if slightly watery. And the carbonation is a little aggressive for me. The cherry flavor and sweetness are very one note and reminiscent of a cherry 7 up, which isn't a positive factor for me. The commercial description mentions that they added honey for additional sweetness. It wasn't necessary. Overall, this beer is a little too cloying for me to consider drinking more than one. This is sad, because the use of Traverse City cherries earned points with me before I ever even tasted it.

Photo of RocketWidget
2.83/5  rDev -9.6%

Pours a interesting lager like yellow with a hint of red, adequate head. Actually smells like cherries, surprisingly enough. Taste is only meh. True enough, cherries are a distinct flavor along with the hops, and reasonably complex. The trouble is, for me the whole package just doesnt do anything for me. I dont feel the cherry taste complements the beer in any way, it just overrides it. Cheers to Sam Adams for trying an interesting brew to say the least, but nothing special here.

Photo of Mdog
2.83/5  rDev -9.6%

Appearance: Hazy gold, good head.

Smell: Cherries--smells like a lollipop instead of fresh cherries.

Taste: Some yeasty breadiness, a sweet then tangy cherry flavor.

Drinkability: I'll finish the two in the sampler pack and probably never have it again.

Picked up the Sam Adams fall sampler to try some more from their vast line of products. The cherry wheat follows the other fruit-infused wheats they've put out over the years, but tastes more artificial than the others. Not too good.

Photo of KajII
2.83/5  rDev -9.6%

[Best served in a Flute Glass]

Poured amber-orange in color with a small fizzy head that dissapated rapidly with nice lacing. The aroma was overwhelming with cherries and a hint of sweet yeast. It tasted sweet with a very strong cherry flavor. Mouthfeel was light in body and watery in texture. Overall nothing special, nice on a hot summer day.

Photo of scriabin
2.83/5  rDev -9.6%

Smells like cherry flavored cough drops to me, but I think smell is overrated anyway. I've had plenty of excellent cheeses that smell like a marathoner's jock strap. I like the cloudy, mysterious amber color, although the head is on the thin side. And yep, it tastes like a cherry flavored wheat beer to me. The cherry flavor actually takes about a half second to hit you, and isn't overpowering like too many fruit beers, but it is still a little on the strong side. Subtlety is best with the fruit beers. A little harsh going down, but drinkable. Not my favorite, but it's still good for a quaff now and then.

Photo of RenoZymurgist
2.83/5  rDev -9.6%

Poured a clear amber-gold with a 1/2 inch head that retained fairly well. Aroma was noticeable upon popping the cap, as a soda-like cherry aroma first presented itself. Upon further aromatic detction however i found the aroma to contain a bit of wheat like malt and a lot of artificial smelling cherry. The flavor is a lot better than the aroma as the cherry flavor is a lot more subdued than the aroma might let on. The flavor begins with a tight melding of cherry, carbonic bite, and dry wheaty malt. It soon segues into just malt and leaves a cereal taste almost like cheerios to linger in the mouth. The body is way too light and this beer could use a little higher mash temperature. The drinkability is quite subjective and personally i would go for an Apricot ale from Pyramid instead of another cherry wheat as it is a bit too soda-like and is definetly a beer for those who don't like beer but like alcopops.

Photo of CHIMat
2.84/5  rDev -9.3%

Photo of Bogdawg
2.84/5  rDev -9.3%

Photo of beerkittycat
2.85/5  rDev -8.9%


Photo of wcdoyle
2.85/5  rDev -8.9%

White to off-white head which settled down but has good lacing. Beer itself is clear gold. There's clearly cherry in the smell and a mild honey sweetness underneath. No discernible hops on this one. Cherry's also in the taste, but unlike some other reviewers, I didn't find it overly sweet. Some honey fills in toward the end. I did expect a bit more crispness from the wheat in this beer, so that was a bit of a disappointment. I was also hoping it would be unfiltered (the yeast would add to the flavor profile.), but ah well. this is more of a honey ale than a honey wheat. Mouthfeel was soft and medium bodied with low carbonation. I'd likely turn elsewhere after drinking one of these. Compared with other S.A. beers, this is not what I expect.

Photo of Liquids
2.85/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Before I drank beer, I remember having a roomate who raved that this was his favorite beer, and he truly missed it after having stopped drinking for a I've wanted to try it, and I've stumbled across a freebie, so here goes. It's a pale color when a foamy head and is slightly cloudy due to the less-than filtered wheat style, I'm assuming. Looks good. Smells really delicious, like a fruit beer should, and was appealing to those who aren't beer purists in particular, as it smells legitimately fruity. I dug the aroma of cherry's being so strong and not seeming too artificial. The taste tough - up front its good, but right away I taste medicinal cherry cough syrup. I can't taste anything else after that, either. It's tart and not a sugar bomb, but not noticably hoppy...It's hard to want to call this a beer to be honest. You'll love it or you'll hate it as is. Not all that beer like, which is not necessarily a negative. But in taste alone (thinking of it as a desert drink), I couldn't enjoy this. Mouthfeel is medium-full bodied, not watery or light-beer like, but nothing full as other wheat beers. I wouldn't drink this again honestly...unless there was absolutely nothing else around, and I imagine there would be long periods of time between sips to help me forget just how medicinal it is, only to take another sip, remember...and not come back to it for a while or put it down unfinished. YMMV, but I cant get into it. Nice try, Sam.

Photo of Nezzy
2.85/5  rDev -8.9%

Appearance: Really nice pour with wheat colors and slight hint of rust and very thin lacing.

Smell: Smell is actually really good of a wheat beer with hints of the cherry coming through.

Taste: The cherry is very powerful on the first sip and to me almost too powerful. However, it ends nicely and the cherry becomes less strong in the after taste. Problem is after a while the cherry becomes pretty bitter and the bitterness gets stronger the more you drink. It's actually a little off putting.

Mouthfeel: It's not too carbonated and actually pretty smooth.

Drinkability: This is really a type of beer that must be had with food and it should be a desert. Even with that said, I found it hard to go through my whole pint because the bitterness of the beer really got to me. So it's sort of good for novelty sake, but can't see myself drinking more then one in a night.

Photo of jimmah120
2.85/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 5 | overall: 3

12oz bottle with no date, came with a spring sampler

look is a red amber with a frothy head. smells strongly of bing cherries, with wheat in the background. taste follows with dry dusty wheat, white bread malt, and a slightly artificial cherry flavor. light feel, the cherry isn't cloying at all.

if this sounds good to you, you'll probably like it. it was just ok, im not a fan of the artificial cherry flavor. even though I know its brewed with real cherries, it still comes off tasting like robotussin at times. i wouldn't buy again but wouldn't turn it down.

Photo of flipshevanel
2.85/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

This beer is a once in a while thing, I could not drink this regularly. Poured with beautiful white head. The body was hazy with large particles averagely dispursed. There was almost no carbonation and the body hue was a moderately darker golden brown. This beer is rightly named. The aroma was thick with dark cherries that overpowered almost every other scent, although there was a light yeast at the bottom. The flavor was again overpowered by dark cherries that was heavily/harshly sweet with a light bitterness towards the end. The finish was average length with a tiny amount of bread and very acidic. The palate was a medium body with a watery and creamy texture and soft carbonation.

Photo of JMBSH
2.85/5  rDev -8.9%






Photo of JoeMayo
2.85/5  rDev -8.9%

I was with some friends and it happened to be there, so I figured, "hey, why not give it a shot".

A- Pours an orangey-golden color with a quickly dissipating head

S- The smell was the only enjoyable part of the beer. It smells like fresh cherries with a slight spicy wheat aroma.

T- Nothing special at all and not nearly as appealing as the smell. It has that "cheap lager" taste and I feel it tried to cover it with cherries. The fruity, spicy, pleasant flavors that wheat usually imparts in a beer were scarce or non-existent. Overall, it's very bland.

M- Moderate carbonation and it goes down like water.

D- It's light and drinkable, but not very refreshing and not very enjoyable.

Photo of ThreeWiseMen
2.85/5  rDev -8.9%

Appearance: Clear and golden with thin, foamy, white head. Expected a darker color actually.

Smell: Ok Sam Adams, we get it. Cherry is way over-the-top here. Needs to be toned down a bit. Smells extremely syrupy!

Taste: IBC Cherry Cola.

Mouthfeel: Thin with a nasty aftertaste... yuck.

Drinkability: Poor taste, but not poior enough to keep me from drinking at least one more. Then again....

Photo of mnesporov
2.85/5  rDev -8.9%

Presentation: 12 oz bottle with a freshness date clearly stamped on the side.

Appearance: A fogy hazy gold with a fair amount of carbonation that retains a very nice lace.

Smell: A fruity aroma with a slightly cherry hint. (I expected more cherry smells here)

Taste: A tart cherry flavored brew that doesnt let the fruit overpower everything else.

Mouth-Feel: A crisp dry mouth that finishes easy.

Drink-Ability: A refreshing fruit flavored beer.

Photo of strangefate
2.85/5  rDev -8.9%

Cherry Wheat LOOKS great. Other than that, it's a pretty mediocre beer. It pours a nice orange/amber/brown with a good frothy head. That as I suggested, may be the best part. The smell however, is also not too bad. Nothing but pure [carbonated] cherries. Those cherries hit your taste buds pretty immediately, are very sweet, and are very prominent throughout the drink, but you're left with an almost macro after taste. And like macros, it's pretty watery and kind of weak as well. At times it almost doesn't seem like a beer.

At first I didn't think I would be able to drink many of these, however after one and a half or so and my palate getting used to the sweet cherry overload, it's not very hard to drink at all, perhaps that's because it is pretty watery and weak. With that said, it's not a bad a beer to buy at a place that only carries macros, the big imports, Sam Adams and the like, but it definitely leaves something to be desired -- something that reminds you while you're drinking "oh yeah, this is beer I'm drinking".

Photo of BetterDarker
2.88/5  rDev -8%

Poured from 12 ounce bottle into weizen glass.

Appearance - Pale orange, slightly cloudy, thin white head, no retention

Smell - Cherries with a hint of more cherries

Taste - Bright and tart cherry, no hops, no wheat either. Cherry soda almost for flavor profile, minus the cola

Mouthfeel - Light, acidic with good carbonation

Drinkability - Very easy to consume, lawnmower or beach bum beer, i.e. great for the summer. Not sure why it's in the Fall sampler pack.

Photo of Jor-El
2.88/5  rDev -8%

Photo of Travix1516
2.88/5  rDev -8%

I really wanted to like this beer. I enjoy wheat beer. I enjoy cherries. Sam Adams has a respected reputation. It seemed like a winning combination. In the end though it just missed the mark for me.

Appearence - What I saw was a medium to light golden hue, maybe just a little hazy.

Smell - Tart Cherries. The overriding smell I got was a very strong sense of the cherry.

Taste - This is where it derailed a bit for me. Cherry Wheat started out very smooth, with little to no bitterness to speak of. On my first taste I was optimistic, then the cherry hit me. I was expecting something along the lines of a hint of cherry, or maybe a subtle weaving of the flavor profile into the overall taste similer to what Shiner achieved with the peach notes in their Holiday Cheer offering. Instead there was a very strong cherry follow to the beer, that seemed reminiscint of cherry cough syrup. I loved the smoothness, but just can't get past strength of the cherry.

Mouthfeel - I enjoyed the way this felt on the pallet. It had a medium mouthfeel that seemed extremely well balanced. My only complaint here would be that the carbonation is just slightly more than I prefer. That is really very minor and doesn't detract from the feel at all.

Overall - Probably not a beer I will be revisiting, but given the flavor profile I'm sure there are those that will really enjoy it.

Photo of MuenchenerKindl
2.88/5  rDev -8%

Poured from a 12 oz bottle to a tall hefe glass. The liquid is yellow and clear with good carbonation. The Head is big and 3 fingers fluff white. As it fades it leaves a lot of well formed lace.

The smell is strong of cherries, all but hiding everything else.

The taste follows, up front lots of sweet cherries. (Being a son of Door County Wisconsin, I favor a more tart variety). Never the less. this cherry beer is full of cherry taste, However the after taste is the downfall. This one reminds me of Medicine. A very stale and nasty cherry cough medicine. This one came close to being a drain pour.

The mouthfeel is almost good, nice carbonation and a little bite but not enough to break up the thick cherry syrupiness that holds the nasty after taste on your tongue way to long.

The drinkability is not good, I will not try this offering again. MK

Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat from Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)
72 out of 100 based on 3,479 ratings.