Anyone who knows me well knows that I hate Winter. I don't mind Fall so much weather wise, but I do hate the fact that it only serves to remind me that days are getting shorter, temperatures are getting colder, and clothes are getting heavier. There are many great things about the Winter months, football and college basketball among them, but I feel I'd enjoy it all much more in shorts, a t-shirt, and on an 80 degree, sunny day. The abrupt cool down of the last few days woke me up to Winter being right around the corner and so, in my own attempt to stave off the cold creeping in around the door and window frames, I grabbed a bottle of O'Fallon's Wheach, a wheat beer brewed with peaches, to remind me of the summer harvest and that hopefully there are still a few 80 degree days left before I should rightfully be able to start hibernating.
I poured my 12oz bottle into a pint glass and let it settle for a few moments before diving in. The half an inch head disappeared rather quickly and I decided that the time to strike was now. The fragrance of peaches really stands out and is quite inviting; it reminded me of sticking my face into a freshly picked bushel. After a few sips it really sunk in that this is not an overly complex beer and that the peach aroma doesn't dominate the flavor like you may think it would after first whiff. I personally found that quite delightful since I enjoy my wheat beers to have definite hints of citrus fruits, but don't want it to feel like I'm drinking a fruit juice box in 2nd grade. At only 5.1% ABV and 7 IBUs the Wheach is a very drinkable session beer, and one that apparently gets mixed reviews amongst it's drinkers. The average rating for Wheach on Beeradvocate.com is a very respectable B, while the raters at Ratebeer.com provide it only with a score of 53 (which, for those of you who remember your test grades from school, is not a score you'd want to bring home to mom and pops).
I guess all I can suggest is that you try it yourself and see what you think. I rather enjoyed it and would probably pick it up again if I were out and wanting a wheat beer. I have the feeling that, like with most wheat beers, the cooler it gets the harder this one will be to find or even convince yourself to drink; so maybe get ahold of one before Old Man Winter graces us with ice storms, 20 degree days, and Christmas music out the wazoo, and savor one last drop of summer until next year.
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