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Styles · American Wheat Beer

Beer style · BJCP 2021 1D

American Wheat Beer

Standard American Beer

Published ranges These are the ranges the BJCP 2021 guidelines publish for this style.

Original gravity
1.040–1.055
Final gravity
1.008–1.013
Bitterness
15–30 IBU
Color
3–6 SRM (6–12 EBC)
Alcohol
4.0–5.5 % ABV

What it is

A pale refreshing wheat beer fermented with a clean American or British yeast, so the banana and clove of Bavaria are absent. Wheat supplies soft bready grain and often a hazy pour, while hopping runs from restrained to openly citrusy. Fermentation cleanliness is what separates it from a Weissbier.

Flavor

What a American Wheat Beer should taste like, on the three wheels the studio scores every recipe against. The shaded ring is the style’s range on each axis, from 0 at the center to 5 at the edge.

Hops

Room for citrus, floral, herbal or spice.

Malt

Grainy, with room for bready/biscuit or sweet/honey.

Fermentation

Clean, with room for fruity esters.

Hops that suit it

Varieties whose loudest notes all sit on this style’s hop wheel, best fit first. How much to use is the recipe’s question; these are the ones that taste right.

And 22 more hops whose character fits. These are the 24 that fit best.

Yeasts that suit it

Strains the lab made for beers like this one, whose fermentation character sits inside the style’s wheel. A strain sold by several labs is listed once; its page names the others.

And 32 more yeasts whose character fits. These are the 24 that fit best.

Style numbers, names and vital statistics are from the BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines, where you will find the official descriptions. The descriptions and flavor wheels here are Beerwright’s own. Beerwright is not affiliated with or endorsed by the BJCP.