374. Marietta Paw Paw Wheat

This beer is brewed by Marietta Brewing Company in Marietta, OH, which is east of Athen (I didn’t know either). I had it on tap at Casa Nueva in Athens, OH as a part of Ohio Beer Week. ¡Viva la Revolución!

Paw Paw Wheat opens with a slightly fruity nose, something soft and fleshy, like banana or peach; there is also a delicate perfuminess to it via either the paw paws or the yeast esters, and also some wheat malt aroma mixed in along the way. The beer is a hazy gold color with not much head. Flavors at the front of the beer are a gentle mix of wheat and sweetness, moving into a clean fruit flavor in the middle that is not quite banana or peach, but something in that area. The finish has rise in sweetness—it is sweeter than the front—as well as a rise in the fruit flavor that has a citrus component to it now, and a lightly lingering fruit ester finish. Probably the best way to describe the fruit flavor of Paw Paw Wheat would be peach-like, but not quite—I think this flavor is more subtle and enjoyable than that of peaches, particularly in beer. The body is medium to light, with a soft clean mouthfeel and no real stickiness. There is a bit of drying in the final third on the palate that accompanies the rise in sweetness, and the carbonation is light, with a soft tingling in the final third that gives the finish a light brightness. Paw Paw Wheat is a good beer overall; the fruit flavors are a bit muted, which may be a product of the paw paw itself, but as a whole a clean, well-made, and enjoyable beer. I do wish I had something to compare it to, but I am happy that there is at least one paw paw beer out there.

Paw Paws!

From the Marietta website: “A local favorite, this smooth wheat beer uses a full pound of locally harvested Pawpaw per gallon of beer. Semi-dry and full of tropical fruit flavor.”

ABV: 6.4%
IBU: 12
OG: 1.056

(7/9/2010)