1664 Blanc from Brasseries Kronenbourg in France
1664 Blanc, a flavoured Wheat Beer from France
There was a single bottle of this available at the local liquor store so I grabbed it.
In short, this is not a good wheat beer. It’s quite bad actually.
Very light looking in colour, this looks (and tastes) like a straw lager more than a well-crafted wheat beer. My first sip was hard to swallow, I had a sort of cough-syrup gag reflex to it. It got better, bit it’s too harsh, carbonated and bitter to be an enjoyable wheat beer.
The label says flavoured fruity wheat beer, it should say flavoured and sweetened as it has more glucose in the beer than spices, fruits or flavour that is expected from wheat beers.
I really thought I’d like it more. But once opened, it has a strong orange sugar aroma with a taste that just stings the tongue.
If you want classic coriander and orange flavours added to your wheat beer, stick to Hoegaarden and stay clear of this one, which inevitably must result in some nasty hangovers. Swallow it in big gulps to skip the bitter harshness, and it can be tolerable.
The Wicked Wheat Beer Series is a collection of great wheat beers ranging from Belgian Witbier to Dunkelweiss to Hefeweizen and everything in between. If you’re a glutton for gluten, or wild for wheat beers, these are the refreshing beers for you.
