Craft Beer in a Can!
After the CityBeat Festival of Beers, I was excited that my wife, who hates beer, had found a beer she claimed she enjoyed, Maui Brewing Company’s Mana Wheat. She said it was the pineapple that sold her.
A few weeks later, I rode down to Clem’s in hopes of picking up a six-pack. Unfortunately they were out but they ordered one for me.
A week later I stopped by to pick up my six-pack for $13.99 looking forward to enjoying a beer with the wife. Sadly when I arrived home with this wonderful elixir, she gave me a look of disgust and informed it that it was her least unfavorite beer. Well, at least she is finding ones more less-unfavorites. Sooner or later, she will enjoy one and I think it will be a wheat (stereotypical I know).
Wheaty Goodness
So I decided to try a Mana Wheat without her. According to the Maui Brewing website, Mana Wheat is “an unfiltered, freshly handcrafted American-style wheat ale infused with Maui Gold Pineapple.” The ABV is a manageable 5.5%.
The color was light as you would expect from a wheat beer and slightly cloudy as claimed on the website. The infused pineapple added a nice hint of sweetness and thankfully did not make the beer taste like a sugary malt drink (Funny how I started out on those and can never ever go back. Way too sweet) or cider. The pineapple adds a nice twist to the beer replacing the usual orange slice you see added to a wheat beer.
Wheat-styles may not be my favorite type of beer but I could see myself enjoying a beer like this one a warm summer day and in San Diego those are frequent. But I think the better idea is a Mana Wheat in hand and the Maui beach sand beneath my feet!
Bernasconi 