Snapshot is the newish wheat beer from New Belgium. I had been putting off trying it since I am not a big fan of wheat beers but a few days ago I gave in. I waited until I had finished the whole six-pack before writing this. I limited my self to two bottles a day to ensure that I wasn’t swayed in a positive or negative way by drinking too much at one time and what I found was a new style of wheat beer that I really enjoyed.

First the appearance, when first poured out of the bottle there was a nice head of about 2 fingers thick that slowly reduced to a small layer of fluff on top. Since this is an unfiltered drink the color shows a nice hazy gold when held to light. As I finish the drink it leaves nice thick lacing on the glass.

On the nose it has a lovely aroma of grass, citrus, yeast, and wheat. Smells you would want to have with a good wheat beer.

Finally the fun part, the flavor and palate. It is light with the flavor of coriander and a fair amount of citrus that leads to a tart/sour and dry finish. According to New Belgium the special process to achieve this flavor is to “Add Lacto (souring bacteria) to a portion of the overall wort, which produces lactic acid that gives a characteristic sourness and mouthfeel. That acidic portion is then added to other portion of the wort that was fermented with the Ale yeast. So two worts – a sour and a regular – are blended together to make Snapshot.” The mouthfeel is thin but creamy and pleasant on the palate. If it had a heavier mouth feel it wouldn’t be as refreshing and enjoyable.

For someone that normally doesn’t normally drink wheat beers I found this to be a very delicious beer. Overall this is a great light summer or spring beer. It is incredibly enjoyable while sitting outside in the sun or in the evening while talking with friends. Because of it’s light and tart flavor my cigar pairing recommendation would be a Liga T-52 or Undercrown. The lightness of the beer will pair well with the heavier cigar.

Brewer: New Belgium

ABV: 5.0%

Yeast: Hybrid ale yeast

Hops: Cascade

Malts: Pale, Wheat

Rating: 4 out of 5 pints. Go get some and enjoy.