Over the summer while I was visiting Southern California I searched for a brewery in the area and found Hangar 24 Brewery in Redlands, California. I arranged for a visit and tried all of the beers on tap at the time. More on the brewery tour in a future post.

Hangar 24′s flagship and most popular beer is Orange Wheat, a wonderful summertime, or any time, American style wheat beer made with oranges. The oranges in this beer are organic and are sourced from local growers from the Inland Orange Conservancy. The oranges are pureed whole and added to the beer giving it a strong orange natural flavor.

Where I Found It. I tried this beer at Hangar 24 Brewery in Redlands, California on June 6, 2009.

Serving Type. I tried Orange Wheat from the tap into a plastic cup.

Appearance. This beer has a pale yellow pastel color and has a cloudy appearance, as you would expect a wheat beer to be. The head was frothy and lasted a good amount of time, especially for a fruit beer. With the style of beer in mind, it has a refreshing appearance like grapefruit juice.

Smell. The aroma and bouquet of Orange Wheat is primarily related to the oranges in the beer. It has a strong smell of fresh squeezed orange  juice, orange rind, and orange rind. It has an inviting tangy smell accompanied by a hint of grainy and bready aroma.

Taste. Orange Wheat is exactly how I think that an orange beer should taste. It has the perfect blend of fresh natural oranges and beer and does not taste nor like orange candy like some other of the orange beers on the market. Just like the smell it has flavors or orange juice and slightly tart and acidic making it clean and crisp. The malt reveals itself as a slight grainy sweetness of wheat and barley while finishing more dry than sweet. There is little to no discernible bitterness in this beer.

Mouthfeel. This beer is light bodied with a refreshing amount of carbonation. Orange Wheat has a slight and pleasant orange aftertaste.

Drinkability. This beer is thirst quenching and very easy to drink. It has an ideal blend of orange and beer and tastes fresh both with regard to the beer and the oranges. It is crisp, light, and easy to consume several in one sitting. Although it might be best suited for a warm summer day, it is also great for any time of day in any California season.

Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.

• Appearance (20%): 4.0
• Smell (20%): 4.5
• Taste (40%): 5.0
• Mouthfeel (10%): 4.0
• Drinkability (10%): 5.0
• Overall: 4.6

Information

• Style: American Wheat, Fruit Beer
• Brewery: Hangar 24 Brewery website, twitter, facebook
• Alcohol by volume: 4.6% abv
• Other ingredients: whole pureed oranges
• Beer Advocate rating: 3.83 (as of September 5, 2009)

Other Reviews

• Summer of Beer – Hangar 24 Brewery, Redlands, CA
• Beer Advocate - Orange Wheat
• Rate Beer – Hangar 24 Orange Wheat