Wellbeing Heavenly Body Golden Wheat

4_5
4_5

Wellbeing Heavenly Body Golden Wheat

Wheat Beer / Wellbeing NA / <0.5%

Heavenly Body Golden Wheat NA is based on a Great American Beer Festival award-winning recipe.

I can’t help but feel that many of the non-alcoholic beers that are appearing on the shelf are marketed directly toward people like me. Outdoor recreation is a huge element of my personal life, and remaining as fit as possible for these types of endeavors is one of the reasons that I have become interested in beer that contains no alcohol and fewer calories. It is a fairly obvious pairing – athletes and health. But as a member of this community, I also find that these are some of the most beer-lovingest people that I have ever come across. So it isn’t as simple as just reducing calories. You have to maintain flavor at the same time.

Wellbeing Brewing Company, founded in St. Louis in 2017, is one of these craft breweries dedicated to the creation of NA beer that is perfect for sipping after a long hike or while sitting by the fire at your campsite. They are far from alone is this pursuit, but having been around for a few years now, they’ve had the opportunity to iron out some of the issues and release a nice variety of styles. I am going to step out of the IPA realm this time around and share with you my Wellbeing Heavenly Body Golden Wheat review to let you know how it stands up.

Wellbeing Heavenly Body Golden Wheat Review

I should say up front that I have previously sampled Wellbeing’s Intentional IPA and found that is was fine if largely unremarkable. A wheat beer seems like something that would bode well in the world of NA, but I haven’t found too many of them on the market. Hopefully this one brings some complementary flavors to the table while maintaining that strong wheat backbone.

Immediately noticeable about Wellbeing is that they are one of seemingly very few NA beer brands that packages their product in bottles rather than cans. The label of this bottle is artistically pleasant but perhaps a tad busy. The yellow frame of an angle adorns the front of the bottle, with some marketing material wrapping around the back. I like seeing that a bottle of this beer contains 68 calories. That number is low enough to be a nice healthy option but not so low that it should entirely lack character.

In the glass, the body is a bit darker shade of gold than I expected. There is a little bit of hazy and a modest fizzy head that dissipates quickly and doesn’t leave much in terms of lacing. The major notes that I get on the nose are wheat, naturally, along with some lemony citrus and a decent bit of grassy wort. That vegetal wort aroma can be a problem in non-alcoholic brews, but I have mostly found it in IPAs. Here is smells fairly mild, and there are actually some relatively nice hop notes that are encouraging.

When all is said and done, appearance and aroma don’t mean much in comparison to taste. But so far they are giving me some reasons to be optimistic about this beer. Let’s dive in further and answer the big question, “Is Wellbeing Heavenly Body Golden Wheat good?” 

Is Wellbeing Heavenly Body Golden Wheat Good?

I believe that the consensus answer to this question would have to be a convincing “yes.” While it doesn’t blow me away immediately upon tasting, I haven’t found many NA offerings that do. This one stands up pretty well against its counterparts, however, and displays a pretty clear standard of craftsmanship.

First thing’s first, the wort that I sensed on the nose is present but at a really nice toned down level. It doesn’t wipe out so many of the other flavors as I have found it to do in plenty of other NA brews. In fact, it adds a little bit of texture to the profile here. That profile is dominated by a pleasant balance of wheat and hops. I actually think that this beer might have a little more hop character than most wheats on the traditional craft beer market. I can’t tell if the subtle grassiness comes via the hops or the wort, but I won’t fight it either way.

The lemon citrus notes are a bit more subdued than I anticipated. They don’t really show up until the middle of the sip and tend to linger lightly on the tongue after swallowing. The body is quite full, if not rich, and I don’t think I would necessarily identify this beer as NA if given a blind tasting of it. Overall the flavor profile is robust without being terribly complex. I think that it could be seen as filling and not the easiest drinker, but there is nothing wrong with that. It has some refreshing qualities but might be more suited for spring or autumn sipping.

This beer will surely end up receiving high marks from me, but where exactly will I land for my final Wellbeing Heavenly Body Golden Wheat rating. Finish reading and find out. 

Wellbeing Heavenly Body Golden Wheat Rating

Styles such as wheat beer seem like natural candidates for drawing people to the world of NA. They are approachable and on the simpler side, with typically no real offensive qualities. That’s why I am surprised that I haven’t encountered more of them throughout my sampling experiences. This one does well to display many of those foundational qualities that are found in most of the macro options in the traditional craft beer industry. But it also tacks on some subtle flourishes that don’t deter from the backbone and even give it a little bit of a boost.

And yet, there is nothing here that is truly remarkable. I like that the hop character is substantial and the body full. It makes for a very solid beer. But to earn the highest grade from me, I need some elements with a little more kick – something that I didn’t know I needed until I tasted it. So I am going to wrap up this Wellbeing Heavenly Body Golden Wheat review by giving it a strong score of 4 out of 5 stars. If wheat is your thing, count this among the best of the few non-alcoholic options that are out there.

 

Photos Credit:

https://www.amazon.in/

https://untappd.com/

https://wellbeingbrewing.com/