Pete’s Strawberry Blonde vs Lancaster Strawberry Wheat Beer

July 9, 2009

Another amazing first for The Brew Club!  Today we’re posting our first head-to-head beer review to see which is the better of the Strawberry flavored beers!  Pete’s Wicked Strawberry Blonde or the Lancaster Brewing Company Strawberry Wheat! The Pete’s Strawberry Blonde is a Lager that weighs in at 5% ABV and the Lancaster is a 4.7% ABV wheat Ale.

I don’t know what the scientific protocol is for such a review, but what I think I’m going to do is compare the Pete’s Wicked Strawberry Blonde and the Lancaster Brewing Strawberry Wheat Beer point-for-point instead of finishing one, and then finishing the other.  Lets see what happens!

Lets start with the appearance!

The Pete’s Strawberry Blonde is a nice amber color that’s mostly clear but appears to be just slightly cloudy.  It created a smallish white head and that didn’t last long at all.  There’s also only the slightest touch of lacing and looking at my beer in the glass there’s a wee bit of carbonation that streams up.

The Lancaster Strawberry Wheat also created a larger foamy head in comparison that also cleared up rather quickly, but the main difference I could see is there was a minimal foam layer on the beer surface whereas the Pete’s disappeared completely.  Lancaster’s beer was just slightly darker, perhaps more ’strawberryish’ looking than the Pete’s, and the clarity of the beer was just about the same.  Mostly clear with a slight haze.  During the summer months in New Jersey, its mostly haze with slight ozone, but that’s a whole ‘nother review!

• Winner – Lancaster Strawberry Wheat because I just thought it looked nicer.

Moving on to the aroma.

The Pete’s Strawberry Blonde produced a noticeable, yet not overpowering strawberry scent.  You would know (if blindfolded) that there was something with strawberries in your glass.  Nothing too crazy – not even artificial or forced smelling.  I think its exactly what I would expect a strawberry flavored beer to smell like.  I didn’t really pick up on many other scents in this beer beyond the mild strawberry.

Lancaster’s Strawberry Wheat on the other hand had a more subtle strawberry scent to it, but as the beer warmed up a little I began to think that the Lancaster beer had a more natural strawberry smell than Pete’s.

• Winner – Tie.  Maybe I’m nuts, or maybe its two different varieties of ‘natural strawberry flavor’, but I can’t pick a favorite here. I think they are both decent smelling beers in a weird way, and have an interesting strawberry thing going for them.

Taste.

Well, to me this is the category that carries the most weight.  If a beer tastes good, I’m less inclined to knock it for looks or even the smell, but if it tastes bad well looks or aroma won’t help!

The Pete’s Strawberry Blonde,  has a slight, yet noticeable hop bite that creates a little bit of that sting in the mouth.  Its also seems to have retained more of its carbonation as well, it just seems kind of bubbly as I’m drinking it.  The strawberry flavor is there, but I think it is less of an element in the taste than it was in the smell.  The strawberry is definitely there, but it comes off a little artificial tasting I think.  There’s something of a dry and mildly bitter finish that wasn’t bad, but I not great either, and I got a bit of an ‘alcoholy’ aftertaste as well.  As a matter of fact, the more of this beer I have, the less I like it.

The Lancaster Strawberry Wheat is also mild in the strawberry flavor, but the flavor is a little more natural tasting I think than the Pete’s is.  The Lancaster beer is smoother with less of a hop bite than Pete’s, and it feels smoother going down without the sting of the Pete’s brew.  The mouthfeel is light and slick, and the aftertaste is more strawberry than bitter – albeit artificial tasting strawberry.

• Winner – Lancaster Strawberry Wheat.  Overall, its just a smoother, better tasting, more mellowed beer than the Pete’s Strawberry Blonde.

Overall Winner – Lancaster Strawberry Wheat. If you’re looking for a Strawberry flavored beer, The Brew Club prefers the Lancaster Strawberry Wheat over the Pete’s Wicked Strawberry Blonde.  Granted, these beers don’t really have much in common beyond the ‘natural strawberry flavor added’ part, but to me that’s enough to do a head-to-head strawberry beer battle, and it also allows me to get these two otherwise horrible beers out of my fridge!  That said, if you are into Milk Stouts, Lancaster Milk Stout is one of the best I’ve had – the Strawberry stuff is just weird I think.

Lancaster Strawberry Wheat – Rating:

Pete’s Wicked Strawberry Blonde – Rating:

Do you have a fovorite berry or fruit flavored beer?  What is it?  If you check back in a couple of days, we’ll be posting a review of Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat!

Posted in 1 Star Reviews, Ales, All Brews Reviewed, Flavored Beers, Lager, Wheat Beers