NOLA’S 7TH STREET WHEAT

NOLA’S 7TH STREET WHEAT
My wife and I just returned from a trip celebrating our one-year anniversary. It’s crazy to that all the people that read this article have been here through the first year of my marriage. Anyways, to celebrate we went to New Orleans for a few days and, of course, we did some drinking. New Orleans isn’t really considered a craft beer hotspot of sorts, but the beer scene there is rising and fast. One brewery that I particularly like is NOLA Brewing Company. NOLA doesn’t stand for New Orleans Louisiana, but instead, New Orleans Lagers and Ales; just a fun little fact that I like to pass along. Anyways, I tried one at the brewery that I had to take back home, because it is seriously one of the best beers I’ve had in a while. I bought a six-pack and man, have I enjoyed it since we got back especially coupled with this abnormally warm January weather. Here are my thoughts on the NOLA Brewing Company 7th Street Wheat.
The way that the 7th Street Wheat is made is quite interesting. This is no ordinary wheat beer, because it’s a crisp, refreshing beer that’s made with a plant that’s grown in backyards all over the city called lemon basil. It gives the beer an interesting component and also separates the beer from the astronomical number of wheat beers out there. It’s also named for the 7th Street Wharf that’s located directly across the street from the brewery.
I chose to drink this one out of the can, because I was outside on the porch enjoying the weather. When I got it on draught, the color was a super clear straw/yellow color with about a finger’s width of white fluffy head. The head also recedes quite quickly and leaves some nice lacing on the glass. The aromas are fairly neutral and not representative at all of the beautiful flavors. You pick up on the wheat and bready grains, but you can also pick up a few notes of citrus as well.
The flavor is where Heaven’s gates open up, because there is some serious flavor all packed in this unsuspecting beer. You pick up on a ton of grainy flavors in the front, but as you progress through each sip, you really start to get some of those citrusy notes. At the end of each sip, you can get a load of herbal notes that give you a very clean taste at the end, which is amazing. There’s a slight herbal hoppiness that really adds to that flavor as well and it pairs perfectly with the citrus flavors you get. This is one delicious beer and mixed with the heat in New Orleans, you could easily beat the heat with a few of these.
Mouthfeel is pretty on par with the style. It’s crisp and bright, but at the same time, there’s a bit of creaminess that comes out of left field and adds a ton to the body of the beer. It’s a full bodied wheat beer that doesn’t sit on your stomach or fill you up more than it should.
Overall, this bad boy hits on all cylinders, and because it’s such a unique recipe to a very boring style, it something that non-wheat beer fans can enjoy. I would definitely seek this one out again the next time I’m in New Orleans, and luckily for us, NOLA beer is distributed to Mobile, so you don’t even have to be in New Orleans to grab a six-pack. I can imagine myself on the beach with a cooler full of 7th Street Wheat, and not a care in the world. That sounds nice. Real nice.