Bent River Brewing Company - American Wheat Ale

Bent River’s American Wheat Ale presents a bright golden color, lightly hazed, with a vigorous head of pale foam. In the aroma, look for pleasant touches of herbal hops evoking earth and mild pine, backed up by light shades of lemon rind and peach-like stone fruit. On the palate, we get a very well realized wheaty core delivering a touch of sweetness alongside its characteristic tanginess, and the whole thing comes across quite round and smooth thanks in part to the brewers’ use of oats. Hop bitterness is low here, but well matched to the malty center, keeping everything in good balance. Unlike Bavarian-style weissbier (hefeweizen), there are no big clove, banana, or bubblegum notes, due to the much more neutral yeast strains used in this American style of wheat beer. Instead, the expressive American hops deliver all the fruity and herbal notes we picked up in the aroma, keeping us coming back for another sip again and again. For pairing options, your choices are vast, as this is a food-friendly style. Fried or BBQ’d chicken, fish & chips, burgers, pizzas, salads, grilled fish or shrimp with lemon… it’s hard to go wrong. Cheers!

Starting his own microbrewery had always been a dream of Tim Koster, owner of Koski’s Home Brew Fixens in the Historic District of Moline, IL. One day in 1996, homebrewer and Koski’s customer Darron Morris asked Tim what it would take to start up a microbrewery. The two summoned the courage to turn their dreams into reality, and Bent River Brewing Company was born in 1997. With the help of several investors, they were able to purchase the remainder of the 1922 Italian Renaissance-style building that housed the homebrew store, and then transform it into a brewpub. The company received an award for their renovation of the building by the Moline Preservation Society. The brewpub features a full menu and plenty of beers on tap, and remains a popular watering hole for the local fans of good craft beer.

In 2012, Bent River Brewing Company added a second location in order to address their need for increased production capacity. Located in Rock Island, this package brewery houses a bottling line and shipping center, allowing the company to efficiently brew and distribute their beer throughout the area. The location also features a tasting room where you can sample any of Bent River’s year-round beers as well as their rotating seasonals. For more information, visit them at www.bentriverbrewing.com.