Today, we are going to talk about a beer that is quintessentially Athens. Not only is it brewed at everyone’s favorite Midwestern brewpub, Jackie O’s, but it is their No. 1 beer. On a busy night, Jackie O’s can and will sell literally kegs of this stuff. On a great night, they sometimes run out.
A typical keg has more than 120 pints in it. That’s right — Jackie O’s has managed to sell hundreds of glasses of this beer per night. It’s sweet and it’s bright. Today, we’re going to review Razz Wheat.
First, we have to say that we both love Jackie O’s. During 2012’s Ohio Brew Week, we practically never left. According to BeerAdvocate, it’s a world-class bar for beer lovers. Jackie O’s has a penchant for brewing some strange and wonderful beers while also bringing in guest brews from some of the best breweries in the country.
If you’ve never been, you aren’t experiencing Athens to its full potential. If you have been, go again. Spend every night and all of your money there. It’s worth it. It’s a beer lovers’ paradise.
Razz Wheat pours nicely. It always has a nice head of foam. Color-wise, it’s a hazy sort of red or pink, depending on the light. That’s not a normal color for a beer, and some people are put off by it. Don’t let that stop you.
You smell the main ingredient almost immediately. The sweet scent of raspberries hits your nose and you can tell that this beer is going to be sweet. The taste matches the scent in this case; it’s sweet but not too sugary. You can easily tell that it’s brewed with actual raspberries as opposed to extract. There are hops, but not too many.
It is a beer that is fun to drink and it’s refreshing.
Opinions vary about Razz Wheat. Some claim it’s too sweet; others claim it’s just sweet enough. Both of us have gone back and forth. The great thing about Razz Wheat is that it’s always there. So after trying it a few times, you can take some time away from it. You can come back to it after a week or two, or even a few months. Jackie O’s brews it practically all the time.
Now, we’ll let you in on a little secret: The bartenders at Jackie O’s will mix Razz Wheat with other beers if you ask them. Try adding Firefly to tone down the sweetness, or maybe Dark Apparition to eliminate the hops.
Overall, Razz Wheat is a good beer. Is it one of our favorites? No. But it does two things quite well. First, it pleases the crowd. Neither of us has ever met someone who completely hates Razz Wheat. People like it or they love it (and judging by Jackie O’s sales, we’d say most people love it).
Second, it provides something interesting. Fruit beers can be hard to come by at times, especially if you’re trying to avoid the extremely sugary ones. Razz Wheat, on the other hand, lets you have a good fruit beer at a great bar. We definitely recommend it.
Jared Henderson and Patty Arnold are seniors studying philosophy and biological science, respectively, at Ohio University and columnists for The Post. What beer should be on their radar? Email them at jh350409@ohiou.edu and pa803908@ohiou.edu.
