It seems like it has been quite some time since I had a beer from Tailgate. On this occasion, I gleefully point out that this isn't just a wheat beer, but they've gone ahead and added orange to the beer right in the can. I have expressed in the past my desire to see all breweries do this kind of thing. Rather than ask me to add some kind of citrus to my beverage at home, I want you to take care of that at the brewery and make sure that the beer is what it should be by the time I get it and open it. It looks like tailgate has taken me up on my challenge. Good or bad, I appreciate the effort.
The beer pours a particularly dark shade of orange that almost moves into copper. The head doesn't stick around as long as you might expect it to, and it boils to a traditional ring around the sides of the glass with a free-floating island in the middle surrounded by nothing. The aroma is laden with grains and highlighted by heavy orange. If this tastes as good as it smells, I'm in for a treat.First sip is very nice. It starts off a little harsh, but it mellows very, very quickly. The orange is a soothing influence on the grains which seem almost spiky like a hop would be. I'm not sure what's bringing out the caustic nature in the start of the sip, but I suppose it leaves a fast enough, and the orange adds a smoothness to the rest of the beverage that evens everything out very quickly. I don't exactly know what I would say about this as a sipping beer, but that's okay for my process. It's time to gulp.
Tip-in is mild carbonation burn with strong orange rind combined with light wheat and a slight tartness. The middle moves the carbonation to the top of the mouth while the smooth and very light beer manages to travel nearly unmolested across the tongue leaving streaks of wheat and orange in its wake. The finish is a surge of orange meat before drifting back into skin that covers the top of the mouth while wheat flows and dissipates across the tongue leaving only the orange skin for the trail off.
Bottom Line: It's a good enough experiment that I will probably drink another.
2.5/5