Lucky Bucket Heartland Wheat

Review Date 10/22/2016 By John Staradumsky

  Style: American Wheat   Brewery: Lucky Bucket   Country: USA  

State: Nebraska

  $ Per OZ:$.12 (B)   ABV: 4.8%

As a guru of brew, I’ve been on the hunt for new and exciting beers since 1982. And jotting down my thoughts on them since I got my first computer in 1994. So, you would think by now I would have penned a review on at least beer from each of the 50 states, but sad to say, I have not. Rest assured, I’ve drunk a beer from all of them, I just have missed my chance to write about them all. At least, I haven’t yet.

So, who are the offending states? There are five: West Virginia, Iowa, both of the Dakotas, and Nebraska. More correctly, there were five, because you can now cross Nebraska off that list thanks to the bottle of Lucky Bucket Heartland Wheat I’m imbibing tonight. The Lucky Bucket brewery is located in La Vista, Nebraska and has the honor of being the first brewery to represent the Cornhusker State here on Bruguru.com.

From the label:

Lucky Bucket Heartland Wheat is a refreshing, tasty ale. Brewed with the same high quality water, yeast, hops and barley as our other beers, this beer also includes a special fifth ingredient, golden wheat from the American heartland. Adding wheat creates a soft-bodied beer that pairs perfectly with the citrus variety hops that we add during the brewing process. The result is a thirst-quenching beer with a fresh finish, enjoy!

Lucky Bucket seems to be a little confused about their own beer, though. On their website, they call it Hoodang Wheat, although they show an image of the same bottle of Heartland Wheat I hold in my hand. They claim it has 4% alcohol by volume on the website and 15 IBUs; my bottle gives alcohol content as 4.8% by volume. It was running $8.99 a six-pack in Nashville where I bought a single at Wild Hare Beer.

Lucky Bucket Heartland Wheat Beer pours to a hazy golden color with a thick, towering head of foam (that I had to wait to recede as I slowly poured) and a tart wheaty nose with a hint of citrus. Taking a sip, the beer is crackery-wheaty at first with a subtle hint of lemon rind and then a tart wheaty finish with a gentle kiss of grassy hops.

I found this beer to be quite tasty and refreshing, a good if not exceptional example of an American Wheat. It’s a beer I would buy again at the price, especially in the midst of summer heat.

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??