Plus, Dave Berg (Schells head brewer) is a super cool guy. We can all thank him for the current beer scene we enjoy. He was bounced around locally between a lot of brewpubs where he made good beer but wasn’t supported by the business owners. The work he did for the MN Craft Brewers guild was also vital to the success of our beer fests and our ability to buy growlers in this state.
I know that you should drink what tastes good, and I’d never support someone who brews crap no matter how nice they are, but it just makes sense to drink local beer… even when there might be one or two breweries out there who might possibly make a better example of the style.

For a hoppy wheat beer, start with Jamil’s recipe for an American Wheat from “Brewing Classic Styles.” Then, experiment with the hop schedule. I also add some caravienne to add a bit of color and sweetness (usually a half pound). My first attempt used 3 ounces of Amarillo (1 oz 60 min, .5 oz 15 min, .5 oz 10 min, .5 oz 5 min, .5 oz flame out). My second attempt was pitched onto the yeast cake of the first and included centennial as the bittering hop, then had summit and amarillo for late additions. Also, I added a little to the grain bill and added candi sugar to increase the OG but keep the body light.