I can’t say as I’ve had many banana beers (the only other one that comes immediately to mind is a homebrewed banana wheat years ago), so Wells Banana Bread Beer stands out in that regard. As it happens, I’d been hearing for a while how this beer actually smells exactly like banana bread, but I’ve never been able to find it in Central Oregon; however, I did find a bottle on our spring break Lake Tahoe trip and couldn’t resist picking it up.
(Yes, I’ve been sitting on this review since March.)
Wells Banana Bread Beer is a 5.2% ABV ale brewed (according to the label) “with bananas and banana flavor added.” According to the web the bananas themselves are Fair Trade bananas, so that’s a good thing.
Appearance: Clear brown-copper with a bit of an off-white head. Bright and effervescent.
Smell: Definite aroma of ripe bananas, bready and sweet. I don’t know if it’s exactly like banana bread, but I am enjoying the banana. A little brown sugar and that’s about all.
Taste: Nice banana notes in the flavor too; the malt behind is a touch sharp and roasty with some earthy bitter hops. A touch zingy—label mentions “peppery spice” of hops. Bready, sweet, interesting.
Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a bit of a bit (from the effervescent body).
Overall: Lots of banana character here, interesting and tasty though I’m not sure I’d make it a regular.
On BeerAdvocate, it scores an overall grade of B-. On RateBeer, it scores 2.91 out of 5, and is in their 42nd overall percentile.