I live in Houston, Texas, so I can’t escape Shiner beer even if I wanted to. I have been to the Spoetzl Brewery twice, and Shiner was one of the first darker beers I ever drank. Yes, we had it in South Carolina back in 1995 or so. All of the grocery stores stock all of the different Shiner brews, so I spotted the new Shiner 102 Double Wheat and had to try it.

It pours a beautiful golden color, but it had almost no head. I was not impressed by the head at all. Perhaps I poured it too slowly, but it got nothing there. Despite that, the high carbonation is one of the best things about the Shiner 102. It has a very bright carbonation to it that is simply delightful. I drank it quickly and really cold, so those things helped, but the brightness really shines.

The taste, however, is nothing special. There is nuttiness on the front end, but only a very slight bitterness on the back end. In all, there’s just not a lot going on, which, frankly, makes this a very drinkable beer. I could see myself drinking quite a few of them without feeling the beer log, the taste that overwhelms the mouth when you drink too much of a beer is simply too flavorful (like most of my favorites are). The Shiner 102 is a beer to drink on hot summer days straight from an iced cooler. It goes down very easily and doesn’t have an overwhelming taste. Watch out, though: it’s nearly 7% alcohol. That’s a hefty beer after all.

In all, I like the Shiner 102, but don’t expect too much from it. After all, it is a golden wheat beer. But it’s not a bad one.