User:Mkutska2/Shock Top Belgian Wheat Ale

Shock Top is a Belgian Wheat Ale originally released under the name Spring Heat Spiced Wheat as a seasonal beer by Anheuser-Busch in 2006. The brew entered the market as a year-round beer in 2007 under its current name.

Origin
Shock Top was released initially under the name Spring Heat Spiced Wheat as a seasonal beer in February of 2006, but was later reintroduced as a year-round beer under the Shock Top name beginning in November of 2007 due to its immense popularity. The name originates from a catchy bar call. A shock is also known as a bundle of wheat, an image that is present on the labeling as the wheat head on the orange. In 2006, Shock Top won the North American Beer Gold Award for the the Belgian White category under the name Spring Heat Spiced Wheat. It took home the bronze award in 2007 for that same category.

Ingredients
The malting ingredients for Shock Top include two-row barley and wheat. While regular beer is brewed with only barley, the addition of wheat gives the beer a lighter flavor and paler color than traditional all-barley ales. The Hallertau hops are imported from Germany. There are also Cascade and Willamette hops used in its production. Orange, lemon, and lime peels are used in the brewkettle. Also, coriander spice is added for taste.

Brewing Process
Malting is the first step in the brewing process for Shock Top. In this step, a mixture of barley and wheat is converted into a malt. The barley and wheat is steeped in water and allowed to germinate. This process unlocks simple sugars in the wheat and barley. The finished malt, also known as "green malt," is heated and dried. This process gives the beer its natural color. The next step in the process is wort production. In this step, the husks of the barley are opened to reveal starches. These starches are then mixed with hot water in order to create natural sugars. Coriander, lemon peels, lime peels, orange peels, and various other spices are added to the mixture to give Shock Top its distinctive flavor. After, the mixture is strained and one is left with wort. This strained wort is then cooled and put into a fermentation tank. A unique yeast strand is then added to this tank. The yeast produces the alcohol in the beer by consuming the sugar. The beer is aged in the fermentation tanks to complete its transition and finalize the flavor and color. The final step in the process of Shock Top production is finishing. Shock Top is one of the few beers that leaves the yeast unfiltered in the beer. For this reason, there is a natural cloudy color to the beer. Finally, the beer is pasteurized, bottled, and ready for sale.

Pouring the Brew
To execute the perfect pour, the brewer instructs the consumer to pour the beer down the side of the glass bottle until there is one inch remaining in the bottle. Take the bottle and roll it on a flat surface. This motion will mix the remaining yeast that has settled at the bottom of the beer. Then, pour the remaining beer in the bottle into the glass to produce a thick layer of foam. The flavors of the beer are best presented in a tall and wide-mouthed glass.

Premium Beer Niche
There has been a steady decline in the premium beer market since 2004. In light of the recession, users traded to sub-premium drafts and purchased super-premium brands as their luxury options. Budweiser controls 79.2% of sales in the premium beer segment in 2008. In response to recent declines in sales, Anhueser-Busch has increased spending in advertising and promotions behind Budweiser by 50% in 2007-2008 alone. The future growth of the premium beer segment is expected to come from flavored beers as evidenced by recent trends in sale.

Virtual Sip Application
thumb|alt=Alt text|Shock Top Virtual Sip Application There is a Shock Top Virtual Sip application that can be downloaded to your iPhone. This application allows you to pour a virtual glass of beer and instructs the user to smell and lick the phone. This application was popularized by an April Fool's joke on Fox News the morning of April 1, 2011. An anchor introduced the application with the description of the fake smell and taste technology to his co-anchor and instructed her to smell and lick the phone. After licking the phone, a screen describing the smell and taste technology as a hoax pops up.