If I were making a list of the best breweries that you’ve never heard of, Cigar City Brewing would end up in the top five (Saint Arnold’s, Lazy Magnolia, and Parish Brewing Company would be there. Revolver, Deep Ellum, B. Nektar Meadery, and Three Floyds would land in the mix for a top 10.). It’s a little brewery in Tampa that makes excellent white and brown ales, and some very interesting concepts: a brown ale made with an obscene amount of espresso beans, a cucumber saison, and the Hunahpu — an imperial stout consider among the best beers produced in America.

Cigar City got together with a group called Brew Bus, a local tourism company that runs beer tours in the Tampa-St. Pete area. Naturally, any company claiming to provide an all-inclusive craft beer experience should brew its own beers to serve on its tours. That’s where Cigar City comes in. After brewing its own stuff for a few years, Brew Bus turned the reins over to Cigar City to brew and can its product. Brew Bus Brewing Company produces five year-round beers: red, wheat, blueberry wheat, and India Pale Ales, as well as a double porter.

One expects wheat ales to be smooth, heavy beverages. We’ve been lulled into this false sense of wheat aledom by Blue Moon and the ensuing onslaught of witbiers and faux Belgian whites. During the summer, wheats make up the vast majority of summer ales, tinged with lemon peel. Are Wheat There Yet? throws all of the spices and fruits away, and utilizes four different hops to bring the fruit flavors and bitterness to the table. It’s not quite a pale ale, but then again, it’s not your typical wheat ale either. It’s a complex wheat ale that lets the hops build the flavor profile rather than fruit peels and the spice rack.

This is the type of beer that I would want on a summer weekend while sitting out on the back porch. It’s not a session beer, but is still low enough where one can drink a few without getting completely boxed.

Now if it were only distributed in New York…

Brewer: Brew Bus Brewing Company (Cigar City Brewing Company)

Beer: Are Wheat There Yet?

Style: American Wheat Beer

ABV: 5.0% IBU: 28

Container: 12 oz. can

Price: $2.39 (purchased as a single) Point of Purchase: Abe’s Cold Beer, Bethlehem, Pa.

To The Eye: Golden and cloudy. It carries a big head that lasts throughout.

To The Nose: Bright citrus nose. I smelled pineapple, though others claim lemon peel. Let’s say tropical fruit and call it a day.

To The Palate: Pineapple is upfront and dominates all the way through. A little bit of a hop bitterness. I thought it was more of a medium-bodied beer.

Aftertaste: Clean. It just disappears.

Boozy Factor: It didn’t feel like much after one, but all I had was the one.

On a Scale of 1 to 10, with 10 as highest: 8