Belt’s Beer Garden: Peanut Butter Jelly Time!!

Humble, Texas is a small city with a big history. Situated 20 miles north of Houston, in 1905 the small city was home to the largest operating oil field in Texas and then, in 1969, it became the home of the Houston Intercontinental Airport (now named George Bush Intercontinental Airport) which, pre-covid, was the 14th busiest airport in the country.

And, since 2014, Humble has also been home to Ingenious Brewing, which sits just four miles away from the airport. Ingenious specializes in unique small batch beers and tries to vary their lineup constantly so that every visit to their 2,000 square-foot taproom features multiple new beers.

Today I get to try my first Ingenious brew and it certainly sounds amazing.

I was able to snag a can of their PB&J Wheat.

This Pale Wheat beer is conditioned on heaps of peanut butter, blueberries, and strawberries. The 16-ounce can has a modest 4.9 ABV and cost me $6 (but a four-pack is just $18 on their website if you’re near Houston and can pick it up). It was canned on January 26th and this review was written on March 15th.

The beer poured a magenta color that leaned more on the reddish side and it looked insanely similar to a very liquid strawberry jelly. A thin line of pinkish-white head topped the beer. The foam was somewhat dense and a tad thicker but, as it was never more than half a finger high, it was easily bypassed.

I was amazed by the aroma that emanated from the glass. It was a liquid peanut butter and jelly sandwich...like, it was spot on. Leading the way were notes of creamy peanut butter with the sweet fruits taking a backseat but still being noticeable. The grist even offered some smells that are strikingly similar to wheat bread.

If I didn’t know this was a beer and you just told me someone blended a PB&J sandwich down into a liquid, I would’ve believed you. It was that exact.

My initial sip started with a light fizzle of carbonation and a slightly watery mouthfeel that seemed to expand and thicken up as it moved forward.

The first flavor to appear was, once again, the peanut butter. A swarm of nuttiness hit my taste buds a good second or two before the malts add that bready characteristic as well.

Finally, after a few moments, the strawberries and blueberries were able to catch up and provide some sugary sweetness and mimic the jelly aspect of the beer quite nicely. The fruit flavors, however, don’t last too long. They’re the last to arrive and the first to disappear, only being around for maybe five seconds total.

On the back end, the taste is mostly biscuity wheat with some light peanut butter clinging on before all the flavors begin to slowly fade away.

PB&J Wheat ends mostly clean but there is a small nutty aftertaste that lingers for a few minutes with a moderate dry feeling.

There are very few faults with PB&J Wheat but, I will say, it does have a higher acidity than expected and actually sits a bit heavier than I thought it would.

Outside of that, it was a crushable, delicious beer from the moment I opened the can. If you’re a fan of PB&J sandwiches (and who’s not?!), this is a beer you need to try.