The use of wheat grain in addition to barley is a centuries old practice in Europe that has only recently begun to spread in North America. Long before the rest of the world knew what it was missing and before the wheat styles gained popularity in America, German and Belgian drinkers had almost grown tired of wheat ales. In the 1960's, Michael Jackson reports that only "old ladies in hats" were drinking wheat beer in Bavaria, the traditional German home of wheat beers. German Wheat beers were seemingly a dying style.
Today, wheat ales are popular again in Germany and almost everywhere else. They are a rapidly growing segment of the craft beer market. American brewers have developed their own wheat beer style (American Wheat) that is discussed in the Light Hybrid category.
Let's remember that there are four basic ingredients in beer; barley, hops, yeast and water. A wheat beer substitutes wheat for a portion of the barley. In most wheat beers, wheat is at least 50% and not more than 70% of the grain with barley constituting the remaining grain percentage.
