Panther Island’s Allergeez ale is nothing to sneeze at

If you live in North Texas, chances are that you know one of the afflicted. God forbid if you are one of them. Allergy sufferers.

Since right after Christmas, it seems like we’ve had only a few brief days of reprieve amid the mountain cedar apocalypse. Runny noses, puffy and itchy eyes, endless sneezing: It’s a curse for those unfortunate enough to feel its effects.

What does mountain cedar have to do with a beer column? Not much, really. Except things have gotten so critical that some sufferers (personal experience, here) will try almost anything to quell the terror.

Panther Island’s Allergeez might not have magical qualities and it certainly won’t replace your antihistamine, but some Panther Island fans claim it works in the fight against sniffles. Some of us will try anything at this point.

Allergeez gets its name from its inclusion of local honey (purported to help with allergies), rose hips and chamomile flowers. Allergeez has been a quiet staple on the local scene since Panther Island’s inception, and beer lovers have taken quite a liking to it.

Allergeez received perhaps its greatest honor, among several on the local scene, by winning a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2015. For a fledgling brewery, that’s a big deal and has certainly helped raise Panther Island’s stock in the year since.

Allergeez is an unfiltered wheat ale that’s medium bodied but still easy to drink. Its citrus characteristics shine, while honey is still the main attraction. As far as local unfiltered wheat ales with honey added go, some might try to compare it to the ever-popular Revolver Blood & Honey. But, while Blood & Honey has a spicy snap to it, Allergeez is less in your face (and lower in alcohol at 5.7 percent, so Allergeez won’t sneak up on you as bad as Blood & Honey either).

So Allergeez might simply cure thirst, but for most of the year in this area, that’s just fine. Look for Allergeez on tap at the brewery during its Friday and Sunday tours and on draft walls around the area.

Rahr can redesign

Fort Worth’s elder statesmen Rahr & Sons are going all-in on cans with this week’s announcement that they will be transitioning to primarily canning instead of bottling. Its other staples will join its offerings that are already canned, like Pride of Texas Pale Ale and Rahr’s Blonde. The switch also features a label refresh and a debut of Dadgum IPA in the spring.

This story was originally published January 25, 2017 at 11:53 AM with the headline "Panther Island’s Allergeez ale is nothing to sneeze at."