Wikipedia Article About Wheat beer on Wikipedia Wheat beer is a beer that is brewed with both malted barley and malted wheat, rather than only barley. The addition of wheat lends wheat beers a lighter flavor and paler color than most all-barley ales. Wheat beer is customarily top fermented, that is, fermented with ale yeast. Wheat beers have become very popular in recent years, and are especially popular in warm weather. In earlier centuries, brewing wheat beer was illegal in many places since wheat was too important as a bread cereal to "waste" it for brewing.