Photographers have incredibly hard jobs because they don’t have to simply take pictures, they have to capture moments. A talented photographer will try to capture emotion and character and tell a story with their photo, but it’s difficult to get it all in a single shot.

In a way, the brewers at New Belgium are like photographers, trying to tell stories with every new beer they make. Every robust flavor and tingly twist conjures an image or a feeling, and no two beers are alike.

For their newest release, New Belgium chose to paint a different type of picture for our palates. They chose to give us a snapshot, a quick glimpse followed by curiosity. Snapshot, the newest year-round wheat beer, offers a truly interesting experience inside a bottle.

As I poured the beer into my glass, the light-yellow liquid glistened and seemed to shine in the light. The glass could almost be mistaken for lemonade, but one smell of the sweet aroma of coriander and grains of paradise will reveal its true identity. Looking at the glass of Snapshot, I can’t help but smile. I’ve seen the beer and smelled its sweet aromas, but tasting it will complete the experience that New Belgium intended.

As I drank my first sip of the shiny golden brew, the cold liquid filled my mouth and immediately I tasted the sweet citrus. For a second, Snapshot was a summer seasonal: something that you’d drink on a warm day with blue skies. The taste quickly changed from a light, citrusy beer to the more traditional wheat beer we expect from New Belgium.

At this point in my experience, I thought that Snapshot was similar to Sunshine, another New Belgium wheat beer, because they both contain citrus components while having very similar alcohol content and bitterness. As a big fan of Sunshine, I was happy to find that Snapshot offers a similar but different experience. The main difference is that Snapshot retains more flavors by being unfiltered, while Sunshine is a filtered beer.

As I swallowed my first sip, Snapshot surprised me one more time with a flash of tartness at the end. It provided an intriguing balance with the initial citrus flavors, and the picture finally came full circle. The story had a sweet beginning, a robust middle, and a tart ending.

If I had to knock the beer for anything, it’s that the flash of tartness paired with the overall sourness of the beer really does culminate in a pretty sour beer. Personally, I enjoyed it and thought that the citrus and the bitterness paired well together. I think that those who don’t enjoy sour and acidic beers should still try Snapshot, because it’s certainly worth trying out.

Perfect for any occasion, Snapshot is a beer that will warm you up on a cold night and cool you off on a hot day. Its multiple layers of flavor will surprise even the savviest beer-drinkers, and its lightness will ensure that you won’t be able to have just one. New Belgium did it again.

Collegian Entertainment Reporter Steven Jacobs can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com.