Alaskan White Ale

Brewed by Alaskan Brewing Co
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Juneau, Alaska USA

2009 Oregon Brewers Festival – Portland, OR
Aroma: Nice light malt aroma with light Belgian yeast and very little hops.
Appearance: Light golden in color, Slight haze with a light head.
Flavor: Nice Belgian yeast fruit flavor. This was refreshing and great to drink.
Palate: Dry Finish, with a Good Mouthfeel.
Overall: The first beer for the OBF I was off and running.

22oz. Bottle. This pours a golden yellow with a white head. Nose is slightly earthy, citrus zesty. It’s taste is wheat, yeast, citrus and earthy. A very light bitter finish. Not the beer many people claimed it to be and that might be why I rated this way but it could be because it is not the best witbier.

12 oz. bottle purchased at Food Emporium. Pours a slightly hazy orange color. Aroma: Mild spice and orange. Flavor: Just like the aroma, with a hint of coriander.

A vigorous pour into my large Tripel Karmeliet glass produces a three finger thick, creamy textured, off-white colored head that leaves ample lace on the sides of my glass. The beer, when poured with the sediment shows a milky, pale amber hue that shows a lightly hazed, orange-gold color when held up to the light. The aroma smells of lemon zesty, lemon thyme and has an almost earthy, sort of grassy grain note to it in the finish. With the citrus, this beer comes off as smelling lightly tart; the wheat and yeast also likely contribute to this. The nose is pretty one dimensional as it is hard for me to really smell anything other than lemon (the coriander contributes to this as well).

Light bodied with a prickly effervescent carbonation up front. As the beer moves across my tongue it picks up a bit of silky texture; it almost seems like the wheat has added a certain viscousness to this beer, but that doesn’t keep this from being refreshing and quaffable. The beer has a light tartness to it that accentuates a lemon-like citrus note. A touch of earthy, but quite smooth, coriander flavor comes through, but this also accentuates the citrus with a coriander-derived lemon note. This has a clean grain character to it that has the grassy, earthy, fresh cracked wheat derived flavor to it.

If you really like Belgian Wits this should appeal to you. Having said that, this is actually pretty lackluster within the style. It is refreshing and quaffable and certainly hits the spot on a 110+ºF / 44+ºC day, but it is really lacking in depth and complexity (it is especially missing the fermentation / yeast derived character).

Bottle... Poured a hazy, bright orange with a white head. Fruity aroma of coriander and sweet, wheat tones. Light, crisp palate. Cracker malts and balancing wheat with a light fruit flavor followed by coriander.

A number of bottles on HAL cruise. hazy amber with a thin wisp that leaves a light lace. Mellon scent with a light citrus and faint coriander. Orange and melon flavour with a mild soft pepper edge. Apricot aftertaste. Smooth fruit beer.

Bottle. Pours slightly hazy medium gold with a half finger white head. The nose is sweet wheat and spice. The taste is coriander, wheat and malt with some citrus zest in the finish. Medium prickly mouthfeel. An OK Wit

6/18/2009: Alaskan White pours a golden copper color with a foamy off-white head. The aroma is wheaty, yeasty, and has highlights of fruit, banana, and spice. The flavor is pretty weak, but is lightly malty and fruity with some sweet and bitter orange (curacao) peel. It has some slightl floral bitterness and a dry, spicy finish. It sounds better than it actually is as there really isn’t a lot of character in the flavor in this beer. It is quite soft overall and my wife thinks that it tastes like MGD!

12 Fl. Oz. bottle (twist-off cap; W A090309) from Sled Dog Liquor near Denali National Park, Alaska. Rating #39 for this beer.