Alaskan White Ale

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

I had never seen the Alaskan White on the shelves before, but quickly jumped at the opportunity. My brief time living in Seattle has taught me that, at least as far as the beers from Alaskan Brewery that find there way into 750ml homes, things will be tasty. The Smoked Porter 2008 is especially indicative. Plus, at $2.99 I was curious to see if even a moderately well made white beer could be made at that price point. Well, I’ll come out with it - I’m blown away. Let me preface the following stream of compliments by saying this is NOT the best white I have ever had. It’s good. Very good. But at that price? It goes from good to baffling. “What did I do to deserve this?” It pours from the bottle unassumingly, nary kicking up a head, settling comfortably into a orange-tinged gold puddle. The aroma was my first hint that this was special something - butterscotch, caramel, banana cream and honey like an ornately sweetened tripel. Like a good scenic view off the highway, this is worth stopping and enjoying. The flavor is, perhaps thankfully, not so sweet. Instead it is light and graceful, a ballet of wheat, pirouetting with white grape, a slight leap of cantaloupe, a bow of honeydew and then suddenly it vanishes. The flavor vanishes so quickly that it leaves the confused carbonation in it’s wake, all dressed up and nowhere to go. I love this flavor, but wish it would stick around for a little while, but I suppose a beer this good has other places to be.

(Bottle at Summit Brewfest in Colorado Springs). Pours a clear yellow color. Small white head. wheat aroma. Wheaty taste with a light sweetness (coconut?). Avg duration. Slightly astringent finish. Fair lacing. Moderate carbonation.

Pours a nice slightly hazy yellow with a large white head. Aroma is yeasts, wheat, coriander, malt, spices. Flavor is a light sweetness, touch of yeast, subtle spices, wheat, orange. Refreshing but a little bland.

Hazy yellow beer,small pure white head. No real aroma to talk off just slightly fruity/spicy nectarine. Taste mainlly wheaty with small aspects of coriander, I get some orange pithiness. Mouthfeel very soda like fizzy and light no real after tastes. Dissapointing from Alaskan, very ordinary.

Pours a cloudy taxicab yellow with a minute head that disappears rapidly. Aroma is slightly of peach, and nothing else. Flavor is a bit more robust, with the promised coriander, again peachy flavors, and other light fruit. Mouthfeel is light and sprizty, finish is short-lived, dry. Refreshing, but unmemorable. Overall, fair to good.

Tang colored, slight haze, thin cream layer. Nose fills with coriander with a light backing of wheat. Flavor is again predominantly coriander with dashes with a wheaty fullness. A hint of orange melts into the sensory experience toward the 2nd half of the bottle. Drinkable, refreshing, but mostly a one trick pony, coriander-wheat beer.

Pours a nice rich golden color with a decent head (though it lacks retention). The aroma carries over some of the citrus and coriander scents. It tastes very similar to Hoegaarden but has a less pungent, mellower flavor to it. The description hits the flavor on the head other than that. Seems to have a higher than normal carbonation but I feel it works for the style.

2/12/09 on draft at the wile rover. Aroma is candilike orange with a slight note of sugar and a doughy, bready note. Appearance is hazy gold with a medium maintained white head; quite clear versus most wits. Flavor is soft wheat malt forward with a true orange citrus tang, low sweetnes, a rather faint spice character and a fresh bread background. Mouthfeel is slightly creamy, medium bodied, with a medium grainy carb texture and low acidic tang. Overall, a unique twist on the classic Belgian Wit that challenges the “candy beer” stereotype.