Angry Minnow Belgian Wit/IPA

Brewed by Angry Minnow
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Hayward, Wisconsin USA

On draught, hand drawn at the brewpub in Hayward, Wisconsin. Pours a clear golden amber brew with a heavy and creamy off-white head that has an excellent retention and thick lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, some citrus zest but could not pick up any orange or corlander scents. Taste is very smooth, creamy with hardly any carbonation. Flavors picked up are caramel malt and some citrus. Finish has a mild bitterness of most light IPA’s but then has a lingering and slightly sweet citrus aftertaste. The hand drawn draught version of this Wit/IPA is a nice touch.

I like witbier, and I like IPAs, so I figured I’d really like this fusion beer (two great tastes that taste great together, right?). And from that perspective, this beer is a bit disappointing...turns out flavors are not quite as additive as I would have hoped. Nonetheless, this beer is as advertised...I thought it to be a witbier with good amounts of clove/coriander spice and a touch of citrus-ness combined with a hearty helping of hops. While I would not categorize it as exceptional in either category, it was a very unique beer and I would still recommend it. The beer smelled exceptional; and the smell indicated that brewery had named the beer aptly, if not very creatively. Taste was a bit dissapointing in comparison...those same elements were present, but they did not meld together as well in my mouth as they did in my nostrils. You could definitely pickup on the wit spiciness and also detect a significant presence of slightly sweet hops, which contributed to the citrus notes in this beer, although not in a way usually assoicated with wits. Mouthfeel was nothing special (good or bad). While I wasn’t sure what to expect from this beer, or what to categorize it as, I did find it very unique. It wasn’t the best tasting beer I’ve ever had; I couldn’t help but think that maybe there was a reason brewers had not previously tried to fuse these two styles together, but nonetheless I thought the resulting product to be more or less what I expected and still commendable.