Avery White Rascal

Brewed by Avery Brewing Company
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Boulder, Colorado USA

This was pretty good.Looks really sad in the bottle.Like a light lager, but that fine living yeast is clinging to the bottom waiting to save this one.I think the spice/hop blend(czech sazz?)provides some off tastes but I like the extra bite at the end(fresh hops always from these fine people at Avery)Pours out a very hazy slightly deep golden whit.Fruit juice like/weak head/Nice lace.There is better, but there are far worse witbiers.Not outstanding overall I just like the bite and the consistent quality overall whether a tad off Avery is top 10 for me.But there are some off-tones in this one that are love/hate.

12oz bottle Spritzy lemon haze w/lotsa lace. Orangey corriander fruity soft phenols in the nose. Light, tart quencher. Better than a pale lager for gulping after building a campfire and a natural cooler in the St. Vrain, IMO...a bit of malt does show up.

Bottle. Hazy pastel yellow with a small white head. Yeasty aroma, very mild notes of lemon and hints of fruity orange. Light mild lemon citrus in the flavour, pleasant yeastiness and notes of sweet orange at times. Average but smooth wheat palate. A very nice wit that will not disappoint fans of the style. 7/3/7/3/15

Pours a golden banana color with a very nice snow white head. Lacing is good thoughout. Pleasant spice, yeast and nutmeg aromas. Flavors are similar to the aromas. Nice spicy full flavor. Body is slightly watery but a good overall brew.

[bottle] Pours a cloudy golden straw color with a thick head and lots of lacing. Aroma of spice and wheat. I can definitely smell a hint of the yeast on the bottom of this one. Tastes just as it smells. Has a spicy, wheat bite with a slightly citrusy finish.

Cloudy golden body, thin head, wheaty, lemon/orange aroma. Citrusy malt with light notes of orange and lemon, light-bodied and refreshing. Fairly bland finish, not as spicy as I had hoped, some touches of lemon sourness add to the limited complexity.

Head is initially average sized, frothy, white, mostly diminishing. Body is hazy light yellow, dense tiny particles, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (toasted grain), lightly hoppy (herbs), lightly yeasty (cobwebs), with notes of coriander, clove, and lemon/orange. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Light to medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. Adam has altered the recipe yet again for the latest batch...the major difference as far as I can tell is that the spices have been reduced slightly. There's a bit more malt sweetness now to help fend off the sour/bitter attack (though I still think a shade more is needed to further counteract the biting tongue-coating spice bitterness that is also common to winter holiday spice beers...the bitterness imparted by spices is apparently more difficult to balance than hops, as it's more persistent). My desire to continue drinking this still tends to wear out before the end of a 12oz bottle, mainly from that spice fatigue. The aroma is a bit better balanced now...the wheat is more noticeable. So, the tweaks helped a little...it's hard to tell this isn't made in Belgium, which I like. Still needs work in the mouthfeel department (rather thin and watery/wet, even considering the style), but that's a minor nit. If the malt was beefed up a bit more, the two main issues I have with this one would likely be solved at once. Overall, this is still kind of stark and pointy...fabulous wits are warm and rounded.

Bottled. Pours a hazy golden/yellow color. Slightly grainy/yeasty aroma. Some traces of bubblegum. Slightly bitter yeasty flavor right up front. Some orange peel and a bit of spiciness. Slightly bitter finish.