Back Road Belgian-Style Witbier

Brewed by Back Road Brewery
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
LaPorte, Indiana USA

12oz, no date. Opened with only the faintest hiss. Clear golden orange with a 1/2 finger white head, quickly fading to a thin ring. Lots of orange in the aroma. Spicy coriander and light lemon are in the background with some sweet pale malts. Flavor is a little bit papery and adds some sour lemon pulp tang, stronger yeasty elements, and soft wheat. Minimal bitterness in the crisp wheaty finish. Low carbonation with a heavier body that what I usually get for the style--maybe the carbonation kept it from being lightened much. I also picked this up from Pat’s Liquors.

Orange, coriander, yeasty spiciness, some wheat grassiness, but all undercut by a faint, but persistent, off-tasting sour tartness that always makes me think of bottling-line problems...

Nice looking pour, a hazy pale straw body with a tall fizzy white head. It’s got an aroma of tart wheat, oranges, and bitter lemon grass. According to the commercial description, it has a "delicious taste described as citrus/celery like." Thankfully, I perceived no unwanted (from a Wit’s style viewpoint) vegetables in the flavor. Wheat, a tart citric taste (orange with a squirt of lemon), and some coriander was what I encountered. Actually, not too bad.

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Bottle from BBB63. Hazy yellow beer with a substantial foamy white head. The aroma has tangerine, apricot and some yeast in it. Fruity orange and apricot flavors with subtle corriander spice and a tangy yeastiness. Spices and pepper take over in the finish. It is hot on the tongue with an almost distracting carbonation. I can hear the bubbles breaking in the glass.

Pours bright and yellow. Nice wheaty aroma. Mellow banana flavor with the corriander and orange nicely showcased. Great refreshing body. All flavors mellow and balanced. I would like to see this brew kicked up a notch. Nice refreshing taste, just not as bold as it could be.

Bottle. Strong banana and clove aroma. Cloudy amber color with no head. Slightly sweet banana/clove malt flavor - no carbonation. Very nice aroma and good taste but flatness may turn some off this beer.

2006 bottle from BBB63, drunk on 8/20/06.
Low-to-moderate haziness in this more traditionally colored copper colored beer with deep peachy-gold tints. White head shows very poor retention, and little/no lacing. Large bubbles rise listlessly in the liquid....
Wheat and spices collide in the nose, with moderate acidity being drawn from the yeast and perhaps the coriander. Strong, nutty wheat notes downplay the moderate phenolic character (white and black pepper, some clove-like notes), while the soft pils-malt seems ample, though certainly not assertive. I do get a good deal of fruitiness, mainly citric (lemons and oranges) with some softer fruits produced from the yeast. Aroma is medium strength, no alcohol apparent.
Wet, somewhat slick texture immediately highlights the low carbonation. And what is there, is rather fizzy and large/loose-bubbled. Some wateriness on the end as well, but other than carbonation issues, a very simple, but well-done wit. Honey/dough from the pils malt, with light coriander bitterness, some touches of spicy phenols and an almost biscuity note through the middle. High attenuation, varied fruitiness; citric and mellower fruits. Moderate acidity helps keep interest. No alcohol/flaws, but a tighter carbonation would provide much more expressiveness for the flavors.

Dirty gold haze. Dusty white head. Some foot was in first aroma. Some spicy orange follows. Not too bad, but typical aroma. "Do I have to drink it?" I asked BBB63. Its kind of odd tasting… like sour orange with some wheat. Its okay but not my thing.