Barley Island Sheet Metal Blonde

Brewed by Barley Island Brewing
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Noblesville, Indiana USA

Poured to a hazy golden color with thick white head that diminished quickly, and good lacing. Strong wheat aroma, but the flavor was dominated by spices, mostly corriander, clove and cinnamon. Actually much better than I expected, and the spices left a good finish. The spices may become overwhelmiong if drinking several of these at once, but a very good tasting beer for sipping.

Bottle. Pours a very hazy yellow with a thin white head. The aroma is full of citrus, coriander and a bit of malt. The taste is very sweet, with just a touch of coriander, but mainly citrus, with a slightly tart finish. Start up the lawn mowers, because this beer is perfect for summer sipping.

Hazy blonde colour. Aroma of lemon, coriander, light maltiness. Sweet and soft with a flowery, honeyish nature and nutmeggy accent.

(22 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with atpayne, thanks Adam!) For a Belgian style wheat ale, this beer tastes awfully sweet and has a very clear presence of clove. The usual assortment of witbier flavors, the wheat, the coriander, the orange peel are all here, but lag behind the sweetness and the clove by a fair amount. There is a slight bitterness extending the finish, helping to offset the sweetness. The nose still shows plenty of clove, but is less sweet and more balanced, with funk and wheat having more interplay with the spices. Light-medium bodied, gently carbonated, soft and easy on the palate. Half an inch of white, tightly-knit head sits atop the hazy, light golden body. Highly unusual for the style, sweet, clovy, minimizing the coriander, it seems like a girlie version of witbier, no offense to the girls who like a more classic examples of the style. That said, it’s still pleasant enough to be an easy quaffer.

Bottle and served in a pint glass: Clean straw color with a small fading head and some lace. The aroma has notes of lemon, sweet malt, a hint of clove and orange peel, and a wheat ester. The taste is a straight forward citric and wheat overtone with a light spice background. Ever similiar to Upland Wheat Ale but not as refreshing. An okay brew, would like to try on a hot summer daze.

Bottle. Hazy light yellow color with a huge white head that was lasting with good lacing. Good sweet wheat aroma. Light to medium body. Good sweet spice flavor. Soft refreshing brew.

Too bright (clear) for style and gold in color on top of that. The base beer should not be this rich gold in color even if it is filtered. It has a thin, white head. Definite wheat overtones in the aroma with spicy, clovey yeast character, a twist of lemon, and coconut milk. Flavor is very strange, but not bad. I taste some nutmeg and a lot of pina colada with a spicy, nutmeg dryness. This is almost one of those alco-pops.

This beer looks and smells awesome. Dry with a hind of citrus in the aftertaste. A very enjoyable sumer brew.