Celis White (Belgian)

Brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Ertvelde, Belgium

Bottle. Yellow/ orange colour with a white head. Aroma is banana and yeast. Flavour is the same. A little bit thin but still drinkable.

250ml bottle from Beers of Europe. Cloudy yellow in appearance, with a thin white head. Aroma is a touch buttery, waves of alcohol and some malt syrup. Smooth and thick in the mouth with a pronounced sweet body, slightly oily/buttery, tropical fruit and some spice. But all those nice flavours are rather subdued and overall this just feels dead average.

First sampled from draught at the Royal Harbour Brewery in Ramsgate but purchased from Utobeer many times since. This beer is a staple in my diet. Clean, creamy, crisp and refreshing. Citrus aroma and hints throughout. Opaque yellow with a thick white froth of head. More of a soft drink than a beer really, could drink it all day long.
Re-Rate - Well, several rates on and nothing much has changed besides the number arrangement...Still hella refreshing and a staple in my diet. Pale and hazy gold with a foamy white head. Nose of wheat, bubblegum and citrus fruit. Taste is similar with coriander notes. At a recent tasting Phil L asked us all what our everyday drinking beers were, besides Alchemists Ale or Brewers Gold, this is up there...I love this stuff...

0.5l draft at Tolkien’s House, Zagreb.
So, I finally got to try this... I really wanted to see how this compared with the InBev Hoegaarden, which is one of my staples (mostly because I can get it easily, and I’m a sucker for wits of all kinds). This was served in a big Celis Brewery, Texas glass (hm), but I’m sure that this is the Steenberge version. Lovely, completely opaque apricot juice/ochre colour, very thick, small white head that left a blanket of white around the glass as it descended. Nice. The nose was nice, chalky and lactic, yet sweet, resembling a strawberry flavoured yoghurt of all things. The taste was disappointing and quite weak. Coriander, I guess, some lemon, obvious lacticity, with some unidentifiable sweetnes showing through from time to time. Damn refreshing and thirst quenching, true, but, then again, so’s water. The InBev wit beats this. I’ve caught some interesting flavours here, but none were allowed to "bloom". Shame.

12oz bottle pours hazy amber with a short white foamy head that stayed pretty well. Aromas of orange, corriander, and yeast. Flavor is right in line with the aroma. Yeasty with some definite orange peel and corriander. Pretty lively carbonation giving this a light mouthfeel and a crisp finish. Refreshing on the deck on an 80+ day in Ohio.

(Draught.) Cloudy, light pastel-yellow color, thin white head. Dryish, citrus aroma, lightly yeasty, with a hint of coriander. Flavor likewise dryish citrus, lightly yeasty. Short citrucy aftertaste. Lightish body, lively carbonation, clean mouthfeel. A very typical witbier -- not terribly interesting, but exceptionally refreshing even for its type. I appreciate it’s dryness compared to many popular wheatbeers. Perfect on a hot summer day.

Bottle (from Bitter Virtue, BB Sep 06). Citrussy aromas with light spice and some staleness. Light fruity body with slight sourness but unfortunately marred by the staleness.

Hazy pale orange/yellow with a thick white head. Spicy, banana-ish, clove nose with some hints of almond and sugar. Quite full bodied flavour, with some notes of wheat.