Craftsman Biere de Blanco

Brewed by Craftsman Brewing Co.
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Pasadena, California USA

On tap at Beachwood BBQ. Hazy golden pour. Aroma is esters, banana, orange peel, lemon grass, coriander, clove. Flavor is citrus, wheat, bananas. Crisp and refreshing.

(Draught) Pours a cloudy yellow body with a medium white head. Aroma of clove, banana, florals, and coriander. Flavor of banana, clove, coriander, citrus, florals, and wheat.

On tap at Beachwood BBQ. Pours with a murky pale yellow covered by a huge, creamy white head. Aroma is intense with tons of coriander, florals and spiciness. Taste is coriander, orange, honey, jasmine and herbal. Medium carbonation, light bubbles.

On tap at Lucky Baldwin’s. Hazy deep yellow with a fizzy white head. Orange and banana with clove and corriander aroma. Lively palate. Rich orange and spice taste with a great semi-sweet dry finish.

This beer sits a pale, quite hazy, gold color in my pint glass. It is topped by a thin white head that is typical of a draught product. The aroma has a nice, pronounced spiciness to it. There are definitely the typical citrus-orange note, in fact the orange character seems a bit fresher and vibrant than might be found in a typical Wit. There is a bit of coriander in the nose as well, and it should be noted that it seems he used some quality coriander (or at least no much of the low quality stuff), because the coriander note is quite clean and without that earthy vegetal quality.

The taste is nice and sharp, it really has a lightly acidic quality to it that makes this beer quite refreshing to drink. Just as a good Wit should be. The orange peel is quite evident with a zippy citrus flavor that is perhaps not quite as noticeable as in the nose. The coriander is here as well, and even has some earthy spice notes to it. This is really quite a good example of a Wit; it really strikes a wonderful balance between ample flavor and quenching refreshment. I am always a sucker for a good Wit.

<font size=-4>Sampled on Tap at: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Baldwin’s, Pasadena, CA<font size=-1>

(Draft: Lucky Baldwins in Pasadena, CA) Lightly sweet orange citrus, moderate coriander, but not overly spicy or bitter. Smells like a classic witbier, spicy, coriander, orange citrus. Light-to-medium body, long lasting flavor, but a very clean finish and refreshing on the palate. Dark straw color, almost fully cloudy with a full whitish head on the pour. Kind of looks like the Heavenly Hefe actually, just a bit less cloudy. The head gradually fades to a broken sheen, but leaves plenty of patchy lace. Again, like the Heavenly Hefe, this is a well crafted beer, nothing out of balance, lots of finesse. I’m not a big fan of witbier, but this is pretty nice.

Excellent. Reminded me of their heavenly Hefe, but more mild. banana, clove, sweet bread and wheat were all there in the aroma and flavor. Very smooth and refreshing.

Clouded pale yellow appearance, good head formation. Mild clovey aroma. Sweet lemony clove flavor, very similar to Hoegaarden but not quite as acidic.