Free State Belgian Wheat

Brewed by Free State Brewing Company
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Lawrence, Kansas USA

Draft at the brewpub, 7/3/06: Hazy yellow with a foamy film. Yeasty to be sure, this is slippery smooth with a light orange-iness shining through. OK.

Decent, makes for a nice beer to drink during the hot summer days. A bit of a sticky soapy flavor, with some really nice fruitiness, rinds perhaps a bit of corriander and clove. Nice!

Draft: Dull lemon. Ever so hazy. Retentive, rocky wisp of foam. Flowery hops, orange peels, and rose petals in the aroma. Hint of hay as it warms. Juicy texture mirrors the grittiness. Notably creamy carbonation. Early toasted hay sweetness tempers the honeydew melon onrush. Sensuously soft orange peel, floral hop, and rose petal mélange. Glimmering grassy herb notes, as well, and a restrained note of crushed coriander. Quenching lemony acidity cuts the starchy wheat and filmy oat notes before finishing with a balanced flurry of floral hops, chalky yeast, and fresh dried orange peels. Rather plain-spoken, but the degree of refinement, cleanliness, and dryness largely distinguish it from last year’s catastrophic example.

Interesting Belgian witbier interpretation. This has less up front citrusy flavors, and more spicy wheat tones. More of a wheat and less sweet than, say, Blue Moon or Spanish Peaks. Good refreshing summer brew.

Poured from a growler. The pour is hazy dark straw yellow with a snow white head. Nice lace. I get coriander up front in the nose. Every now and then I pick up a whiff of the orange peel. There’s some other spice notes that I’m guessing is from the yeast. The flavor is pretty light, and I must say uninspiring. Some coriander and orange are there, but they seem kind of muddled. Not as sharp as I’d like them. Even a bit soapy. Medium body with lots of carbonation. This isn’t all that bad of a beer, but its not all that good either. It just left me wanting more.

Growler, purchased for me at the brewpub by Gregis. I brought this to a friend’s BBQ Saturday night, and shared a few glasses around. The beer was generally well received, with a few people pretty excited about how distinctive it was. Pour is a very hazy golden auburn with a very white head. Really nice lacing left behind on the Pils glass I was using. Aroma is cloves, coriander and a bit of Belgian yeast sweetness. Nose was somewhere between a Wit and a Hefe for me. Taste is light and refreshing with the spices represented in the nose along with a full wheatiness. This beer worked really well on a hot summer evening. However, the lighter body led to a bit less definition in the taste. As with the nose, the taste was somewhere in between a Wit and a Hefe, which I liked. Thanks for bringing this one from Lawrence for me Greg, always appreciated.

On tap at the brewpub.. Pours a hazy lemonade yellow with a thin cap of white head. Citrus, wheat and a faint coriander on the nose; less citric than many wits. The mouthfeel is thin, soft and lightly dry; noticeably smoother than a lot of the wits that I’ve sampled. The flavor also deviates a bit from the typical formula for this style. Not as sweet as I’d expected, the flavor is wheat, orange and coriander with a dry coriander finish. Rather than leaning on the citrus, this beer goes more towards the spice and ends with a slightly funky finish. I found it a decent witbier but I won’t order it again.