Leelanau Whaleback White

Leelanau Brewing Company
Brewed at Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Lake Leelanau, Michigan USA

pours a cloudy yellow with a fluffy white head. the aroma is sour, with some graininess. the flavor is also sour (a bit more than just tart). over all, the sourness and a certain flowery sweetness is the dominate trait. the found the palate to be s little bubbly. didn’t find this one to be very refreshing.

750 ml bottle

I found this at Bella Vino a few months ago. It was time to crack it open since this is not exactly a beer that struck me as a good candidate for any more aging. It’s probably the least interesting in the Jolly Pumpkin lineup to date. However I think that has more to do with the style than anything else. It’s hard to get excited about a light sessionable witbier when you know what else is available. I still recommend giving it a shot if you can find a fresh bottle.

Aroma / Appearance - A fast growing head took over most of the glass. It took quite a while to settle down to something reasonable. When it did I admired the carbonated transparent golden body underneath. This had all the hallmarks of a light sessionable starter. The nose was pretty clean - white pepper, lightly aged oak and honeycomb. A florally playfulness kept it all together. It was somewhat like fresh hot popcorn without that cheap movie butter.

Flavor / Palate - The mouthfeel was spicy and carbonated. Honeydew melons blended with lemon zest and apple cores made the otherwise simple experience worthwhile. This was perhaps a bit more like an apple cider than a beer. On the other hand it is very sessionable and did not take long to finish off. Try it before you crack open that three year old bottle of Expedition Stout or Dark Lord.

750ml. A kick ass witbier! very spicey and some tart. Some coriander, orange and citrus. Very nice and refreshing! Could easily down a lot of these

750ml bottle and a thanks to holdenn for sharing. i’ve wanted to try these JP contract brews for quite some time. this is very ala Jolly Pumpkin with their house funk nose and flavor. the coriander, orange peel, and wheat were pretty under played as the dry funkiness took over. which is a plus for me as i’m not a big fan of this style when its at its most straight forward or typical. reminded me a lot of JP calabaza blanca and also really under-rated.

Classically married coriander, spice, and citrus zest aromas with a palate full of fresh bursting tangerine and brushy notes though till the finish. It’s a frothy and cloudy beer with a light fresh apple-juice-like color.

Let me make this clear - I’m not going to rate this as a Witbier. This is a funky saison. Basically Bam Biere, which is not a bad thing. Pours an absolutely beautiful, almost clear gold with fast moving beads of carbonation. Thick bone white head leaves lacing forever. The smell is chock full of brett and oak. Super funky, with farmhouse, stinky cheese, apples, ginger, pepper, some anise, and tons more. Beautifully complex aroma. Taste funky as all hell! Sour acidic flavors burst forth with apple, pepper, spicy and citrus notes following. Finishes super dry, with long lingering brett acidity, slight hop bitterness and a pleasant nutty flavor. What a beast of a beer! The mouthfeel is a bit over carbonated in my opinion, but overall this is fantastical. I look forward to seeing what the future has in store for Leelanau. I’m thoroughly, thoroughly impressed. It’s great to see these wonderful Belgian traditions being reborn in the states. Beers like this make me hope that hoppy was just a fad, and wild beers are here to stay. I’m keeping my fingers crossed..

Very golden almost yellow body with a beautiful white head leaving laces; Beautiful elevated well developed well composed citrus fruity fresh nose, very very good; Super well made body, complex, balanced and very pleasant, slightly sour super interesting body; It finishes super balanced evolving perfectly, great length, fades perfectly with a late pleasant fresh sour bite and lots of balanced aromas. My favorite white, YES SIR!!!

25.4 oz bottle. Clear straw yellow with a light white head. Mild funky lemon reveals some honey. Crisp and bubbly with very subdued sour lemon and just a hint of wheat. Coriander and oak emerge with drying. Pouring in the sediment softens the citrus and carb leaving traces of paste. Quite nice with enough of the JP touch to keep it interesting.