Leelanau Whaleback White

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

Pour is effervescent looking lightly hazed golden with a nice tight bubbled white head...bubbles constantly float up the outside of the glass....beautiful...smell is woody funky with cheese rind and it just reeks of brett...some pepper and coriander too...taste is bright and tart at first with a nice bright citric quality revealing some of the spices...some clove, coriander, white pepper...then citric tartness...wow...

In short: A smooth extra-bretty slightly spicy and very funky beer. A great Bam Biere alternative
How: Bottle 750ml, consumed 2 months after purchase
The look: Cloudy yellow body topped by a large white head
In long: Nose has typical Jolly Pumpkin funky barrel signature. Extremely bretty, lively carbonation, somewhat lemony, medium acidity, high tartness level, some orange and lemon peels, some coriander, dry sandy finish. This is a Bam Bier but a little less bretty and some added coriander and dry orange skins. A fantastic beer. I’m starting to believe that it’s not the Jolly Pumpkin brewer that is the key, it’s all about the barrels. To me it seems that anything you put in those barrels comes out amazingly pleasurable. How big are these barrels? Cause you see I’ve got this girlfriend…

cloudy pale gold with a long lasting egg shell white head. The aroma is strong with the lemons and a fresh floral character, like dandelions. Bright and clear, this is like smelling a lemonade while having flowers bloom on your porch. The taste is lightly tart with some dry hay notes in the finish. There is also some oaken woodiness. The really high carbonation is sharp and nearly bites the tongue. This has a lot more character than most wits, not for the timid.

750ml bottle. Aroma: Very funky and sour lemon, light pepper and coriander, oak. The funky lemon is really upfront and smells great. Appearance: Light golden in color and hazy. Bright white head was full and foamy with great retention. Great lacing. Flavor: Lemon and light funkiness, oak and coriander. Some very light tropical fruit notes into the finish. Nice tartness throughout. Medium dry finish. Palate: Medium-light bodied. Medium high carbonation. Overall: A very different take on the Wit. I enjoyed it a lot, but mostly for the sour and funkiness.

750mL Bottle. Pours a fluffy deep cloud, slightly clouded, with a tall rocky white head. Aroma is fragrant and smooth in passionfruit and palm sugar. Delicate and breezy. Flavor moves similar, adding pineapple, certain Brett and citrus to the wind. Very refreshing. The palate is very moving, but doesn’t let flavor linger long. Explosive and evaporative. Fluffy. A great bright fresh dry and slightly sour tropical flavor pairs beautifully with the heat and sunshine. Nice.

A nice, but a little sweet witbier. Aroma of coriander, orange and soda. Pour was a light gold with a nice 2 finger white head. Taste was a little sweet. Sugar, coriander and spices with nice carbonation and a sweet wet aftertaste. Almost tasted and looked like ginger ale.

Bottle that holds a hazy, pale yellow liquid that supports a massive, fluffy, white head with sour aromas hitting my nose before I’m even done pouring. Closer inspection confirms the lemony aromas and some sidenotes of lemon and grass. Flavor is wonderfully tart... lemon peel and spice, but comes off as very refreshing and crisp. At first I thought it seemed pretty thin and unidimensional, but I really like how it all hangs together and consider these "flaws" to be strengths after further consideration. Wish I had bought a couple more bottles since I don’t know when I’ll see this again.

Pours a nice cloudy yellow, with some pretty, visible carbonation. Wow, what a head...I poured the beer two minutes ago and the head is still growing in the glass. The aroma is quite tart - definitely reminds a bit of a sour. Lemon, spice, a little bit of wheaty funk. The flavor is good, but a little bit on the mild side. A bit sour, tart, lemony, spicy, but these characteristics are all pretty watered down. Decent mouthfeel, pretty lively carbonation, very light, which is about right for the style I would say. Solid, easy drinking beer, but not the best Wit out there.