Leireken Special Spelt (Leireken Witte Spelt Ale)

Brewed by Brouwerij Strubbe
Style: Specialty Grain
Ichtegem, Belgium

250 ml bottle, as "Leireken Bio Witte Spelt / Epautre Blanche" (the word "Special" is not used), now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet, bestillingsutvalget) - at an outrageous price. ABV is 5%. Made of organic ingredients. BB date end of 2007. Sediment in the bottle. Very pale and cloudy / milky straw coloured beer with a huge white head. Very nice wheaty, citrussy and spicy (cloves, coriander?) aroma. The flavour is distinctly spicy and wheaty with a quite rich mouthfeel, but also very refreshing. Spicy and hoppy bitter finish. An excellent beer in my book.

Bottle at Den Gode Nabo, Trondheim. Aromatic, with lots of citrus and banana. A lingering finish of coariander as well. A fine refresher, a welcome addition to the Norwegian market.

Bottled at the Belgian Embassy in Oslo. (75cl corked) A hazy, yellow-golden beer with a small, white head. Barnyard, hay, beef-stock and yeast in the aroma. The flavor is maybe a bit yeasty, with barnyard, hay and some spices as well. Medium body and a spicy finish. A refreshing beer, but I doubt it will suit the mass-market. Rating: 5-3-6-3-12-2.9. (070103)

Bottle, 25cl. It pours a hazy, yellowish golden body under a finger thick, dense, white head. Citrus, coriander, wheat and a hint of hops on the nose. Very effervescent in the mouth, too thin to bear it, with flavors of citrus, mostly lemon peel, coriander and a generic fruityness. Some hops and a faint bitterness. The finish has a slightly papery mouthfeel, but the flavors are nice. Quenching and refreshing although a bit thin. A decent one, but not a beer I’ll drink regularly. (090805)

750 ml bottle. Hazy yellow body with a foamy white head. Aroma is refreshing fruity and yeast. Flavor is malty, fruity and grapefruit bitter. A harmonic, refreshing, easy to drink beer but not outstanding in any way. Maybe one of the better organic ales I have sampled.

Bottle: Murky yellow amber with a bubbly white head. Sour herby orange citrus aroma. Sour bitter citrus flavor changes to a spicy dry finish.

Bottle, 25 cl. (at Bio Planet) Taste this beer 2 times at 2006 and yesterday again. Yellow golden colour, huge white head. Aroma is lovely herby, some yeast. Medium bodied. Palate is herby with hops, the finish is malty. Good "bio" stuff.

Bottled. Citrus aroma. Yellow color, cloudy, chuncks of yeast floating around, white head, good lace. Sweet, banana, grapefruity, soft bitterness, medium body.

Dark yellow colored, cloudy appearance. Medium sized white head. Fruits, some weiss-beer spices and sweetness in aroma. Thin to medium bodied, surprisingly thin bodied and watery. Witbier flavor with some orange, banana and spices, lemon and somehow bitingly dry aftertaste with some yeast.