Lion Brewery Huether Spiced Weissbier

Brewed by Lion Brewery and Restaurant
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Waterloo, Canada

Draught. At the brewpub. Watery-looking clear (clear???? WTF?!!) pale gold with a small creamy white head. Mild, bready/yeasty aroma, with an ugly sulfurous overtone to it. The taste is mostly just boring - dry, wheaty, not much fruit or yeast, it tasted a bit like paint and used dishwater, really - didn’t dig it. Weak, soft mouthfeel, under-carbonated, quick-finishing, left a gritty, soapy aftertaste: "Spiced"??? My left nut it’s spiced ...

On tap at Barley Works. Pours a hazy light straw yellow with moderate white head. Very light nose with a hint of citrus. Flavour is grainy up front but giving way to pleasant enough light spice and citrus notes. Body is on the lighter side, but reasonably fizzy. Not great but simple and enjoyable enough.

Draught at the Lion. This is a slightly hazy yellow colour with a thick white head. The aroma is full of lemon with some spice and clove. Mouthfeel is thin. I taste a whole lot more lemon, yeast, citrus.

On tap at the brewpub. Looks good - light lemony yellow, good sized white head. Some lemon and wheat in mild but decent aroma. Taste is ok - again, light lemon and wheat and house yeast. Pretty mild and thin, but very very drinkable. I enjoyed it and would love to have more in the summer on their massive patio.

Draft at the Lion. The head was thick and foamy in the small glass I had. The aroma was interesting. This is one heavily spiced wit. Lots of spices fill the nose (coriander, curacao, nutmeg, and quite a bit of clove) its also quite yeasty and there is a good citric balance to the aroma. It’s also quite spicy in flavour. Really quite full of cloves and corriander, maybe a touch overboard in this respect. Lots of banana, lemon zest, orange peel. Very creamy mouthfeel, with a nice acidic finish. Would order again.

[357-20070623] Tap @ Barley Works (Waterloo, ON). Orange citrus aroma hints at light pink bubble gum. Hazy, orange yellow body with a medium-lasting foamy white head. Lots of orange citrus and wheaty spice in the flavour, nice aftertaste. Medium body. Interesting spicitrus. (7/3/7/3/14) 3.4

[1092B-20080211] Tap @ Lion brewpub (Waterloo, ON). Fresh pineapple yeast aroma. Hazy, pale yellow white body with a quick creamy white head. Raspberry pineapple flavour is generally lightly fruity with tweaks of orange. Light-medium body. Nice and light and fruity. (6/3/6/3/14) 3.1

2008-02-11. at the brewpub. Hazy dark pastel with a small fast fading white head. Tart yeasty aroma, wheat, hints of the orange from the garnish amplify the very light fruity notes naturally present. Sweet wheaty flavour with tart wheat accents, yeasty and my first glass had an almost raspberry like fruitiness that didn’t seem to belong. It was gone in the second glass so either I was imagining things or perhaps the glass/lines were contaminated somehow? Who knows maybe I was just reading too much into it. Average plus palate. Not spectacular, but a very solid and drinkable wheat beer. 7/3/7/3+/14 - 3.6 <P>June 2007. Draft at the brewpub. Hazy orange body with a small creamy white head. (3+) Yeasty, sweet orange citrus aroma. (Some from the beer and some from the garnish.) Light zippy flavour, sweet accents the wheat malt. Not much if any coriander despite the waitresses indication of its presence, though there is a light spicy note to the finish and aftertaste. Average to medium palate (3+). Simple, it is not the most complex wheat you will ever have but it is quite pleasant. 7/4/7/3/15 - 3.6

This new witbier did not possess the spiciness mentioned by Pootz and therefore may have been more spiced during the winter. A yeasty malty aroma, a medium mouthfeel, and sugar added. Much fresher and purer ingredients since the new brewer has taken charge in recent months.