Lost Abbey Witchs Wit

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
San Marcos, California USA

750, corked and baled. Pours a crystal clear and sparkling bright gold. Were that sparkling brightness enhanced by plenty of carbonation and at least a yeoman’s effort at head retention, this beer could easily jump to a 5 for appearance--the color is that pretty. And, to be fair to the beer, it might be suffering from a bit of hangtime, ’cause it’s December, and it might not be as fresh as it once was. Nice lemony, ever-so-slightly funky nose, with some yeasty spice showing. Creamy medium body with soft but still palpable carb. Lemons, yeasty spice, the faintest hint of funk, and some toast on the mid-palate. Mild, toasty finish. Credible, if underwhelming, sessionable all-purpose table beer.

Pours a clear golden yellow color with a one finger creamy white head that quickly fades into a thin ring. Not much in the way of lacing. Bready yeast aroma with crisp light fruit, citrus notes and subtle spice. Hints of apple and lemon peel with some spicy pepper and lemon zest as well as a bit of lemon zest. Flavor is very similar to the aroma in that it has a nice balance of bready yeast, citrus flavor and subtle spice. The peppery zesty spice is prominent up front with lots of clove and corriander. Light crsip citrus fruit, especially lemon and orange peel with a touch of honey that adds a nice sweet element. This helps balance the spiceiness and subtle bitterness from the hops. Pretty quaffable with a slightly dry finish.

Cork popped and aromas of citrus and grasses was present. Cloudy yellowish in appearance. Taste of honey, oranges, vanilla made it a very refreshing wit. Light body, thin texture, average carbonation and quick tasty finish.

hazed lemon yellow. bottle is in the nose, it’s oxidized. wet notebook paper, sweaty socks that were left to dry, creamed wheat, perfume and shampoo. slimy and filmy texture but medium bodied and somewhat thick at times. syrupy, slimy wheat and shampoo once again. mild coriander, light lemon zest. pretty unimaginative and one-dimensional.

Cloudy light gold pour with a small white head, dissipates quickly with no lacing. Honey, vanilla, orange-citrus fruit and slightly grainy aroma. Honey, vanilla, citrus, subtle herbal spice flavors. Medium body, low carbonation. A decent witbier overall.

Bottle sampled in Nov 2008: Pours a hazy bright golden with a small, clingy-lacing frothy white head. Aroma of lightly sweet biscuity malt and some peppery coriander and faint lemon citrus. Body starts with good fullness and lightly sweet doughy malt with a pleasant lemongrass and honey spice balance before a drier crisp and smooth finish. Nicely balanced and very drinkable, a nice witbier.

Bottle, 75cl. Pours a clear yellow beer with no head. The aroma is banana and wheat. The flavor is banana and esters. The palate is weak. Overall a little thin.

THOUGHTS: Nice, but I don’t know if it was worth the price. I hate wits in large bottles, because you can’t get the yeast in on the first pour. More and more citrus came out as it warmed lightly. And even more citrus once I got the yeast in the glass. For having grapefruit honey and zest in it, I was getting more lemony notes. This would go great with a crab cake or a salad. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a milky, medium yellow to light orange with an average, ever so slightly off-white head that mostly diminished and left good to fair lacing that was very fine. The aroma was light wheat, light dough yeast, slight grapefruit, more lemon and spices. The initial flavor was lightly sweet and acidic; while the finish was acidic and lightly bitter with an average duration. There was honey, citrus, wheat, yeast, lemon and a hint of grapefruit. The light to medium body was fairly dry with lightly tingly carbonation and a light astringent finish.