Mackinaw Brewing Belgian Whitecap

Brewed by Mackinaw Brewing Company
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Traverse City, Michigan USA

<i>Draft at brewpub:</i> Pours a nice deep gold with a wispy white head that forms a ring around the glass. I had to take a deep whiff to get a glimpse of the yeasty notes in the nose. A bit of time helped to open up things and soon a nice balance of wheat, fresh dough, coriander and esthers emerged. Not as complex as some of my favorite wits, this was still good as it offered a range of interesting notes. The beer remains drinkable throughout. A nice session beer.

Terrible. One of the quickest, most bland finishes I’ve ever tasted. It was like the flavor started and then fell off a cliff, and it wasn’t even that good to start with. Very little spice, light fruit, just overall blandness.

On tap at the brewpub. Pours a pale, hazy straw color with a head of thin, compact white fizz. A cream of wheat maltiness, mild coriander herbalness, and light citrusy lemon character are present, but dominated by buttery diacetyl. Light bodied, lightly carbonated mouthfeel. There’s so much butter going on in this beer, it almost makes it seem like it has an oily, slick palate to accompany. The lemony citrus was able to cut through the thick butter in the nose, but the flavor and palate are just gross. An unfortunate disaster.

Draft sample at Mackinaw. Pours hazy white color with an average fizzy white head that was lasting with fair lacing. Light to moderate spicy citrus aroma. Light to medium body. Medium sweet flavor with a medium citrus sweet finish of short duration. My expectations where met.