Moylans White Christmas (2005 and earlier)

Formerly brewed at Moylans Brewery & Restaurant
Style: Wheat Ale
Novato, California USA

Thanks to hopdog. Pours a hazy golden orange with a small bubbly white head. Aroma of orange, corriander, wheat, banana and yeast. Flavor of wheat, light citrus, corriander and some yeast.

Tangerine color and fine white foam. A bit of phenols propelled by a lightly effervescent and thinnish body. Wheat usually indicates some more protein but nothing there in the body. Not much "wheat" character otherwise. A good candidate for a cooking beer? Not spicy or hoppy and primarily malty without a lot of fun. May not have held up well since the holidays.

Bright orange color with a thin white head. Lots of citrus aroma and wheaty character. Flavor is a well blended and balanced. Light for a winter brew. Mild alcohol. Different.

(22 oz bottle: $4.19 at BevMo in Oceanside, CA) I’m not sure what to make of this beer. As a Double Wheat, it’s certainly more flavorful than your basic American Wheat, but to offer this as your holiday brew seems really strange to me. But hey, I’m not here to critique when a beer is released, just how it tastes (and smells and looks). So how does it taste? I’ll say "interesting" in one of those, "It’s interesting, but what I really mean is weird" sort of ways. The wheat flavor is still fairly light to me, and it’s fruity, dusty and chalky, but what jumps out of the glass is the tartness. The bottle says the beer contains orange zest, which is a fancy way of saying grated orange peels. Honestly, I can’t tell if it’s tart and lightly bitter from the seemingly overly-enthusiastic use of orange peel, or from the beginning stages of an infection. I think I’m going to go with both, actually, since I wouldn’t expect orange peel to contribute much, if any, sourness. Where the sourness seems more noticeable and out of place is in the nose. It also smells very musty and dirty, like going up into an old attic with cobwebs everywhere. Light-medium bodied when sipped, but soon fading to wateriness by the finish. Carbonation is a little light, but acceptable, and there’s a moderate chalkiness in the mouthfeel. Golden amber in color, slightly hazy on the first pour, but on the second pour, all the sediment escapes the bottle to cloud the beer substantially. The beer pours with a small, very fizzy, off-white head that dissipates within seconds leaving a thin ring and obviously no lacing. Overall, it’s drinkable but not really enjoyable. I opened both my bottles, and both tasted the same, but I may have to try this again next year.

I really liked this wheat ale. Pours a nice hazy orange. Nose of apples and oranges!! Nice wheaty orange flavor as well.

2005 bottle from DarkElf. Pours out a medium amber color with just the slightest bit of haze. A white head forms and fades down rather quickly. No lacing is left behind. Sourish, herbal aroma. Moderate wheat malt notes. Medium bodied. PineSol-ish flavors, mild sourness. I’m not digging this one, probably better fresh.

2005, 22 oz bottle. Orange liquid without any head at all. Sour apple aroma that makes me think the bottle is bad. Since I just got it from a source that works at a beer store, I doubt it’ a handling issue. Taste is somewhat sweet and somewhat cidery. but the lack of carbonation reminds me of ANY of Gale’s beers. Some bubblegum in there and the grain/wheat flavor ain’t bad.

2005 Bottle. Orange in color with no head. Sour citrusy aroma. Orange notes. Sour citrusy flavor. Finish is sour. No hop character. Disappointing.