Moylans White Christmas 2006 (Belgian Wit)

Formerly brewed at Moylans Brewery & Restaurant
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Novato, California USA

hazy pale gold with medium frothy head. sweet spicy aroma with a light orange bread note. medium smooth body with a soft carbonation. has a mulled orange honey taste. complex spiciness of cinnamon, coriander, and ginger. there is a very faint yeast flavor. pretty good and mellow

Very sweet upfront, i’m a bit suprised to find out the abv isn’t higher. Big bready/sweet doughy finish, lots of spice with a crisp coriander finish, but not overwhelming like some of the big coriander wits. Long finish that reminds me of some spiced rum cake or something. Ver enjoyable STRONG wit, doesn’t taste like one of the orange peel/coriander dominated wits you find everywhere.

Very well carbonated, a careful pour produces a four-finger thick, frothy, large bubbled, tan colored head that sits atop a lightly hazy, full copper colored brew. At first whiff this smells exactly like a Belgian Wit with spicy notes of coriander and citrus peel. Things start to get interesting though as soft notes of nutmeg, hints of cinnamon and allspice, perhaps a touch of young ginger and something floral that is reminiscent of chamomile or honeysuckle. With time the orange peel becomes the most pronounced part of the aroma. The aroma is quite aromatic, but purely spice driven in it’s dimensionality.

The beer foams up quite a bit as I take my first sip, still quite well carbonated after the five minute rest in my glass. Sweetish malt notes accentuate an up front orange zest character, but also accentuating spice-cake notes of allspice. The finish has that sort of almost, but not quite, hot or perhaps it is an astringency that is typical of pungent nutmeg; this is a fairly subtle not over all though.

This is a very spice driven beer; I do like that the citrus is the dominant spice as it is much easier to overdo some of the other spices in a beer. This is quite a drinkable beer. My biggest complaint is that it does not have enough complexity. Perhaps put another way, all of the noticeable complexity comes from the mix of spices used. I would like to have seen a bit more of the malt and fermentation character in this beer.

Hazy deep copper-orange with a nice white bubbly head. Spicy, fruity, hoppy gingerbread nose. Sharp multi-spiced flavor. Tastes like the holidays. Very pleasant brew!

Bomber poured a lightly hazy copper with a small lasting ivory head. Aromas of orange peel, cinnamon, light coriander and cookie. Palate was light to medium bodied and smooth. Flavors of orange peel, light coriander, pepper and sugar cookie with a smooth finish.

22oz bottle. Aroma was yeasty, spicey and sour. Ligher orange body with decent white head. Flavor was grainy without the fruity wit flavors I would of liked. Spicey pepper sour grain. Not the best but palateable witha spicey aftertaste lingering on palate.

I really enjoyed the aroma and actual taste of this white ale. However, the over carbonation I experienced in multiple bottles hampered the score a bit. The spices, peppers, and orange were all complimenting each other nicely.

Gift from Irishboy. 22oz bottle. copper color. wonderful foamy eggshell colored head. Belgian aroma. hints of smoke. flavors of orange and spices. allspice and peppery. lots of straw and yeasty mustiness. nice hoppy bitter dry finish.