Newport Storm Cyclone Series Frank

Formerly brewed at Coastal Extreme Brewing Company
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Middletown, Rhode Island USA

Date: 10/11/2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

Appearance: cloudy amber, wispy off white head, streaks of lace,
Aroma: sweet fruity aroma with tangerine, light floral hops,
Flavor: sweet malt flavor, lots of wheat character, citrus, earthy bitterness balanced with a fruity sweetness, lots of spicyness, long bitter finish,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.9/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

(12oz bottle, thanks artusory) Small off-white head atop clear apple juice body. Aroma is medium sweet, lime, lemon, some yeast, light straw. Taste is medium sweet, lime, lemongrass, yeast. Evokes Thai cooking. Creamy light-medium body, low carbonation. Weird but likable.

12oz bottle. Poured a medium amber color with a larger sized white head. Aromas of cloves, corriander, and citrus. Tastes of citrus, caramel, corriander and pepper. Starts out sugary sweet and ends in a peppery finish.

Pours a transparent orange bronze with a thin, wispy-lacing white head. Aroma of lightly sweet wheat, fresh coriander and orange peel. Body starts semi-sweet and citrusy with big spicy coriander notes toward a slightly Belgian yeasty warming finish. Pretty true to style and interesting.

Pours amber and opaque with a nice white head. Smells of coriander, bananas, cloves, ginger, some peppery hops, sweet malt. Taste is crisp with some honey and coriander dominating. Nice, but a bit over the top on the sugary elements.

Interesting nose on this one: one part damp coriander, one part potpourri, one part orange, and one part minty key lime pie. Flavor is centered more towards a typical witbier, with abundant coriander, a lot of orange and lemon peel, some wheat, and a strange bit of black pepper mixed in as well. Generally heavy on the yeast, normal for the style, and quite tasty but not really great.

Bottle and served in my Hoegaarden tumbler: (bad news) Well it does not look like a witbier, too dark and not hazy white more like amber and clear, the head fades and there is no lace to speak of. (good news) It sure smells like a witbier with plenty of coriander, orange zest, and Kaffir lime leaves over a bed of roasted and caramel malts, some sugar, and a hint of banana yeast ester. NICE!!!

The taste falls in line with the nose, spicy and fruity with a light wheat and caramel malt background. Some earthy characteristics as well (salty, dusty, herbal) before the syrupy sweet finish. The mouth feel is indeed heavy for the style and lack the refreshment normally found among the best of the genre. This is among the new breed of Imperial Witbiers, big and bold with a lot of forward facing spice and sweetness. I like the depth but also miss the refreshment. Worthy of a try IMO.

Thanks to my cousin Tim for bringing this back from Block Island this week. Pours a slighty hazy light amber, coppery with a thin short lived head. Aroma is sugary sweet with some white wine character, hints of wit beer- some coriander, and wheat, but is too sweet and has some alcohol hints- almost stale already and it is new. Flavor is too sweet as well, short peppery hints, with soem corianter, belgian wit character, and just some raw sweetness with alcohol. Finish is short and very sweet for the style. Probably into the double wit style, but cant compare to the new SH or that glazen toren jan de lichte.