Telegraph White Ale

Brewed by Telegraph Brewing Company
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Santa Barbara, California USA

750ml bottle. Aromas of sweet spice, wheat grains, some citrus did i say spice? Wow. Cloudy yellow body with white head that fizzed out rather fast. Afist gulp didn’t think his wouls make it past 0.5. Heavy sweet spice and bitter burn kida rude to start with. Well second glass the spicey bitter mellowed out and got some dry orange peel but still spice noted here as dominate. Dry palate and sweet spicey fruits. Beer seemed to be all over the place, odd brew.

From the Jug at the GABF Colorado Convention Center, Denver 10/10/2008 Banana fruit aroma. Light golden coloured and hazy in appearance. Creamy on the palate with a slightly spicy dry finish.

On tap at the brewery. Pours with a hazed golden body and a small white head that fades quickly. Aroma of coriander, citrus zest and light peach notes. Taste is strongly spiced with coriander and herbal and citrus notes. A bit overly spiced. Lively bubbles. Thinnish mouthfeel.

A pleasant Belgian style white ale. Lots of spicy yeast goodness, well balanced by sweet malt, and contains the trademark cloudiness. Sad that the keg of rye barleywine was gone from the Telegraph table by the time I got there. Sampled at LA Craft Beer Fest 2009.

On tap at The Red in Santa Cruz. Hazy opaque white peach color with a nice frothy white head. Aroma is very tropical, almost like fruit punch. Lots of banana especially. Flavor is a big step down from the aroma. Mostly banana pith with some pear and wheat notes. Also some earthiness in the finish, could be yeast but there’s a little bitterness too, which makes me think it’s a hop note. Mouthfeel is a little thin and unfulfilling. Drinkable but falls way short of the better Belgian examples.

(Draught) Pours a hazy pale yellow body with a small white head. Aroma of lemon, grass, orange peel, and coriander. Flavor of lemon, orange, wheat, floral, and light coriander with a somewhat thin mouthfeel.

This thing was a hazy yellow color with a white head. Unfortunately for Telegraph, they apparently don’t know how to make the beer glow like any real brewer of a witbier could. The nose was grassy in subtle ways and exhibited faint whispers of coriander. The flavor of this beer, if you can find it, is subtly spicy though the extremely wet and watery palate gives birth to only one thought: "this may be the thinnish most watery beers i have ever had"..the flavors have no real pronounced existence, its like the beer sat next to a pile of Coriander on an airplane but then got off the plane without the coriander ever even touching the beer. The only place we get any strong flavors is the very finish, when the beer tastes like really old and stale ground coriander. Seriously, this beer lacks craftsmanship and is an utter failure of craft beer.

Growler from the brewery. Pours a hazy beige with a thin white head. Smells like you expect for a wit, orange and spice, with a nice floral touch and a hint of yeast. The flavor is quite tart, with a spicy kick in the back. Some orange peel is detectible, but the lemon tang is the most prominent character. Clean and light palate with spritzy carbonation. This is a little more tart and cleaner tasting than most wits. Definitely one of the most drinkable beers that I’ve ever had. Light and very refreshing.