The Bruery Orchard White

Brewed by The Bruery
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Placentia, California USA

GUSHERRRRR!!!!! Bottle. Pours an unclear golden yellow with a tall foamy frothy extra-white head... oh yea and it’s a gusher. Aroma is nice and fragrant, spicy with strong floral notes, some crisp candied wheat but mostly dominated by the lavender which take a few seconds to get used to, the orange peel and coriander notes are really nice though. Flavor is strong on the lavender... at first hard to taste much else, the oats are a very nice touch, strong coriander finish, fairly simple and super floral, really overshadows usual wheat and yeast flavors, lacks citrus or any acidity, love the oats though. Medium bodied, smooth from the oats, a bit chalky and almost lightly creamy, soft carbonation, quick finish with a vacant aftertaste of celery, some lingering bitterness and chalky coriander. Eh... strangely okay... I’m starting to warm up to it.

A: Poured with a huge, white, frothy head... this baby stayed around for a good, long time, eventually diminishing (slowly) to 1-finger size. Body is yellow and very hazy. S: Nice aroma of coriander and orange, and very heavy on the pepper and other spices. T: Very interesting flavor, even in terms of a witbier. The citrus is quite prevalent, as well as the pepper and other spices that were detectable in the aroma. In fact, it’s borderline overwhelming... not quite, but one of these is probably enough. Still, very floral and refreshing. M: Lighter-bodied than most wits, although it’s still close to medium, with a slightly oily texture. Very fizzy carbonation... a little too fizzy for my tastes. D: Enjoyable, but I couldn’t drink more than one. Still, something I’d buy again if it were available in my area.

Bright, cloudy, yellow/gold appearance with a large white head and spotty lacing. Yeasty aroma with plenty of spices. The wheat and oats give it a smooth, almost lush, mouthfeel. Taste is moderately sweet, spicy, and balanced with floral and herbal hops. Tart, lingering finish.

750ml bottle, hazy honey gold hue, with a fluffy white head, yeasty, spritzy, citrusy, lemony, curaçao nose, with some light green apple skin esters, some spicy coriander, lavender accents, with a faint honeyed wheaty, pale aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a yeasty, earthy wheat, pale malt, bready dough character, with some kind of mushroom, lavender flower petal notes, with a faint coriander spiciness, leading towards a citrusy, spicy finish.

750ml bottle. Pours very cloudy and straw-yellow in color with an immense and billowing but short-lived and large-bubbled white head. The aroma is yeasty and grainy at first with some notes of coriander and wheat. The flavor is very crisp, slightly grainy, very wheaty, and very spicy with coriander. There are some slightly acidic (pear juice - perhaps white grape juice) undertones. The finish is a bit dry and very crisp. Throughout, the flavor is quite malty - wheaty like fresh-baked bread with a light yeastiness. The soft grainy quality from unmalted grains is rather light in this example. The aftertaste is wheaty and full of coriander. The mouthfeel is thin-medium in body, "juicy", and sharply carbonated - almost like a very effervescent sparkling cider in texture. Overall, this was a pretty good witbier, but not a great one. I think it was a little over-carbonated and lacked the velvety mouthfeel that other witbiers have (which I believe is often attributed to the use of unmalted grain). Also, more citrus character would have been a little more refreshing (though coriander and wheat are a refreshing combination, too).

I was really excited to try this beer. it’s been sitting in my wine fridge for weeks just staring back at me, but I’m sad to say that I’ve very disappointed. The aroma was a little too weak for me, almost not there. The flavor was pretty flat and boring. I’ve had a few other witbiers and this just didn’t measure up. Not enough of a pronounced flavor. I won’t bother with this one again.

Bottle. Nice pale yellow pour with a bubbly white head. Lavender, coriander, small fruits, orange bark aromas make for a pretty complex nose. Taste is spicy, lightly fruity with a strong spice finale (cinnamon). Mouthfeel is over sparkly for my taste and it’s very short.

Source:750 mL bottle at home with the wife.
Glass:Aventinus glass.
Appearance:Poured Cloudy yellow pour with a huge head. Very bubbly.
Aroma:Aroma was sweet malts, bitter orange peels and lavender.
Flavor:Solid malt base with coriander, oranges and lavender in the finish. The lavender was very strong.
Palate:Light body with fizzy carbonation.
Overall:This is one of the better wits I’ve had. Absolutely excellent.