Oarsman Ale

Pours a light yellow with a tall white head. Tart crisp aroma. Fresh tart palate. Light and refreshing, easy drinking.

Bottle. Yellow with a moderate white head. Aroma was light wheat and musty. Light wheat and very tart flavor. Thin watery body. Personally, I expected a little more from Bell’s.

Bottle at Paul’s tasting. Pours clearish slightly cloudy yellow. Nose and taste of lemon peel, yeast and wheat.

Had on tap in Alpena, MI. on 11/ 6 / 2010. Lightly grainy, wheat aroma, some funk and grassy hops in the background. Cloudy pale yellow color, head is very thin and fades quickly. Flavor profile is yeast /wheat and fairly refreshing, with suggestions of citrus, bready malts, faint bitterness and a hint of herbal hop flavor. Gently acidic with a fine but persistent level of carbonation. A nice wheat beer!

From 6-pack, $10 @ Binny’s. Starts with a golden yellow pour, thin layer of white fizz, like an older style pilsener. Quite clear, with good bubble activity. Smell is like my daddy’s old beer, though. Some oxidation and a small amount of maltiness, probably expected for a lower alcohol beer. Taste… well, when the label talks about "sour mash," I was set up for something a little tart like a Berliner weisse. This comes across more like a Goose 312. Just beery and fizzy, some lightness and spice from wheat malt. But wait, there is an undeniable touch of citrus tang coming through my stuffy nose. Yeah, I can call this at least a little "zesty. Certainly no problems with this beer, it achieves what it sets out in style and flavor.

Slightly hazy golden coloured body with a large dense white head and a very still (no bubbles) look. Aroma of funky pale wheat with some corn behind and a touch of apples. Some light funk in the smell as well with a little coriander seed as well. Light-bodied; Assertive sugars up front with a funky slightly sour note of lemons and vinegar, followed by some light wheat, a minor amount of sweetness and a very clean feel. Aftertaste has some light citrus notes, a touch of yeast and a lot of the slightly sour sweet flavours - odd. Overall, not such a great beer, especially for the style. It wasn’t a horrible beer, but not a good one and an interesting one for the style! I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Norm’s in Vienna, Virginia on 03-October-2010 sampled at home in Washington on 18-October-2010.

Bottle. The more craft beers I drink, the more I appreciate brewers who can make a good session beer. And this session beer is good. Hazy yellow pour. White, frothy head, rapidly diminishing. Wheat grain is prominent in the nose along with lemon, grass and citrus. The flavor is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly bitter and lightly acidic. It finishes lightly sweet, lightly to moderately bitter and lightly acidic, enough to leave a slight lemon sourness in the aftertaste. Thin body, watery texture and lively carbonation, though the body is not so thin that you don’t notice a slickness. It’s crisp enough and tart enough to be palate cleansing. As you would expect in a 4% beer, none of the flavors or aromas are dynamic, but there are enough subtleties to make it interesting.

Golden with a white head. Sour with a lightly citrus aroma. Flavor has a bit of fruit and wheat notes. Strong tartness on the finish. An interesting beer and one that I could down a few of but, like others have said, hard to just sip on. Was expecting a bit more from Bells on this one...

Bottle from batch number 9861 thanks to LtDan. Pours with a hazy golden body and a white head that stays. Aroma is grainy, lacto, and grassy. Flavor is lemon, lactic and grainy. Not super sour. Fizzy and dry. Could be a bit more sour as a Berliner Weisse.