Wittekerke Winter White Ale

Bottle @ home picked up at Wine and Cheese STL. Thanks to jcnielsen to sending it to me. Pours a hazy cloudy, somewhat dark orange appearance with a big tan head. Fairly spicy, floral, potpourri, freshly cleaned carpet, a bit fruity aroma. Somewhat oxidized, a bit old, a bit goopy malty, orange fruity, fairly spicy flavor. This one has been sitting for a while, so it’s definitely deteriorated but I’m not sure it would that amazing fresh.

75cl bottle shared at a Ratebeer evening at ABCBeers. Thin white head. Hazy blond pour. Refreshing but nothing special.

750 ml bottle into tulip glass, best before 7/4/2014. Pours extremely hazy golden orange color with a nice 2 finger dense off white head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of orange, pear, apple, lemon, orange rind, apple skin, coriander, light banana, floral, wheat, bread, pepper, clove, and earthy yeast esters. Nice and pleasant aromas; with good balance and complexity of malt, spices, and yeast esters. Taste of pear, apple, orange zest, lemon, light banana, wheat, coriander, bread, honey, floral, light clove, and earthy yeast esters. Lingering notes of light fruits, citrus, wheat, coriander, light clove, bread, honey, and earthy yeast esters on the finish for a bit. Very nice balance and complexity of flavors; with a good malt/spice balance, but feels a bit toned down in flavor for 7.5%; with zero cloying flavors present after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a fairly creamy and smooth mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with hardly any warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a very good high gravity witbier. Very nice balance and complexity of flavors; and very smooth and easy to sip on. A very enjoyable offering.

Bottle (750 ml). Orange, vanilla, and wheat malt aroma. Hazy golden yellow with moderate head. Sweet vanilla-orange. and wheat malt flavor. Nice body. Really don’t get any of the typical spices but still a nice beer.

Bottle. Sweet orange, wheat, and vanilla aroma. Cloudy honey gold with a large white head, nice lacing. Wheat malt, sweet orange flavor. Medium creamy body. Nice.

Hazy yellow colour. Peppery, yeasty aroma. Low carbonation and quite a thick, rich feel. Flavour is wheaty and sweet but with a slighty tangy edge to keep it fresh.

Refrigerated 75 cl bottle poured into a weizen glass. Pours deep translucent orange with yellow hightlights. Some big bubble lacing, heavy body, medium/well carbonated, and dry citrus aroma. Taste is heavy citrus (mostly orange), some coriander, and some spice. Quite a bit of flavor, but too hard to drink.

Draft @ Delirum, Brussels. Dorée trouble allant plus vers un aspect blé, col épais et crémeux blanc. Arôme reste assez discret mais laisse un léger bouquet de pelure d’agrumes et de citron et d’épice. En bouche, cette version hivernale est nettement au dessus de la version régulière de Wittekerke. Un profile épais rempli de bonnes saveurs fruitées allant du pamplemousse, à la mandarine et orange, le tout sur un côté de coriandre très agréable. Le tout comme mentionné avant, est épais, retient un bon profile de froment et de levure conférant un côté presque de bubblegum. Je note un malt pale/cara pour un fini poussiéreux mais aussi une pointe de pomme rappelant le cidre.

Sampled on draft at D’s in Monroeville this beer poured a murky orange-amber color with a medium sized foamy off white head that lingered and left a bit of lacing. The aroma was yeasty and bready with light notes of orange and pepper. The flavor was tart orange zest, lemon and tangy bread with hints of nut and pepper. The finish was long orange, bread and a touch of honey. Fairly full bodied. Enjoyable.