One of those 'alternative' but still traditional Belgian 'blanches', alternative in the sense that the classic combo of coriander and curaçao spicing has been replaced by mint and ginger here - a combination I do not think I had before, so this certainly sparks some curiosity. Steinie bottle from the brewery. Thick, egg-white, plaster-lacing, foamy, uneven-bubbled, crackling head on a hazy straw-golden robe with olive-greenish tinge. Aroma of indeed peppermint and very strongly so (as menthol, like in peppermint candy), equally strong ginger (as in ginger ale or those organic ginger extracts used to make ginger lemonade at home), lavender perfume, lemon-scented hand soap, apple peel, soggy white bread, freshly cut white celery, minerals. Spritzy onset, fruity notes of green pear, Granny Smith apple and vague banana peel, lively carbonated with 'prickly' effect, slender body; cereally and white-bready maltiness with soapy wheat all around, adding a bit of dim sourishness as well. At an early stage already, everything is overshadowed by very powerful spicing in a highly perfumey way, ginger up front but closely followed by the menthol, which evokes a 'mouth-refreshing' peppermint candy feel (Fisherman's Friends), while the ginger adds lots of its unmistakable soapy-peppery aroma but less of the hot spiciness it can bring. Light floral hop bitter note in the end, some lingering apple-ish fruitiness and wheat soapiness, but the menthol and ginger combination is so strong that it dominates well into the finish. Quite a daring take on the old witbier formula, and even if the combo of peppermint and ginger seems to work well on paper, a bit less of both (especially the first) would probably have been a better idea - less is more, particularly if you are going to work with flavouring agents as strong as these. This overpowering, dominant spiciness does not only cover up everything else, it almost makes you forget that in essence you are drinking a witbier here... Not my cup of tea, but have a point for audacity and originality: witbier is one of those Belgian styles 'par excellence' to experiment with spicing ever since the legendary Pierre Celis launched a coriander- and curaçao-spiced Hoegaarden, so if we want to keep this classic style alive, I think more experimenting with alternative spicing could prove interesting. In this case: good idea, but should have been more subtly executed in my opinion.