7

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6

Witbier containing – apart from the traditional coriander and curaçao flavouring – seaweed, made for a hotel in Wijk aan Zee at the Dutch seaside (hence also the name of this beer: ‘geep’ is Dutch for garfish); the owner of this hotel, Hidde Spinder, profiles as a brewery (or client brewer) even though everything is brewed in Gulpener’s kettles. Thanks Craftmember for sharing the bottle. Egg-white, moussy, bit irregular, large-bubbled and quickly opening, but otherwise largely stable head; misty straw blonde robe with yellow glow and greenish tinge. Aroma of sharp carbon dioxide at first, after that the ‘sharpness’ is taken over by something peppery I cannot quite put my finger on – the seaweed perhaps, other impressions including coriander seed, potato juice, lemon peel, white pepper, soap, wet grains, raw white cabbage, wet kitchen towel. Dryish onset, some green apple, kiwi and lemon peel notes, sharp carbonation; this peppery effect again runs through it all, accompanied by a subtle salty accent – I do not know which kind of seaweed was used here, but it is the only thing on the ingredients list I can blame for this sharpness. Meanwhile a clear wheat soapiness and sourishness pass by, as well as a bready barley effect and some citrus peel spiciness; the soapiness is strongly enhanced by coriander but a general wheat flavour remains very strong till the end, even when the citrus peel gives way to a lingering, spicy, grassy hop bitterness which eventually appears stronger and much more powerful than is traditionally the case in a witbier. I had seaweed-flavoured beers before, but this is an oddity, weirdly bitter, very wheaty and with a sharp, peppery flavour to it which takes time to get used to. The saltiness is indeed present but everything feels out of balance here; maybe the witbier formula was not the best one to combine with seaweed after all…