Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Acquired via trade. Pours a nice hazy golden color with a thick and rocky off-white head that fizzed away slowly. Thin lacing toward the top of the glass and less as it was consumed. The aroma is well-spiced, along with citrus and wheat. Crisp, light body with a great flavor profile. Spice and herbs (coriander, clove) are predominant, plus citrus, malt and hops. The finish is creamy and wheaty, making for a great beer overall. This is definitely one of the better Wits I have tried.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 3.5
Bottled. I emailed the brewery and they suggested the off taste came from the fact that I had an 8-month old bottle; since they don't pasteurize their beer, that's past its prime. I will definietly buy more fresh beer and revise my rating at a future date. Well, this and the Oatmeal Stout had a big cidery taste, so I have to conclude I got bottles with bacteria in them, or they were lagered too warm, or their yeast got tired. Too bad, because it looked great. Pours a nice deep orange, with a creamy head and plenty of bubbly action. Toward the end, I could get past the cidery taste and find a nice Oktoberfest malt bill and even a touch of balancing hops. I'll definitely try this again with another batch.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Re-rated. My second bottle causes me to bump this up a few points, especially since I got around to rating these bottles past their due dates, and Millstream doesn't pasteurize or filter their bottled product (one can tell from the small particles of grain husk floating around. This second bottle was much better than the first. Poured in a recommended pilsener glass, it kicked up a nice head, firm as a root beer float's. Good Czech hop character is also much more apparent. This one held its flavor through to the end, and I'm glad to give it a second opinion.
Bottled. Rather ordinary, I thought. A rocky head with some lacing, different for a pilsener. Appropriate golden body. Malt taste was overly sweet, but at least not saccharine, with no real hop balance to it. The mouthfeel falls somewhat flat at the end. A somewhat milky aftertase.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Bottle. I emailed the brewery and they suggested the off taste came from the fact that I had an 8-month old bottle; since they don’t pasteurize their beer, that’s past its prime. I will definietly buy more fresh beer and revise my rating at a future date. Starts out really nice. Beautiful roast coffee smell when opened. Pours a deep black body under a thin tan head. Taste is very roasty, too, but I also get the big sour orange taste other raters mentioned, followed by a punch of Coca-cola. Taste does settle out to a nice creamy oatmeal stout, but the sour cola gets in the way. How could they got such a taste with a lager yeast?
Oakes (33493) reviewed Johns White Ale from Millstream Brewing Company 22 years ago
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Dark beige colour. Flowery aroma with slight coriander, orangey notes, and lots of spice & phenol. Fruity even. A lot going on in the aroma. Tastes fresh, fruity, orangey. Fun rendition of the style. Thanks to hey_kevin for sending this my way!
jgb9348 (11828) reviewed Johns White Ale from Millstream Brewing Company 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Hazy blonde colour with a super-thin white head. Strong aroma of coriander seed, curacao and plentiful wheat. Medium-bodied; Assertive orangey curacao and a slight freshness from the coriander seed mark the taste. Overall, much better than expected! I had this bottle at the Winter Party at Oakes' place in Toronto, Canada on 05-December-2003. A large bunch of thanks goes out to Hey_kevin who sent this twelve ounce bottle out for us to sample at the party!
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottled. Okay, call me prejudiced because I’m from Iowa, which doesn’t have a major brewing scene, but this is one of the best “ambers” I‘ve had. Has a nice malty smell and pours a thick brownish head over an excellent coppery, bubbly body. There's a big caramel and brown sugar maltiness, with the right balance of German hops to keep it from getting too cloying. Won a Bronze at GABF, where it competed as a Vienna, and at the North American Brewers Association where it competed as a Mârzen. Go figure. Just a short detour off I-80 at the Colonies.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
12 oz bottle, Oct. 10, ’08. Worth a revisit, now that I have the experience of a few more wheat beers behind me. Golden pour with a little haze, a very brief and fizzy head, then nothing. Light malt smell with a bit of bread yeast in the mix. Taste is okay, but lacks the fine effervescence of a wheat beer. Some grains, not very smooth. "Liquid bread" is right, I’m afraid. Notes of wheat malt not easy to distinguish. But it probably was better from the brewer’s tasting tap.
Original rating: Nov. 5, ’03. 6-4-7-4-15, total 3.6. Draft, at the brewery. Thinking back, I believe this was the first microbrew I ever had, way back in the 1980’s. Today’s pour was a nice-looking, heady sample, with very little haze and a nice fizzy wheat flavor. An easy, pleasing beer.