In the Spring of 1992, my father, Pierre Celis, flew from Belgium to the United States to start a new brewery in the great state of Texas. No one suspected that he carried something very precious, concealed in his tube socks. It was the original yeast strain Pierre had been using to brew his world-famous Belgian-style Wit beer for the past 30 years. And there was no way he was going to brew without it.
The first Celis Brewery opened on July 11th in 1992. It was an immediate success. Turns out Texans really liked our beer! Before we “crazy Belgians” arrived, most Texans were drinking one of “the big three” brands on the market. The small craft breweries that we all know and love today simply did not exist. When Pierre Celis started brewing his beloved beer, he created a craft beer that changed everything.
Exactly 25 years to the day it first opened, the legendary beer is back, better than ever at Celis Brewery 2.0. Along the way in the Spring of 2011, we lost my Dad. But Pierre’s spirit and his commitment to quality lives on—along with his original yeast strain.
Welcome to the future, the legacy, the celebration, and the beer that started it all. Welcome to Celis Brewery.
Admin Note: After the original brewery in Austin closed the Celis brand was purchased by Michigan Brewing Company and brewed in Michigan for a decade. Then contract brewed at Two Roads.
Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a hazy bronze-brown color with a large tan head. The aroma was faint with tangy malts and was a touch vegetal. The flavor was tangy, sour, lightly fruity and faintly vegetal. The finish was short, sour and tangy. Eh.
Bottle. Pours a sickly pinkish amber with a thin white/pink head. Heavily artificial raspberry dominates the nose... maybe there is a little bit of an odd vegetation smell, too. Flavor is odd... raspberry doesn’t come through till the finish. Leading up to this \"feature event\" is a mix of spice (I’ll second the cloves), water and metal. Strange, strange, strange. Very watery and a little nasty around the edges.
Pours with a largish, foamy, white heead and a hazy golden body. Good lacing. Aroma of corriander, honey, some orange peel and yeast.. Tastee is sweet with vanilla, corriander and orange peel. Fizzy and a bit dry.
Bottle. Pours a hazy yellow/gold with a medium/small head. Aromas are funk, lemon, spice and bananas. Flavor is kind of a goofy mix of the above. The funky lemon goes fairly well with the cloves and light wheat flavor.
bottle - Pours golden with a thin white head. It has a nice, full aroma of citrus, yeast, and some herbal notes. The taste is sweet and citrus heavy with a touch of spice. It has a medium body and lively carbonation. The fruity notes linger in the finish without being overpowering. Good stuff.
12 oz. bottle from Beer Geek. Copper amber color with a decent off-white head. Aroma of citrus and a little spice. Near medium body with rather creamy carbonation. Flavor is rather malty sweet, with some citrus and likely coriander. Seems to be a lot of caramel, and a lot of citrus/coriander to temper it. Despite that it still seems not very bitter. It’s just the wrong type of sweet for a Belgian in my view, and a little more hop might have been an improvement. It’s slowly growing on me though.
Appearance: Dark, redish brown. Not much head. Aroma: Fruity and malty. Taste: Fruity and fresh, some hops and malt. Some aftertaste. Flowers, pollen, honey. Info: 250ml bottle, 22/11-2006, 114/500
Clear light golden beer, nearly headless - aroma of spices, honey, citrus, alcohol - the flavor has an indistinct herbal bitterness, honey sweetness, and mild floral character - lacking anything that makes it stand out - it’s difficult for me to even take notes after each sip - it’s that easy to forget - the most noticeable character is the sweetness (the most common flaw of the american made belgian ale) - meh.
With such a very clear golden pour, it was hard to imagine it would pack 8%abv. medium carbonation. Herbal and spicy a little hoppy with a slight touch of citrus/orange.