Lost Abbey Witchs Wit

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
San Marcos, California USA

Faint brass color with a pure white 1/4 inch head. Small spotty lacing is left on the inside of the glass. Extremely spicy and yeasty, with citrus and wheat. Can’t really find the honey in this brew. Sorry!!!

Pours transluscent orange/yellow with light head. Smell is very wheaty and bright. Some light fruitienss and lightly spiced. Taste is heavily wheaty and very light. Hint of spice in the end but this feels like a belgian wit light. To thin flavorwise, and on the palate, and I got no new flavors from the grapefruit zest or grapefruit honey. Ok, but boring.

Draft at brewery. Hazy yellow with not much head. Aromas were citrus with some spice. Wheat twang on the flavor and more orange flavors. Not too bad.

Pours a hazy, light golden-yellow color with a small, creamy, white head. Thin, broken sheets of lace mark the glass. The aromas are that of a traditional Wit, coriander and citrus peel showing atop the requisite light, neutral, wheat backdrop. I really don’t pick up much in terms of honey. Likewise, the flavor is straightforward and kind of disappointing. Simple, delicate wheat is spiced with lemon zest, watered down grapefruit, and mild, earthy coriander. Again, I’m only picking up a generic fruity sweetness, which I suppose could be attributed to the honey. Light in body and balanced on the tongue, it is very easy to drink and refreshing. Overall, this is a bit underwhelming, but it’s a decent outdoor summertime brew.

Sampled twice at Lost Abbey; color was nothing odd, a dull and clear yellow; creamy white head. The flavor was just ok, and overall it was a bit disappointing. Not that it was bad, but was expecting something either great tasting or unique. The flavor had a lot of zest, yeast, wheat and some citrus. Just ok.

bottle. Pours a hazy golden yellow, inch or so of crisp white head that clears to leave a decent layer. Aromas of coriander, cloves, some orange peels, and some tart yeast. Flavor is dry and sharp, citrus notes and a light bitterness up front, smooth dry sweet grain and honey. Some grainy yeast rounds out the back end. Active carbonation, sharp, dry, and clean on the palate. Overall, a very tasty rendition of a style that’s often not the most exciting. Very well done.

Draft... RBSG ‘08... Mostly clear, light yellow ale with a small, fizzy, white head. Spicy, grainy aroma offers notes of biscuit and clove. Light-bodied with lively carbonation. Well-balanced with just a whisper of a spicy phenol. Finishes crisp and mildly spicy.

A vigorous pour produces a fat-two-finger thick, pale, just off-white colored head. The beer is an amber-gold color that shows a light haze and a bright, straw-gold color when held up to the light. The aroma has a solid lemon-like coriander character, a grassy herbal note, a medicinal honey note in the finish as well as a grassy, pale grain character to it. The honey character gets more pronounced as the beer warms up. A second pour re-accentuates the earthy, herbal notes of the coriander, but the citrus picks up a touch of sweetness (perhaps accentuated by the honey) that smells a bit more like grapefruit.

Lightly sweet tasting up front with a distinct honey flavor to it through the middle and in the finish. Grassy grain notes meld with a light herbal note, a touch of astringency and a very light bitterness; each of these notes provides a balancing not to the light sweetness and honey character. Very light and quaffable, though the honey keeps this from having a crisp, dry finish. Light citrus notes, that are more lemon like than anything, seem to hide underneath the honey notes most of the time.

The honey is definitely an interesting addition to a Wit; it definitely works with the traditional Wit flavors but I don’t necessarily like the sweetness that it adds. Actually some more yeast-derived spice notes would help balance this beer out a bit more.

Purchased: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach CA