Ithaca Excelsior! White Gold

Brewed by Ithaca Beer Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Ithaca, New York USA

Shared at Cleveland tasting 3/15 Bottle: Pours a clear gold with a white head. Aroma, pale malts, wheat, yeast, light fruits, spice. Flavor, doughy, pale malts, yeast, floral and spicy hops, some light fruits.

Unfiltered opaque golden yellow, rocky white head that laces considerably. Tart wheat nose, acidic apples and pears, dusty and earthy hop component. Honeyed sweetness, spicy clove and coriander, tangy wheat, bready and cracker malts. Balanced, yes, but not in a great way - the beer kind of just sits there on the palate. Slick, oily, all together off-putting thick mouthfeel, low-to-medium carbonation, should be heightened to leaven the heavy feeling on the palate.

Thin fluffy head which does not last long. Light carbonation. Spicy palt malt aroma with some yeast and wheat notes. Bit of apple and some honey also. Feint hazy to this golden apple juice colored brew. Light and fruity flavor. More apples and some light malts. Noticable alcohol presence, along with some spicy hops and some lingering bready malts. Finishes clean and a bit on the dry side. A decent belgian. Could use a little bit more body and flavor to offset the high alcohol content. Thanks to chimplechamp for this one.

Very delicate in nature. Am surprised it is a strong ale and has 8% alcohol. It is rather pale colored. Very nice lacing. Aroma is lemony with a bit of yeasty sourness. Palate is nice, some hops at the forefront but it is light and well balanced.

Bottle #466 released April 2007. Poured into a weizen glass, the beer forms an enormous 4 finger head. Color is part honey part sparkling apple juice. Really fluffy white head leaves lots of lacing. Aromas of overripe apple, sweet malt, booziness, honey. Smooth wheat flavors but more apple than banana. Floral hoppiness, a bit tangy. Nice warm and sweet finish. Stellar carbonation and lots of wheat make this extremely smooth and drinkable.

Pours an ultra-hazy mustard yellow with granular particulates sinking to the bottom of the glass. The aroma is floral, fragrant hops, obvious wheat and mild suggestions of passion fruit. The flavour is equally fragrant and floral, with honey malty sweetness and musty yeast. The balance here is incredible and the beer’s best attribute. The palate is slightly oily, watery and very short on the finish. Some booze coming through as it warms, but it is mostly well hidden.

750 ml bottle Courtesy of my good buddy Drink4satan, thanks mike! Pours a cloudy-murky pineapple juice color with fine brown particulates suspended throughout the trappist. Creamy head that dissapates quickly still holds onto the rim of the glass with good head retention and lacing. Aroma is fragrant but simple. From the pour you could instantly recognize the wheat, citrus and yeast. Initial taste is very much like the aroma but with a stronger display of wheat malts. Some spices lingered in on the midpalate. Finished with floral hop bitterness that was well balanced. From the bitterness it instantly gets cut out by dry finish. Finish started well but was cut way too short. Medium body. Very refreshing brew and very easy drinking for the well masked 8%.

750ml.....pours a hazy semi-transparent orange brown with very little head. only some white fizz towards the edge of the glass.....nose of oranges, grassiness, and yeast.....flavors are much of the same and overall it was a little watered down which muted the taste. flavors favored the yeast and light citrus notes.....not the greatest.