Jopen Adriaan Witbier

Jopen
Brewed at Brouwerij Huyghe
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Haarlem, Netherlands

Serve in Tumbler, Weizen

(Draught at White Horse, Parson’s Green, London 21 Apr 2006) Golden yellow colour, slightly hazy, firm white head. Very nice spicy nose with clove, cardamom and a wheaty, sweet/sour character. Taste is spicy with clove and coriander, lightly sweet and light body. Quite nice, but the nose is better than the taste.

hmm, gruit eh? smells cidery, spicy, fruity, slightly wheaty and yeasty but those last two scents are more subdued. herbally sweet, and it’s quite a nice interplay between the sweetness and a tiny bit of acidic tartness. more tartness in the finish which allows it to finish dry although most of the flavor is sweet. like most ’traditional ales,’ this is another sweet beer and it’s pretty likeable.

Yellow, brown. Nice herbal, yeasty aroma. Yeasty flavor, a bit wheat-like and a little bit sour. Overall an interesting brew with a historical story attached to it.

Bottle. Sour milk, clove, and stale wheat aroma. Murky orange-amber color with minimal head. Sour apple and stale wheat flavor - really works well. A nice clean tasting traditional beer. Very enjoyable.

Unusual ’gruit’ beer that had ’traditional’ written all over it (even with Dutch authorities insisting on the use of hops). As DuffMan says, it is one that has mixed ratings and of the two bottles I tasted I can honestly say that each was different from the other. Came across as more of a millet beer, so it serves it well as an incite into the beers of yesteryear. Poured into a chalice cool but not cold. The big yeast pack on the bottom of the bottle dispersed to make a murky pastel orange body of beer, with a short, mostly lasting, soapy white crown that managed some lace. Yeasty, sourdough and glutinous, starchy grains in the unusual, off-putting aroma that, with these samples, were tainted by cheesy notes. A late tang of grassy herbs and ginger couldn’t save it, and this nasty aroma precluded each sip. Thankfully clean in the mouth; strong palest wheat and unconverted grains give it a lightly pasty feel on the palate. Tastes like sour muesli soaked in water, in a good way. Light in body and charged with a prickly, spritzy carbonation that tickled the tongue. Light lactic note came in late with a zing of fresh squashed lemons down the sides and a dried herbal flavour that I couldn’t quite pin-point. Finish is clean and crisp with a rather fresh aftertaste of sour fruits. Went down with ease despite that woeful pong and was quite refreshing overall. Subtle, simple, yet unique, so I liked it. One to try again! (30cL, braurei Jopen, Haarlem, 10/08/06, Int’l Beer Shop, W. Leederville)

It is fascinating to read the variety of impressions that this beer generates! I thought it was very interesting and terrific. From the bottle, it doesn’t look very nice-- murky cloudy yellow-brown with a mediocre head and poor retention. Huge aroma of butterscotch and warmed butter. Sweet palate, very butterscotchy with some cardamom, ginger and vanilla cookie, and a vaguely fruity note that I couldn’t put my finger on (maybe the herbs, maybe the yeast...). Thin-bodied, but that’s okay as it was still a pleasure to drink. Recommended for its different character.

Murky, pale straw body with a poor lasting head. The aroma seemed to be of soft wheat notes, with my other half picking up honey. Soft in the taste as well, thin body, some ginger, yeast, citrus and soft carbonation. Pleasant and easy drinking with no big characters standing out, but nothing really making you yearn for more.

tangerine color. smelled like smoked sausage and tasted like new york seltzer water.