Michigan Brewing Celis White

Brewed by Michigan Brewing Company
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Webberville, Michigan USA

(12 oz bottle: Liquid Solutions in Tigard, OR) Ten and a half years ago, I drank a few of the original Celis Whites. I hadn’t been into craft beer all that long, and man, my notes indicate I really hated this beer. I wrote, "Ill-tasting wheat beer with a terrible aftertaste; Worse than your average wheat beer (which is pretty bad)." Somehow I think that if I tasted THAT Celis White now, I’d think much more highly of it, but THIS Celis White isn’t all that good. It’s fairly lemony, acidic and tart, but also fruity (orange citrus) and lightly sweet, with just a hint of orange peel and no coriander to speak of, but what’s totally turning me off is the mild sourdough breadiness setting the base. The nose is somewhat lemony as well, but not much else is coming through. Much heavier than most Belgian style wheats, medium in body, lightly carbonated. The steady rise of carbonation bubbles can be seen though the hazy, pale yellow color body. A small, white head settles to a dusty covering atop the beer. A few slashes of lace streak across the glass. Neither authentic nor all that enjoyable, a bad combination to be sure because I can’t appreciate this beer on any level.

Bottle. White small fizzy head that mostly diminished with poor lacing, carbonated, hazy, and a yellow hue. Aroma was malty, sweet, banana, spicy, and clove. Flavor was sweet, somewhat acidic, sour, tart, tangy, banana, and clove. Smooth, thin mouthfeel. Light-medium body.

When Celis was brewed in Texas it was one of the few beers from the Lone Star State available in Philadelphia. Celis White of old was the first Witbier that touched my lips and broadened my horizons in craft beers. Today’s version of Celis White is almost identical, a light spiced wheat ale.

Good Hefe-Weisse pour and aroma, but the head, carbonation and even flavor unravel rather quickly. At its best, the beer has a creamy, lemon custard taste and mouthfeel. An average brew.

Light, clowdy, colden yellow. Aroma of cloves, bananas, and lemon - slight peach aroma after taking a sip. Quite bitter and dry, but not in a horrible way. This isn’t my favorite Celis beer. The crispness escapes soon after the pourand renders the beer sour and lemony if you don’t drink it more rapidly than your usual whitbier micro.

Semi-hazy and muted pale yellow in color with a dusty, frivolous head pocked with a few white bubbles. Aroma unwinds with the anticipated cloves, coriander, lemons and bananas. Some aluminum in the nose as well, which breaches the nostrils each time you go to take a sip. Scaled back lemon meringue pie flavor with whipped buttercream. Artificial cloves stirred with Splenda. Some lemon scraps and an acorn squash attribute, which imparts a muted / husked sweetness. Slick palate feel that takes on a personality of an experimental V8 concoction. Effervescence dies quickly, finishing with lemon muffins and hints of ginger and lime. It is what it is.

poured out a straw color with a thin white head that dissipated quickly with decent lacing. nose consisted of clove, citrus, fruit, and flowers. nice tart citric flavors as well as spice. a bit watery and light, but good nonetheless. finished witha bitter almost lemony flavor. good, but won’t purchase again.

When Pierre Celis was making this in Austin, it was one of the best american wits hands down. Thanks to Michigan Brewing Company for reviving this great beer. However, it stops well short of being as good as the original, and it really needs to be fresh. The sweetness diminishes rather quickly in the bottles. Still worth drinking and better than Blue Moon.