Middle Ages Swallow Wit

Brewed by Middle Ages Brewing
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Syracuse, New York USA

Serve in Tumbler, Weizen

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I poured a 12oz bottle into a wheat beer glass. There was no freshness date. It cost $2.40 ($0.20 per ounce).

Appearance: Gold, glowing yellow hue. On the clearer side with only slight cloudiness and plenty of effervescent visible. Forms an average size, white, soapy head which mostly dissipates and leaves minor lacing.

Smell: A slightly grainy aroma more often found in lagers or cream ales. A hint of lemon, but not particularly aromatic.

Taste: Middle Ages Swallow Wit is one of those beers that starts out well enough but begins to slowly lose me the more I drink. I’m not a stickler for styles, but this doesn’t represent the witbier style all that well, it’s more of a Kolsch or some kind of generic blonde ale. Beers of this style tend to have orange and spice, but this is more of a clean, mild palette of pale grain with some lemony taste. There’s little bitterness, which makes it quite refreshing while in the mouth, but I want way more flavor than I’m getting here. I wouldn’t go so far as to describe this as watery or bland as it definitely has some flavor, even if that flavor may be rather boring. An inoffensive beer to be sure, but has to ways to go to garner a thumbs up from me.

Drinkability: While Middle Ages Swallow Wit may not be all that tasty, at least it’s an easy beer to drink. The mouthfeel is on the thinner side with some crisp carbonation throughout and a clean aftertaste. It’s refreshing across the tongue which makes it useful as a summer seasonal. At only 4.8% ABV it’s got the lighter weight you want in a beer of the type, though I’d prefer a bigger body with more flavor.

The beer was lightly carbonated with a smooth finish. Simple beer with a simple taste.

Poured into a pint glass. 3.0 A: Clear medium yellow color. One and a half fingers of frothy white head. Retention is a little worse than average and no lacing is left. 4.0 S: Big grassiness that smells great. Corriander, hay, and a nonspecific spiciness. Simple, yet pleasant and quite satisfying. 3.5 T: Taste is closely similar to the nose, but it doesn’t satisfy quite as much for whatever reason. Corriander, wet grass and hay, spice. It’s not complex, but it is flavorful. 3.5 M: Lighter body. Good moderate carbonation. Light creaminess. Good enough. 3.0 D: Tasty, easy drinking beer. I want a little more, but I’m happy enough with what I got. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 08-01-2012 04:04:19

My wife brought this one back from a trip to Rochester. +++ Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a bright golden color with an enormous foamy yellow-white head that left minimal lacing. The aroma was strong lemon - tart and spritzy and resembling a cleaning product. The flavor was tart lemon, chalk and a touch of must. Medium length finish of tart lemon and chalk and turning dry at the end. Exceptionally overcarbonated. Ok.

Bottle @ hotel room, Ithaca. Gusher. Hazy, golden orange appearance with a big, off-white head. Sweet orange peel, coriander, sweet citrusy, wheat malty aroma. Fairly sweet, well carbonated, orange citrusy, sweet wheat malty, coriander flavor. Not all that bad.

Bottle from Half Time. Pours hazy gold with a foamy white head. Aroma of light spice and orange. Near medium body. Flavor is pretty much orange zest with a bit of spice. With time I think the spice does turn out to be coriander. Finishes dry, and, might I add, zesty.

12oz bottle in a tumbler. Pours golden with a thick, white head. Aroma of pale and caramel malts with floral hops and too much spice/orange. Flavor just too strong of the things that are not normally in beer. Average texture. Not the best beer.

Bottle to pint glass. Pours a hazy yellow, maybe a little copper color with sparse white head, and not much lacing. Kinda watery, but a few good spicy floral undertones. I’m just not a witbeer fan. Even so, I’ve had better ones.

Pours light brown from bottle with a thin white head. Nice hints of orange peel on the nose. Fairly thin mouthfeel which makes it an appealing summer drink. Nice orange flavor on the tongue without being cloying. Finishes clean.

In central new york this is a standard substitution for Blue Moon. It does a pretty good job of taking it’s place. Cloudy golden color with a white head that recedes quickly. A strong citrus, especially orange aroma. Definitely a wheat beer taste. The palate was carbonated and a bit thin. Mild sweetness. This isn’t a complex beer but it goes down easy.