Otter Creek White Sail

Brewed by Otter Creek Brewing
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Middlebury, Vermont USA

Absolutely my favorite Belgian Ale. Whereas some Belgian Ale is far too sweet for my liking, Otter Creek’s offering is far more subtle. First time around having this beer I got pretty hammered as it was tapped out of a free keg that was tackled by only myself and a few friends. Thank god the other people didn’t know truly how amazing this beer was. Second time having it with my buddy haslinger brought back the same fond memories...less the inebriation. Thumbs up to Otter Creek on a fine Belgian Ale.

12 oz single from Total Wine. Very fruity, perfumy, citrus aroma. Unfortunately that’s the best part. I like Belgian Wits, but I just cant get excited about this one. I think Blue Moon is better. It has all the typical flavors of a wit, but it comes off mediciny instead of enjoyable. Not bad, but also not so good..

THOUGHTS: One of the first white beers I didn’t really care for. The aroma is the only thing that good about this one. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a murky, dark yellow with a small, frothy, white head that fully diminished and left virtually no lacing. The aroma was light to moderate yeast, lemon, wheat and maybe some orange. The initial flavor was lightly sweet, moderately acidic and sour; while the finish was light to moderately acidic, light to moderately bitter and very sour with an average duration. There was citrus and yeast, but it was was also a flat flavor. I can’t really explain it any other way. The light to medium body was sort of silky and then sort of dry with fizzy carbonation and a light astringent and acidic finish.

Pours way darker than most other witbiers. Head dissipates quickly. Mild spicy aroma and all that. Yeasty. Slightly sweet. Got a bunch of malts. Not at all watery, but not at all special either.

12oz brown screwtop (!!) bottle from Hannaford in Portland. Pours a dark yellow to orange murky body with no head. Smells very very fruity, with lemon and orange dominating and maybe a hint of berry? Tastes like orange, lemon, pith, yeast, something I can’t quite put my finger on - berry? vanilla? Very sweet and citrussy in any case. Light-bodied with ample carbonation helps make this really really drinkable. Tasty and accessible for sure. Maybe not as close to style as some, and certainly no Allagash White (what is?), but damn tasty, and I’ll be buying a few of these for my non beer geek friends to try!

Pours cloudy light yellow with a good sized head. Aroma is yeast and orange. Mouthfeel is thin with a lot of carbonation. Flavor is a bit off for a witte. The orange and corriander are in the background, and there is more bitterness than should be present in the style. I love this style, but this is not a good example.

Yes my first Vermont brew. Bottle pours out a light orange topped with a cream head. A pretty nice aroma of orange wheat. Tast of yeast and some malt. Not to bad.

Bottle: Pale gold color, light white head and a light lacing. Nose of light citrusy orange and pale malt. The flavor is also a bit thin with some basic malt and yeast esters playing on the basic hop and citrus notes. The finish is light and grassy, some extra esters there too. Eh.