St. Bernardus Blanche (Witbier)

Brewed by St. Bernard Brouwerij
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Watou, Belgium

A little over priced at 14$/4. Very comparable to hoegarrden, A little more yeasty, less light fruit in the flavor.. and less sharp carbonation. This beer is very yeasty on the nose and bready yeast on the palate as well.

Pours a hazy yellow, almost cream color topped with a huge thick creamy white head. Subtle fruity hints in the aroma along with vanilla and some yeast. Tons of frothy lacing left on the glass. Light bodied and refreshing. Some banana, lemon and a touch of spice come out in the flavor. A good beer, the flavors seem to mix well. No true one dominant flavor. Perhaps a tad thin in the mouthfeel but nothing major. This was the first of a six variety pack I purchased from St. Bernardus and I am pleased with this one. I look forward to the other 5!

Draft @ Toronado. Poured an intensely hazy straw with a white head. Nose was heavy candy, lemon drops, orange peel and some slight spice. Body is similar but not nearly as sweet, I found some additional lime paired with aforementioned flavors and a heavy body with well-dispersed carbonation made for a top witbier in my book. Look for this on draft.

Cloudy with a slightly apricot, golden color. Slight sourness in the smell and the taste. Some sweetness, coorinador, and fruits. Easy to drink.

Serve Cold. St Bernardus’ Witbier has a wonderful fruity aroma. It looks like liquid gold sparkling in a tumbler. For as bubbly as it is, one would expect a sharp bite, but to your surprise you get a complex sweet-bitter finish. Perfect after mowing your yard in the summertime.

On tap at The Red in Santa Cruz. Peachy lemon in color with a big white head that leaves fantastic Belgian lacing. The foam never seems to die down to the liquid. Aroma is spicy and citrusy: coriander and lemon respectively. Classic. Flavor is pretty much unrivaled in the witbier world. Not a touch of wateriness yet still so refreshing. Tangy lemon with a sweet wheat maltiness, accented by coriander and clove. Mouthfeel is unreally smooth from the wheat. A bit too full-flavored to be supremely drinkable like some of the lighter versions of the style out there, but this is quite easily the best as far as overall quality. That Hoegaarden has the same average score on this site is a travesty.

33cl bottle from Total Wine Tampa. Pours golden lemony, cloudy, thin white head. Smells of lemon, citrus, spice, but not overpoweringly so. Flavor: citrus, spice, faint complex cheese taste with a slightly watery finish.

Pours slightly orangy yellow, very cloudy with a long-lasting white head. Man, there’s tons of obscene chunks floating in this. Aroma is pungent, leaning towards the doughier and earthier side of witbiers. A bit of lemon zest, cardamom, hay, salt...mostly pungent yeast notes. Tangy at first with tart citrus and light herb/spice, this gets overtaken with a raw dough and wheat taste, pungent yeasty hay notes throughout. Finishes pretty clean, but the aftertaste changes things up and removes almost all tartness, leaving nothing but gingery dough, and maybe sugar cookies. Okay, maybe it’s not THAT sweet, but still.....Light highly carbonated mouthfeel, but this is definitely chewier than most witbiers. Not quite as big as de Rocs Blanche Double. Anyway this is pretty fabulous.