Summit Scandia Ale

Formerly brewed at Summit Brewing Company
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
St. Paul, Minnesota USA

Serve in Tumbler, Weizen

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A very light sipping beer. Slight orange flavor. Touches of cardamom and coriander make this a great sipping beer for summer or enjoyed with some fresh fish.

UPDATED: OCT 29, 2009 Poured from bottle into water glass at work. Pale cloudy yellow with moderate head and nice lacing. Orange, lemon, clove, coriander, pepper and maybe even other spices. More complex smell than many Wits but less sour notes. Tastes very similar to the smell. Orange and coriander are noticeable, as expected for a Wit, but lemon and pepper play a major role as well, likely due to the addition of Cardamom. Just barely sour, and might even taste slight banana. For me, this is just so much better than Summit Hefeweizen, their other summer seasonal. Pretty high carbonation, light to medium body, and fairly smooth for the style. This is the most refreshing, easy to drink Wit I have had. Really commend Summit for making something so different than what they usually do. Plus the addition of Cardamom is fantastic.

Pours a hazy straw gold, with a fluffy head of white suds on top of a steady stream of carbonation. Decent head retention, great lacing. This was count-the rings lacing (between 6 and 8 per pint) leaving lots of webby strands between them. I noticed the spicy aroma as soon as the beer was placed on the bar before me - lots of spicy character. I grabbed the coriander and the cardamom from my better half’s spice rack when I got home - and I’ll say it is heavier on the cardamom, though both are present. This was a flavorful beer, with a sweeter honeymalt flavor blending with a drier wheat malt flavor. Very tasty. Some floral hop bitterness showed up in the finish, accompanied by bitter orange and spicy coriander that lasted and lasted. The aftertaste was a blend of sweet orange pulp, bitter orange peel, and coriander. The body was somewhere between light and medium, gently but fully carbonated, soft and smooth, and very drinkable

From a bottle, this pours a cloudy orange-yellow. Fairly sizable white head that settles into a nice lacing throughout the glass-draining process. Aroma of orange peel & fizzy wheat. First taste is tart wheat, with a follow-up of orange peel, coriander and yes, cardamom. I didn’t think I’d much like the latter in beer but in this case, it’s just a hint of flavor--and it works very well. Slightly bitter, but clean finish. Smooth and moderately carbonated. Guess I’ve found a new favorite witbier.

"...a Scandanavian interpretation of a famous Belgian ale with spice notes of cardamom, coriander and orange." 20 IBUS, Pale, Wheat, European malts, and flaked oats, with Vanguard hops. On tap at Acadia Cafe in Minneapolis, one of only a dozen bars to tap it so far. Pours a thoroughly hazed straw yellow hue, with a solid, staying bone white head. Looks the part for a witbier, very attractive. Lovely nose, an utterly pretty, floral fragrance, ripe with citrus and spice. Zesty and arousing. Scandia climbs into the mouth with full force, washing flavor gently but assuredly along every avenue of the senses. Lemon zest, orange peel dominate, but matched well with strong coriander, with a sidekick of cardamom. The coriander was so big, it clung to my mouth long after I left the Cafe. Body is lean, but that’s true to style. Not skimpy in taste, however and that’s what will make Scandia a winner. This tastes every bit as good as any other witbier I’ve tried, especially stateside (and excepting St. Bernardus). The freshness of this brand new ale also adds to the keen drinkability and delightful character. This is a great summertime drinker from Summit, their first attempt at a Belgian style, and a nice, refreshing change. I don’t, however understand what makes this a "Scandanavian take" on a wit, other than the brewery owner’s nationality. For all intends and purposes, this tastes exactly like a witbier should, and I can’t imagine what sort of Nordic twist they took.

Straw in color and hazy. Medium white colored head. Aroma is herbs and slight lemon and orange. Flavor is strong wheat with heavy spice notes. Spicy finish. I loved this brew coupled with a spicy barbaque sandwich.

this is really tasty stuff. This stuff smells exactly like a fresh grilled johnsonville brat! really nice aroma. pour whiteish and cloudy. lots of carbonation, but not TOO much. spicy and fruity but not offensively so. great easy drinking beer! liked it alot.

Lemon/orange goodness. Legit belgian white. Cream, hop, velvet wash. Very clean and overall fun to drink. Flavor increases towards the end of the glass. Beautiful appearance, yellow opaque. Overall citrus flavors are strong, wheat and coriander ever present. Great concoction from Summit. Very happy a domestic was able to do such a fine job on a wit bier.

Shaker pour @ moto-i. Completely murky, yet glowing golden. Has a slightly sticky lacing. Cannot see through it. The beer is just a coriander bomb throughout, not much more. A bit more citric in the aroma and more mineral and earthy in the flavor. Fortunately, I heart coriander.

On tap at the Green Mill,GF.hazy golden color,small head but then it came from the bar and service was slow so it could have been larger.Aroma was citrusy and hoppy with a decent spice side coming through.The flavor was actually not bad for a brew coming from these guys,nice lemony flavor with a decent but not overly done spice side and a nice wheat taste,nothing really over the top going on here but just plain nicely done,and good enough that i had 4 more before leaving the place.Nice summer brew IMO and well worth getting if it comes to bottle.