The Bruery Orchard White

Brewed by The Bruery
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Placentia, California USA

This Belgian Wit pours a slightly hazy orange gold color from a 750 ml bottle. Kind of a gusher. I had 6 glasses filled with varying % or beer and foam before it settled down. Medium sized white foamy head. The aroma is floral and spicy, lots of coriander, pepper and lavender. A medium bodied wit. The malts are fruity and sweet. The hops are earthy and floral. A little bready tasting and a bit heavy in the mouth for a wit, I am guessing that much of the carbonation escape when I opened this one. Nice balance. An interesting take on the style. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is crisp and dry. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

G.A.B.F. 2008: Cloudy pour, thick white head. Has a great aroma! Well spiced and complex! Coriander, orange, perfumy dryness, herbal suggestions! Spritzy feel, lively. The flavor is perfumy, crisp, citrusy spicy with coriander and herbal notes. Lemon peel and mildly tart. It’s sharp and crisp all over without that sweet yeast that many examples have. This is a top Witbier!

As a fan of witbiers, I was stoked to open this one, especially after leaving the LA Witches Wit very underwhelmed. Anyways, nice pop on the cork, and it pours a good hazy gold with a robust, highly textured white head. Pretty beer! Aroma is spicy and pleasantly so...lots of coriander and other perfumey spices (lavender?), combined with a healthy dose of toasted oat and wheat. First sip was confusing...the oat really has a healthy presence in this one, and at first I thought that might end up really bastardizing the style, but this one really grew on me...lots of orange peel, heavy levels of yeast, and this is one seriously toasted Wit. Apparently the west coasters aren’t into making Wits anywhere near to style, but this was a nice rendition and very refreshing. Palate was very drinkable..some body, but not too heavy...however, I wouldn’t consider this to be a wonderful ’lawnmower’ beer like many other Witbiers. I’d definitely give this one a spin again and am excited to try some of the other Bruery goods I picked up. Prosit!

750ml bottle. Nice hazy yellow pour, big fluffy white head. Big spicy aroma, lots of orangey/peppery smells. Very easy to drink, not too acidic at all. Very good white.

I was so excited to try this beer and this brewery, that I gave up valuable beer real estate in my suitcase to get this back from San Diego. Purchased at Holiday Wine in Escondido. Upon opening, this thing gushed for several minutes (brett? infection?). Nose had hints of lavender and orange, but were overpowered with band aid, topical antiseptic like aromas. Light bodied with a soft texture and refreshing, fine carbonation . Flavor of pale wheat malts and lots of band aid, medicinal phenols. Way too much for me to take, which makes me wonder if this is a bad bottle. Semi dry finish. Borderline drain pour. Very disappointing debut for me. I wish I had grabbed something else instead of this one. Why am I rating a bad bottle? Because it was on the retail shelves for sale.

Pours a nice light golden, some good haze going on with a fluffy whtite head. Aroma is phenolic, yeasty adn herbaly spiced, but nothign goes crazy and everything is well balanced- especially the lavender which is nicely held in check. Full flavor with ltos going on between the yeast, malts, hops and spices- phenolic to a point- some nice grassiness, citrusy character is there but not crazy, liots of toastiness, and oaty creaminess. Good body and nice smooth finsih- fairly dry. Didnt remind me of any belgian white actually- which is probably why I like this beer.

Sample @ BBF ’08, Boston. Pours a pale gold with a frothy white head. Aroma is coriander, mostly, with yeast, vanilla, and slight banana also detectable. The taste is largely citrus up front, with yeast and spice dominating on the back end. It’s very smooth, not overly sweet, and just a great offering all around.

750ml from WeeHeavySD - thanks, Jon! Big frothing pour, pale golden color and a nice, spicy nose. Coriander is dominant, but it doesn’t smell manufactured (for once!). Heavy yeast notes too. It’s actually a pleasant surprise digging into this one, because there’s a real bite, a by-product of the citrus, yeast, and spice. No confectionary, syrupy sweetness that you get all too often with American wits. Big bodied too, perhaps more so because of the oats. At any rate, a very fine wit indeed.