Day #332 – Clown Shoes Clementine

Clown Shoes Clementine

As I mentioned in a previous post, Clown Shoes brewery very recently broke into the north Texas market, so there are plenty of things out there that are new to try.

This is their Belgian Witbier that holds 6% ABV.

On the plus side there is a brand new beer bar that opened up in Arlington; World of Beer. This is a chain that started in Florida. They just opened their first location in Texas and DFW got it! I liked it for what it’s worth, but the clientele isn’t really my crowd. I’m not going to get in specifics about it but it’s just a different crowd. Anyways on to the beer.

Pours a cloudy orange color with a light ring of white head.

Aroma is definitely a Witbier. Orange peel, some pepper and spIce.

Dry flavor that has a touch of coriander, grains with a light finish. Not bad. Very straightforward Witbier but that makes it good!

Day #223 – Abita Satsuma Harvest Wit

Grrrrr. Today has not started off well. The fact that I am drinking my blog beer BEFORE noon is a good teller of that. I have been struggling with my internet service provider (which for the purposes of this blog shall remain nameless) for quite some time now. I lose service ALL the time. As of this moment, they have sent out 4 separate technicians 5 times, 4 repairmen 3 times and I have talked to FAR too many people on the phone. I had thought the problem was fixed after the last visit 2 days ago, because for the past 2 days my service has been flawless. Yet this morning, I wake up and sit down to watch the morning news and good ole’ Matt Lauer’s face freezes in the most peculiar position…..and then I lose all service. I’m having to write this blog post on my phone using 3G connection just so you know. Well needless to say I got pretty pissed and went straight to the fridge for a beer! Ugh. Hope it cheers me up.

Abita Satsuma Harvest Wit

Abita Brewing Company is based out of Covington, LA (for some reason I remember it being Abita Springs at some point…hmm). This is a Belgian Witbier at 5.1% but wait! What the heck is a Satsuma? Let’s find out. According to Wikipedia, a satsuma is a citrus type fruit of Chinese origin that is similar to the mandarin. It is seedless and easily peeled. How about that. Drinking beer AND learning at the same time!

This beer pours a hazy golden yellow color with a white foamy head. The head actually foamed up over the edge of my glass which doesn’t happen too often. After this the head remains for a long long time.

The aroma seems fairly dry but I do get a nice sense of the satsuma fruit. It has a citrus/orange type smell with lots of grains and bready notes as well. Perhaps some spice but not a lot.

The flavor is very dry…drier than I had expected. The fruit comes through as more of an afterthought and disappears into a dry, grainy haze. The finish has a bit of sweet fruit, but is mainly concentrated on the graininess of the drink. Eh, not bad but could be loads better.

Cheers!

Day #167 – Allagash White

Allagash White

Today’s beer unfortunately comes from a company that we will see less and less of in Texas for awhile. Allagash Brewing Company is based out of Portland, Maine and announced just a few months ago that they are going to cease distribution to our state (as well as others) in order to cope with increasing demand. So while this is a good problem to have, it sucks to be losing out on their label for the foreseeable future. If you recall Dogfish Head recently had to do the same thing and scale back distribution to Texas, but I am happy to report that as of my most recent trip to a local beer store, DFH had shipped 2 new beers to Texas that we have never carried before! So Allagash will be back eventually but for now I snatched up a bottle to enjoy while I can.

Their White is a Belgian Witbier at 5.5%. I am serving it out of my new Ommegang tumbler that I picked up just last week.

This beer is bottle carbonated which means it was packaged with yeast, which still remain at the bottom. Often time I will pour out the yeast but the label on this beer gave strict instructions to include the yeast with the beer so in it went! This gave the beer a naturally cloudy appearance with a light golden color. There is a fair white head on it that lingers for just a bit before fading.

There is a mix of yeasty notes and spice on the nose. The yeast gives it a light bready feel that is paired well with sharp fruit and the spice is a clove-esque type smell.

The flavor is more spice and clove than sweet fruit and has a bitter finish that goes through to the end. If there was a bit more sweetness and fruit it would make this beer superb.

Cheers!

Day #164 – Ommegang Witte

At the ole Gingerman Pub tonight for the glass night and boy is it a cool one!

Ommegang Witte

I was hoping they would have this style glass today. I had seen it on the Internet before and when they’ve featured this beer in the past it’s come in some nondescript lame shaker glass which sucks, but tonight they are offering a tumbler style glass! These glasses feature a wide rim with fat ridges around the edge. This beer is classified as a Witbier and has an ABV of 5.1%.

This beer pours a cloudy lemondrop yellow with a white head. The head turns quickly into a ring of white.

The aroma is fresh grains with light spice zest and a touch of lemon.

Flavor is light grain, citrus sweetness and lemon peel. There is a faint sense of bubble gum which comes from the yeast but it’s overall refreshing.

Glad to have this new glass!

Cheers!

Day #148 – Dogfish Head Namaste

Dogfish Head Namaste

Short one today but it’s from Dogfish Head. And it’s a beer that we have not seen yet in Texas. The Namaste is a Belgian style Witbier and has an ABV of 5%.

I have tried this both on tap and out of the bottle. Today I am sampling it on Draught.

The appearance is slightly cloudy golden color with a white ring of head.

Big aroma of coriander, orange peel and light grain. Some honey notes.

Flavor is slightly watery, coriander, grains with a citrus element. Fruity mix with a solid finish. Nice.

All in all pretty tasty. Cheers!

Day #120 – Hoegaarden

Sigh….I’m disappointed that yet another beer I am featuring on my blog is actually owned by the super giant Anheuser-Busch InBev. Ugh. It’s almost disgusting to see just how many things AB has their fingers in. Oh well, I happen to like today’s beer and it has a really neat glass to go with it so I’ll drink it just to SPITE the man!

Hoegaarden

Hoegaarden has been traditionally brewed by the Brouwerij Hoegaarden and may have been first brewed all the way back to the year 1445. Records have been discovered dating back this far relating to this brewery in Hoegaarden, Belgium. It is classified as a Belgian Witbier and has one of the most distinctive glasses around. This glass is called a Tumbler and has a distinctive hexagonal shaped sides. This glass is used for several Belgian beers, including witbiers, saisons and lambics. The ABV rests at 5%.

This beer pours a slightly hazy/cloudy light yellow color with a fizzy white head. It looks very nice in my official Hoegaarden glass.

The aroma is lots of Belgian yeasty notes and bread with additional scents of orange peel and citrus. There is also a bit of spice which can be attributed to the coriander that was used while brewing. Smells nice.

The flavor holds similar elements to the smell. Orange peel and light grains fill the flavor, with a light touch of spice. The coriander is not overbearing and has a nice balance. I like this beer a lot.

On a side note, I’m planning on brewing a witbier similar to this on Saturday. It is the National Homebrewers Big Brew Day, where homebrewers across the world brew the same recipe and share a worldwide toast at noon. It sounds like fun….unfortunately I’ll be trapped in the office on Saturday. I’ll sure as heck brew as soon as I get off though!

Cheers!

Day #111 – Michigan Brewing Celis White

Well this is not really a Texas Beer anymore but it used to be, and that counts for something right?

Michigan Brewing Celis White

This beer was originally brewed by Celis Brewing which was based out of Austin, TX. In the 1990’s, Pierre Celis sold his company to Miller and moved to Belgium. Michigan Brewing Company purchased the Celis brand and beer and revived the label soon thereafter. It is now brewed in Webberville, Michigan at their brewery. I think the recipe is still somewhat similar to the original Celis beer but I am not certain. It is classified as a Belgian Witbier with an ABV of 3.9%. Very sessionable for sure!

This beer pours a hazy light yellow color with a very tall white head. The head response was immediate from the moment the liquid hits the glass.

The aroma is dry and dusty, with grain and a spicy clove element. I suppose I could pick out some lemon notes as well.

Flavor is sweet fruit with some zesty characteristics. The spice leaves a nice tingle on the tongue with some light bready notes. Light mouthfeel for sure. This has a nice finish too that is fairly refreshing. Definitely a hot day kind of beer.

Cheers!

Day #43 – Avery White Rascal

Well the vacation is over and I’m back home.  It was a great trip, and I got to try TONS of new beer that I could only get while in San Antonio.  (Obviously I only reviewed a few of them but there was a bit of drinking going on.)  It’s always nice to take a trip to a new region and try the local beers that are available there.  A way to sample the flavor of the area if you will.  So now that I’m back home, it’s back to the old format.  By the way, I ran into a lot of friends this weekend that had nothing but good things to say about this blog.  Thanks for reading and for the compliments!  It’s nice words and encouragement that keep this thing going.

On to the beer…

Avery White Rascal

I believe this is the first beer I’ve reviewed from Avery.  Avery Brewing Company is based out of Boulder, Colorado.  Colorado (especially Denver and Boulder) are very heavy with craft beer and large supporters of the movement.  The Brewers Association which heads up and advocates for the craft beer movement is based in Boulder as well.   They have several things distributed to our area, so expect to see their name pop up more in the future.

White Rascal is classified as a Belgian Witbier and rings in at 5.6% ABV.  It is being poured delectably into my Avery flute glass.

This beer pours a hazy/misty golden color.  There are light wisps of cloudiness in the glass.  I’m assuming this is unfiltered and there are slight remnants of yeast remaining.  It also has a nice foamy head that disappears fairly quickly.

The beer has a fairly pleasant aroma of Belgian yeast, fruity esters of orange peel and banana with some gentle spice of coriander as well.    Come to find out that it is indeed brewed with zest of orange and coriander, so how about that?

The flavor is a bit spicy with the fruitiness sneaking in after with a dry grainy characteristic.  The finish is lightly bitter of bread and citrus acid.  Slightly drying on the finish.

A nice light-bodied beer that has enough zest and flavor to make it interesting.  Seek it out!

Cheers!

Day #11 – Samuel Adams White Ale

Got Netflix?  It occurred to me that I may want to start providing some additional resources; a little outside reading…or in this case, viewing.  There is a pretty informative documentary on Netflix right now that I have enjoyed watching.  Everyone loves a documentary right?   Well since you can’t answer me as you are reading this, I’m going to imagine a resounding YES! coming from you.  The documentary is called Beer Wars and is a view from “the little guy” in the beer industry.  There is an enormous inequity between the craft beer scene today and that of Big Beer.  If you’ve got an hour to spare and care to learn a bit more about the beer industry as it stands today, check it out.  It’s actually pretty entertaining!  In fact, I think I’ll watch it after I finish this beer.

I wanted to warn you to prepare yourself for an influx of Samuel Adams reviews.  I use the bottles for my homebrewing and I have 2 batches to bottle this weekend, so I picked up a 12-pack that has several different styles included.  More reviews!!

Samuel Adams White Ale

The style of this beer is considered to be a Belgian White, also called a Witbier.  This style is related to the beer I reviewed yesterday, but this is a wheat ale from Belgium.  Most of these beers are actually brewed with herbs and spices; often times coriander and orange citrus.  The big difference is the addition of Belgian yeast, which has an entirely different yeast profile.  Keep in mind when brewers started brewing oh so long ago, they used what ingredients were available to them.  This also included the wild yeast that was in the air and unique to the region.  This developed several unique styles, and the use of regional ingredients/yeast are still employed today to keep with traditional correct flavors.

A witbier should be served in a Tumbler or a Weizen glass.  I have selected a glass made specifically for this beer.

This beer pours a clear, light orange color with a very tall head response.  If you recall from my previous post, the clarity means the beer has been filtered.  Most witbiers that come from Belgium usually have a cloudy appearance, so this is a bit off style.  No worries though; we’re just reviewing on what we see.  Also if you have noticed in my pictures, I always strive to have a fairly decent sized head.  Don’t forget, this is a good thing as it releases aroma notes as well as some latent flavors.  Shoot for about a two-finger sized head and you’ll be golden.

The aroma is fresh and spicy.  Coriander is definitely present in this, as well as a big grain/wheaty feel and orange peel.  The aroma is right on style and is quite inviting.

The flavor is dry, as often wheat beers tend to be, with a grainy body and lots of fruit.  Orange sticks out in the flavor as well as the finish, and you are left with lingering tones of wheat and citrus.  The spice notes also are present more towards the start of the drink, and give the beer some complexity and make it interesting.

The beer rings in at 5.4% and is Sam Adams’ Spring seasonal.  It can be found practically anywhere that sells craft beer.

Cheers!