As part of its expanding lineup, RJ Rockers earlier this week announced it would be introducing a new year-round Belgian-style witbier to kick off 2014.
Witty Twitster – which, side note, is a great name – is described as the “perfect anytime ale” brewed with coriander and orange peel, and clocking in at a mellow 4.5% ABV. The beer will join RJR’s yearly lineup soon.
You can get a better look at the packaging for that and their new seasonal Good Boy Stout here.
Welcome back! The other day I went through about half the box of Mother Earth beers that ended up on my doorstep a few weeks back. Today, I make my way through the rest of that box.
Second Wind is one of two canned beers Mother Earth produces. This one is a 5.2% pale ale that’s not that impressive, but still a solid entry into the style.
The color is a really hazy sunset yellowish color. There’s a weak head as with the others. Lacing’s a bit stronger on it but the alcohol legs are still weak.
There’s a sort of weak pine and citrus hint on the nose. Slight citrus with orange juice and tangerine being kind of noticeable with a bit of a maltiness to it, too. Nothing really stands out, though.
The taste starts with a slight bitterness on the front of the tongue. The carbonation’s pretty good throughout the mouth. The orange flavor is very pronounced on the back with a lingering piney hoppiness. There’s a bit of a biscuity hop character that lingers as well. Kind of a cracker taste on the finish, too. Not the best pale ale I’ve had, but certainly not the worst.
The alliteration-happy Weeping Willow Witis a spicy Belgian-style wit beer that clocks in at 5%. It’s got that classic Belgian wit appearance, with a slightly hazy deeper straw yellow color. There’s about two fingers of a big, foamy head on top that dissipates pretty quickly. Really nice lacing around the edges and just some slight alcohol legs.
I’ve been told this wasn’t supposed to be a funk-forward beer, but when I took a whiff, I got a big barnyard funk on the nose. It was very pungent and musty and really biting, but not in an infected sort of way. There’s a good soft wheat flavor on the back with a little orange and coriander, but just slightly.
There’s just a very mild citrus bite on the front of the tongue followed up with a very smooth and rich flavor across the palate with just some mild carbonation through the mouth. The finish is very deep and rich with a big hit of coriander and orange peel on the back. There’s a very slight citrus bite that sticks to the back of the tongue. Overall, it’s incredibly drinkable.
One of the beers I was the most excited to try was Old Neighborhood, their 5.5% oatmeal porter. I wasn’t disappointed with the result.
It poured a deep, dark brown color. There was a little bit of light getting through the top. It had a filmy brownish head that disappeared as quickly as it was poured. The lacing also fell off quickly but there were some nice alcohol legs that held on.
On the nose is a light roastiness. The maltiness had kind of sweet, nutty malt character to it and a sort of plum sweetness. No hoppiness. Just a mild nose all around.
The taste is much better than the nose. It starts off with a big bite of bitterness on the front of the tongue. There’s moderate carbonation but a sort of lighter mouthfeel. The first flavor to pop up on the back is a syrupy dark chocolate flavor that gives way to a mild roasted flavor that lingers nicely. There’s a good bit of a hop bite on the back as well.
Last but not least is Sunny Haze, a 5% Americanized twist on the classic German hefeweizen. The color is a bit clearer than you’d expect from a hefe, but still had that hazy straw yellow appearance. There was a finger of a light head that settled fairly quickly. Weak lacing but nice looking alcohol legs.
The nose is more of less a classic hefe. Bananas, cloves and bubblegum are all present with a sweet wheat character and maybe a little candied fruit and honey as well
There was a slight tart bite on the front of the tongue, mild carbonation and a sweet and rich mouthfeel. The bananas and bubblegum were really strong on the end, and it finishes with a honey and sweet wheat note that lingers nicely.
All in all, not one of these beer disappointed. I’d put Dark Cloud, Sisters of the Moon and Weeping Willow at the top and Sunny Haze, Second Wind and Endless River toward the bottom, but none of them were bad. If anything, they just made me even more jealous that they’re all just out of reach. (Can we fix that, Mother Earth?)
I’m taking a break from reviews this week to focus on my recent honeymoon in Brussels, Belgium. During the next few days, I’ll be covering my thoughts on the culture, the craft and – of course – the amazing beer and breweries my bride and I enjoyed while on our trip in what many consider to be the mecca of beer.
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After hopping around Brussels for a couple of days, my wife and I decided to plan a couple of day trips to other cities nearby to see some of the other sites. And, of course, the other breweries.
On our third day, we hopped a train to Bruges, which is about an hour outside of Brussels. We climbed the 366-step bell tower, browsed the open-air central market and made nice with a few other tourists. In case you’re wondering, the city is much nice – and much less violent – than “In Bruges” makes it out to be.
Bruges is also home to De Halve Maan (The Half Moon), Bruges’ only active family owned brewery which really came to be in the mid 1800s. During the past few centuries, the brewery has grown and modernized, going through some tough times but reopening in 2005 and still going strong.
An open-air beer garden sits outside while a cozy and modern tasting room that serves the brewery’s four beers: a blond and dubbel under the Brugse Zot brand and a trippel and quad under the Straffe Hendrik name.
But before we got to the beer, we took a tour through the modern and original brew house. When you first walk in, you stand among all the expected brewing equipment. If you’ve been to a brewery, you know how it all works.
From there, it’s up a series of staircases through the original brewing equipment. There was the upper loft, where they kept all the hops and grains; the roasting room, where all the grains were heated just right (as well as a mirror pointing up the original exhaust shaft); the original coolship, where all the beers were once cooled; the original brew kettles; and eventually outside to the top-most point, where you can look down on the old and new brew house.
After all the walking, we were left to our own devices in the tasting room. The Brugse Zot Blond was a classic blond with a peppery bite. The Brugse Zot Dubbel was rich with carbonation and big flavors of plums and toffee.
The classic were great, but the big boys were the ones that really shined. The Straffe Hendrik Tripel had a really interesting tropical fruit note with a caramel coating. But the big daddy – the 11% Straffe Hendrik Quad – was one of the best quads – hell, one of the best beers – I’ve had. Massive carbonation, a gigantic punch of brown sugar and figs and nary a hint of alcohol (until after you down it). There was a barrel-aged version in the gift shop for sale, but sadly, I made the decision to buy it right after the last bottle had sold.
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The following day, we made another day trip to Gent, which is about halfway between Bruges and Brussels. There aren’t too many touristy things in Gent, so we just wandered the streets and shops and scoped the place out.
We happened to stumble upon Gruut, Gent’s city brewery. The brewery gets its name from the coinage once used to purchase gruit, a herb similar to hops. (An image of one of the coins is used as the brewery’s logo.) To honor their history, Gruut uses the gruit herb in their beers in place of hops. It’s a specialty spice that has a lot of similarities to hops, and in the beer tastes like a slightly less pungent hop.
The brewery itself, which lies at the corner of two canals, is extremely modern inside, and resembles more of a cafe than a brewery. There are tables scattered outside and inside along with the brewing equipment. It’s very clean and modern, and on a nice day like the day we visited, was the perfect place to pop in for a couple of drinks.
With five beers on tap and us wanting to try a bit of each, my wife and I decided to go for the sampler, which cost just a handful of euros. We were expecting small tasting glasses to get just a nip of everything, and then we’d purchase full drinks.
Well, the Belgians don’t play around. The “tasters” we received were five full-pour 12 oz. glasses of each of the beers.
Our “tasters” included the following (which are right to left in the above photo):
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Having never heard of either of these breweries stateside, I was floored at how good their beers were. Even the standard fare such as blonds, browns and ambers – the standard three beers for nearly all Belgian breweries – tasted better than the vast majority of their American brethren. They’re hidden gems among the Cantillons and trappist breweries that usually grab the attention of folks in the states. Because of beers like the ones I had at De Halve Maan and Gruut, I’m now a little more inquisitive about and apt to try Belgian beers I’ve never heard of before.
Anchorage Brewing Co.
Anchorage, AK
Whiteout Wit Bier
6.5% ABV
I’ve talked before about how impressive the beers Anchorage Brewing puts out on on a semi-regular basis are. They’re labor intensive, inventive and unique within their respective styles. They’re an incredibly inventive brewery and one that goes out on a limb, yet succeeds every time.
That trend continues with Whiteout wit, a wit bier that – *deep breath* – is brewed with lemon peel, black peppercorns and coriander, fermented in the tank with Belgian yeast, fermented again with Brett in French oak Chardonnay barrels and then bottle conditioned.
Phew. Reading a description that long makes you thirsty. Speaking of …
Whiteout has a crystal clear straw yellow color. It’s bottle conditioned, so there’s of course a big bubbly head on top. It does settle fairly quickly into a film. Nice, strong lacing and alcohol legs to boot.
On the nose are unmistakable big notes of Chardonnay and Brett funk. There are definite hits of lemon and a nice spiciness with an overall incredibly strong citrus note. You also get green apples and grass, giving the beer this big sprightly fresh smell.
The citrus bite on the front of the tongue is incredibly. It’s like biting into a lemon, and then washing it down with a glass of Pine-Sol. (Editor’s note: DO NOT DO THAT.) There’s very strong carbonation throughout, which isn’t surprisingly given the bottle conditioning. It’s fairly bitter across the tongue. On the back, you get that big punch of lemon and white wine that fizzles and gives way to a yeasty sweetness. The body is fairly light and very refreshing.
What I love about Anchorage is how they make such monster beers where so much could go wrong, yet they nail it every time with brews that are intricate yet extremely balanced and enjoyable. Brett is a tricky yeast to work with, but it’s used perfectly in every Anchorage brew I’ve tried. It doesn’t mask the particular style of the beer, but heightens it.
Highland Brewing Co.
Asheville, NC
Razor Wit Belgian Style Whit Ale
4.5% ABV
According to a friend of mine, Highland is the third-largest brewery in the Southeast, behind only Abita and Sweetwater in terms of production. If that’s true, it wouldn’t surprise me, as the Asheville-based brewery cranks out one awesome brew after another.
Highland’s year-round staples – Gaelic Ale, Kashmir IPA – are solid beers, but where the brewery really shines is in its seasonal releases. Little Hump is the epitome of a light, effervescent spring beer, and Cold Mountain, with its hints of marshmallow, vanilla and hazelnut, is one of the best winter seasonals out there. Their newest summer release, Razor Wit, continues that trend of unique yet wholly enjoyable brews.
Razor Wit follows the classic brewing style for a wit – wheat, noble hops, coriander and orange peel – but the brewers added a secret blend of spices that gives the beer this amazing spicy and herbal note. It’s one of the more unique – and, to be quite honest, one of the best – witbiers I’ve had.
The pour is a lush, hazy orange. About three fingers of head top it off, but that’s gone pretty quickly. The lacing is gorgeous, gripping the side of the glass and refusing to let go. But since it’s a session beer, there aren’t any alcohol legs on it.
Those spices I mentioned pop on the nose. There’s a strong black pepper note to it, but also a big herbal note to it, too. That’s backed up with a sweetness from the wheat and those characteristic orange peel and coriander notes.
The taste on Razor Wit is superb. There’s a medium body mouthfeel and sweet flavors of orange and tangerine that coat your mouth. But on the back, that gives way to a wet spice character. There’s juniper, caraway and black pepper, as well as the very prevalent coriander. The strength of the spice and herbal notes is balanced with the sweetness from the malt and thickened a bit by the yeast.
Herbal beers can be a bit of a shock to the palate, but Razor Wit balances the stronger notes with a sweetness and robustness that makes it incredibly easy to drink. I can envision sitting on the porch with a peppered steak fresh off the grill and pairing it with this, or sitting poolside with the setting sun in the distance. It’s a nice jolt to the summer seasonals, and if you’re in Highland’s distribution area, definitely one to not miss.
