Sublime Citrus Wit (Heavy Rotation Series No. 02)
Starr Hill Brewery

 

 

 

 

Hazy and yellow gold in appearance with a 1 1/2 finger whitish head. No lacing.

Lemony tart aroma with a hint of sweet malt.

Taste is citric and tart with light banana and clove and a little spice and funky yeast.

Pretty crisp, Peppery crisp. Medium full in body leaving a light syrupy coating in the mouth.

A good summery brew. Rather easy to drink

Pours a hazy gold color. 2/3 inch head of a white color. Great retention and great lacing. Smells of coriander, orange peel, lemon, pale malt, hint of clove, and floral hops. Fits the style of a Witbier. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with a low carbonation level. Tastes of coriander, orange peel, lemon, pale malt, hint of ginger, hint of nutmeg, hint of clove, and floral hops. Overall, good appearance, aroma, feel, and blend.

 

Happy New Beer Sunday (Week 641) as I begin with a ... bottle! Yeah, I know that I am working diligently on reducing & eradicating The Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody, but a brewery-direct box arrived the other day & I promised to get both of the beers in today. I know that it is also counter to my policy to drink & review a beer without an approved pic in place, but they sent me two (2) bottles, so the other will be my model later today when I take some more pics to be resized & submitted for approval. I am really looking forward to this as I had a massive head cold this past week or so & it has finally abated, allowing me to really taste things again!

From the bottle: "Founded 1999 Charlottesville, VA"; "Citrus, tangy wheat & spice meld in this classic Belgian-style brew. Real lemon & lime zest brightens its refreshing finish."

Being that it is a Witbier, I first agitated it in the bottle before Pop!ping the cap for an aggro pour. Well now, that worked even better than I had hoped/expected! I got two fingers of puffy, foamy, rocky, bone-white head with great retention as a result. Color was a hazy Straw-Yellow (SRM = >2, < 4). Lime zest? Nose was redolent with lime & I would have guessed Kaffir lime, which seems to be a popular new adjunct. As to the spices, the nose put me in mind of coriander & Grains of Paradise. Man, this just smells like a winner! It also serves to remind me that I have been at this for a looonnngg time. I remember when micro-Wits were just becoming the new big thing & there is no way that I would have appreciated all of the subtle nuances at that time. Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, not watery, but about right for a Witbier. The taste was the lemon-lime zesty spritziness of 7-Up or Sprite but with a spiciness like black pepper and the tang of wheat. This would be perfect on a hot, humid summer's day! The finish retained the spicy tanginess while the citrusiness began to take a back seat. Needless to say, it was quite dry and entirely refreshing. The relatively low ABV makes for a nice candidate as a session beer. I could easily drink this one again, and I just may, since I have a second bottle.

 

 

 

 

Nice lemon-lime flavors that stand out but do not necessarily over power. Better than expected, and a solid summer beer.

 

 

Poured from a bottle to a tumbler glass. Pours a light gold hay color with about a fingers width of white head that dissipates quickly. Strong lemon lime smells, almost candy strong, and the flavor follows, heavily lemon and lime up front fading to more of a wheat flavor. Lighter body with some carbonation. Nice for summer

 

L: fizzy yellow, clear, very well carbonated, 1 finger bright white head.
N: wheat, oats, lime and lemon zest, very soft with a touch of yeast on the tail end.
T: balanced nicely between the wheat and lime and lemon zest, touch dry, almost prickly on the end.
B: dry, soft, prickly, well carbonated.
Overall: nice use of zest, not overpowering, compliments the witbier.