Sotto Voce
Greenbush Brewing Company

Brewed spring 2014; drank 6/20/14 on draft @ World of Beer Evanston.

Murky orange/yellow hue.

Bright white head; thick lace.

Cinnamon & ginger nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Creamed wheat, cinnamon & faint orange citrus notes--to paraphrase Id, "Where's the blood orange?!".

Interesting enough but not a very good mix here.

 

Look - Over carbonated, huge meringue like head which finally dissipates leaving a thumb-sized spot midway down the glass, deep golden hue.
Smell - Grassy with a nondescript bitterness
Taste - Missing hefe characater replaced by a tartness that did not refresh. No complexity.
Feel - Despite all of the carbonation no real sense of body.
Overall - Disappointing effort from an inconsistent brewer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a 12oz. bottle into a glass mug.

A - Poured a murky pale gold, big, fluffy head.

S - Very light aromatics of cloves and wheat.

T - Very lively wheat graininess, with a nice blend of spices throughout. Orange juice is very light on the backbone.

M - Medium body, with aggressive carbonation.

O - Nothing spectacular or particularly complex, but a very solid wheat ale with some nice spiciness.

Has a great light amber color. The aroma was pretty strong, but a little off putting. Tasted better than I expected after the aroma. The orange comes thru in the after taste. Was actually hoping for a stronger orange juice presence. Whatever the spice blend is, is a nice addition. The orange does come thru more as you continue thru. Nice light body without feeling empty/watery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I picked up a bottle of Greenbush's Sotto Voce last week for $1.89 at The Lager Mill. I was a little on the fence about this beer, but I thought I should still give it a try, so lets see how it goes. No visible bottling date, Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into weizen glass.

A- The label looks nice, it's a little weird, but it's also a little eye catching. It poured a nice slightly hazy orange color that took on more of amber orange color when held to the light with a little over a finger and a half worth of off white head that died down to a thin ring that stayed till the end and it didn't leave any lacing behind. This was a nice looking beer, but I wish it had some lacing.

S- The aroma starts off with a medium amount of sweetness with the malts being the first to show up and they impart some wheat, sweet malt, white bread and doughy aromas. Up next comes the Belgian yeast with a little bit of spices with no single spice sticking out the most and it's followed by a light orange juice aroma. This beer had a nice aroma, but I wish the bready aromas showed up less and the orange and spices showed up more.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma, but a little more balanced and it starts off with a medium amount of sweetness with the malts still sticking out the most and being the first to show up and they impart that same white bread aspect with some sweet malt, doughy and wheat aromas showing up in the background. Up next comes the yeast which shows up a little more than it did in the aroma and it imparts a nice estery aroma with some spices showing up along with a light orange flavor. On the finish there's just a little bit of bitterness with some bready malts and light spices showing up in the aftertaste. This is a decent tasting beer, but just like the aroma I wish the orange and spices showed up a little more.

M- Smooth, slightly refreshing, a little crisp, medium bodied with a lower amount of medium carbonation. The mouthfeel is nice and it works well with this beer.

Overall I thought this was a decent beer and I thought it was a pretty average example of the style, usually Greenbush makes some bold beers, but in the end I wish the ingredients they advertised showed up more in the taste and aroma and that made this beer a little rough around the edges. This beer had ok drinkability, it was smooth, slightly refreshing, a little crisp, not too filling and the taste doesn't do the best job at holding my attention, one is enough for me, anymore than that and I would start to get pretty bored with it. What I like the most about this beer was the appearance and mouthfeel, they were nice and to me they were the highlights of this beer. What I like the least about this beer was that the orange and spices didn't show up more, the bready malts seemed to be too dominating. I wouldn't buy this beer again, it just isn't something I feel the need to revisit anytime soon. I can't say I would really recommend this beer, but if you are really into the style it might be worth a try. All in all this beer just wasn't for me, it didn't really have anything that made it stick out from the rest of the style and in the end I just got bored with it. This is one of the my least favorite Greenbush beer and it's very average for the style. Better luck next time guys, this one could use a little work.