June Gloom
Venice Beach Beer Co.

 

 

 

Picked up a bottle of this up at Bristol Farms in CDM. Always enjoy trying the local guys. Label looked a little shotty (like a first time homebrewer). Also, the brewery is Venice Beach Beer Company but was brewed in San jose? Was this all a bad omen?

Poured out of the fridge at around 55 deg. and allow to warm up to room temperature 65ish.

A: Solid look for a Wit - Thick white foamy 2 finger head poured into a tall vertical glass. Head retention was good as well. Color is sunburst golden hues with with a very cloudy forecast. No sediments and carbonation looked lively

S: lemon citrus, wheat, and fermented? That is what the wife said anyways. I have no sense of smell

T: Hmmmm... At fridge temperature the best I could say is that this beer is very simple, crisp, and refreshing. Not much flavor profile to the beer at all even after allowed to warm up a bit. Tasted like a wheated lager with a hint of hops, citrus rind, and sweetness for finish. As others commented, this is fairly bland and seemed more like a bad American wheat unfortunately. No presence of alcohol which is fairly typical of style.

Overall: Disappointingly simple. One commented made a good point that the typical flavor profile was there but just heavily subdued (weak). Not going to buy this again. Best use would be chugging after mowing the lawn in the Kansas humidity.

One of my periodic reviews (instead of now using usual "Hads") to give this one some reviews.

Pours a light yellowish amber with a very short and fast fading white head. Decent looking and just slighly hazy.

Nose is one of simple fruity esters that almost seem a bit diluted. No coriander character but maybe a hint of orange peel. There is a light yeast nose and a hint of green stone fruit.

Mouthfeel is light and simple with no real character although a very light, almost elegant, carbonation.

Flavor profile is simple in the extreme. Flavor is primarily one of dull pine and very one dimensional. No real wit beer character in any respect.

Finish is long but, again, a bit of dull pine in profile.

This is not "bad" beer. This is simply perhaps a pre-mature attempt to join the craft beer craze. I wanted to like this one because I want to support as many local L.A. based breweries as I can. This is not the beer by which other Los Angeles produced beers should be judged. I truly hope that VBBC is a bit more critical in the future before they put it in the bottle.

Picked this up at a local beer store for about $5.00. 1 pint 6 fl oz brown glass bottle served into a New Belgium stem-goblet in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. My first time trying a beer from this brewery (though it seems their beers are contracted out to San Jose). Expectations are above average; I like witbiers and I try to be optimistic about trying new locals.

Served straight from the refrigerator and allowed to warm over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a one finger beige colour thin head of no real cream and below average retention (~1 minute). No lacing whatsoever. Body colour is a cloudy very pale yellow-orange. Appears weak and watery. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show.

Sm: Vague orange citrus, lemon zest, pale malts, and orange peel. A pleasant aroma. Not at all off-putting. No yeast or alcohol is detectable. Fresh and generally appealing.

T: Some weak fresh orange peel, middling pale malts, and a bit of citrus zest. Quite bland all around. There are some good hints here, but they need to be bold flavours. It's just weak and underwhelming. A biteen watery, even. There are no off-flavours, to its credit. No yeast comes through, and the ABV - while modest - is hidden well.

Mf: Sharp and a bit overcarbonated. Not the refreshing mouthfeel I want in a good witbier. Smooth and wet, but also strangely thin whilst also being overcarbonated, lending it an inflated artificiality that rings false throughout. Doesn't help bring out the flavours really at all. Poor presence on the palate.

Dr: Drinkable but very underwhelming. At this price point, I feel robbed. That said, I do think this is a sincere effort; it's just that the brewing isn't competent. It's redolent of an extract homebrew, and hits somewhere between a bad hefeweizen and bad witbier. Frankly, it doesn't matter; either way this is just a poor effort. Quite bland. Very boring. I'm in no hurry to try more beers from this brewery. They're going to need to step it up and bring more to the table. This is well-intentioned watery crap.

High D