Fortunella
Breakside Brewery - SE Taproom

 

Pours a hazy yellow with a foamy beige head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Tiny dots of lace drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Small chunks of sediment are seen suspended in the beer after the pour. Smell is of grain, citrus fruit, citrus juice, coriander, floral, and yeast aromas. Taste is much the same with slightly tart citrus fruit, citrus juice, coriander, and floral flavors on the finish. There is a very mild amount of acidity on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is tasty and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a hazy, light-orange color with a decent-sized white head. Flecks of sediment slowly float to the bottom of the glass, barely visible through the somewhat cloudy view granted by the beer.

Very impressive aroma. Great mix of light malt and sweet, citrus fruits. An orange-like aroma--not sure if that's what kumquats are supposed to smell like--is very notable here. There are also the slightest hints of spices and a bit of a flowery presence as well. A very nuanced smell here.

A nice fresh wheat pull is followed by a borderline overly sweet citrus fruit presence. This is a very pleasant fruit taste that has no bitterness to it, not that that is usually a bad thing, it just might not work with this type of beer. Can also taste the chamomile that is promised on the label along with a bit of cloying spice at the back of the swallow.

Moderate carbonation and somewhat light bodied on the palate. Once again, sweetness predominates here.

Overall, this is a pretty nice and eminently drinkable beer. Very easy going down, with a tasty presence, and smoothly pleasant finish. This is the perfect beer to enjoy on a summer's day. A pretty complex and interesting brew from Breakside. Color me impressed by this one.

 

not a bad beer, definitely an interesting one. breakside seems to me to be getting pretty far out there. this wit isnt all that lovely in the glass, a fast fading white head on a very thick soupy looking dreggy yeasty pale yellow beer, nothing delicate about it, and thats a descriptor that often fits the wit style. the nose is cool a swear i smell cinnamon, and think i taste it in the finish. not sure about kumquat, thats a leap, but some orangey tart citrus for sure. i get like a white pepper thing in the nose, but definitely taste the chamomile on the back end. nice wheat malt base gives it some real body, but the flavors never really come together for me, and the feel really hurts it. thick and not as carbonated as it should be, also served a bit warm (on tap at b side on 17th), so thats not the beers fault, but it exacerbated some of the negatives. i like the finish, cinnamon and citrus, tannic wheat, and a lot of yeast. tasty beer but one was enough, and thats maybe the most telling sign about this one. when you only want one wit, something is off...

edit: not sure if they ever made this one more than once, but just had a bottle from the old days, years and years old now, and its excellent, seemingly improved even, just a little late oxidation but a lot of character and all the added ingredients have come alive, tons of blossom honey to me, the chamomile still evident, neat tartness and yeast profile in general, and somehow more refined too in my mind, really remarkable that this did so well over time, opened it up kind of randomly without expecting much and we loved it. i have to raise a few scores here, real unique take on the style...

Hazy golden color. Aroma filled with kumquats and coriander. Light, crisp, and delicious. Loved this one. In my opinion Breakside beers are often hit or miss, but more often than not they're a hit.

Hazy golden with a thin, foamy white head.

Lightly tart, definite kumquat notes. A very easy drinking, tasty beer.

This is a mellow, food friendly beer. The chamomile and kumquat are present but they don't over run the wit base. Feel is a perfect wheat grist with a crisp finish. Branding these as fruit and funk might have been a bad idea because so far the series is great but lacking in funk. They are really beers that feature fruit in a food friendly format.