Ghost Lemons
Off Color Brewing

 

8/23/25 - (Home) (Chicago, Illinois) Bottle Notes: Purchased a single 8.5 oz bottle at Beer on the Wall store temperature on 6/17/25 for $2.84 including tax & $1 rewards discount. Collaboration with Allagash Brewing Company. No bottle date, bottled approximately 5/2/25 based on social media. 5.1% ABV, Wild fermented wit beer brewed with field lemons, pineapple oranges, and green coriander, Gravity 10.4 P, IBUs 12. Malts: Pils, Wheat Malt, Wheat, Flaked Wheat, Oats. Hops: Nugget. Secret Ingredients: Fermented with a blend of our wild cultures and Allagash’s House Brettanomyces with Field Lemons and Pineapple Oranges. Brewed and bottled by Off Color Brewing, Chicago, Illinois.

Appearance: Poured full bottle into a large tulip glass, yielding a clear golden base, brief bright white head that dissipates quickly leaving just a creamy ring around the rim and swirling base cover, and sustained carbonation throughout. 3.75

Aroma: Coriander strong, backed by clove, banana and orange. Blends well., medium strength. 3.75

Taste: Consistent flavors with the aroma plus lemon, though the photo finish yields Orange Win, Lemon Place and Clove Show, and order I prefer over the aroma order. This is very nice. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Light and easy drinking, body light, carbonation gentle. Faintly dry, sweet but in proper measure, fruit flavors come up well, orange and clove on the finish. 4.0

Overall: This is a light and easy selection, a beautiful beer for a Summer day. Full and well blended flavirs, can see why Off Color continues to brew this one. Only regret is wish the bottle was 16.9 oz. Guess I’ll buy two next time. 4.0

Thanks to Rug for sending this one.
Yep, she's a wit. Cloudy, bright yellow, fluffy white head that immediately pumps the air full of zesty lemon, Bretty funk, grass, pepper, and some gritty grain (in an aroma kind of way).
Taste starts off with an initial pop of bright lemon blossom, some zest, and an earthy funk. Pepper is lighter Han the nose hinted at, but respectable. This all melds into a wet, green mashup that mutes the citrus a tad, but still the pepper holds on and makes way for a crackery grain component. A lot going on here, and that's good.
Mouthfeel is light, active, and a tad fluffy.

This was another Chicago grab. I didn’t make it over to Off Color this time, but I did end up drinking a decent amount of this one while I was there, and I had to save a bottle to review. Any collaboration with Allagash is a good thing as well, so let’s just dive right in

Pours a cloudy pale yellow with a finger of creamy white head that slowly fades to a thin cap and leaves minimal lacing

The nose has a wonderful funky tartness to it but wtill retains the typical notes of the style. I’m picking up on aromas of lemon juice, crackery malt, peppery hops, wildflower honey, wet hay, lime zest, petrichor, light grass, and coriander

It doesn’t have quite the same bite in taste but it’s still really good. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting lemon zest, crackery malt, wildflower honey, coriander, floral hops, orange zest, light straw, and grass. The swallow brings notes of orange zest, bready malt, lemon zest, wet hay, floral hops, sweet honey, and light pear skin

A light medium body pairs with moderate carbonation, resulting in a crisp beer. Finishes neutral but refreshing

Oh yeah, this is great. Perfect for cooling off on this 82° October day

 

Pours a lime yellow with a mild fog for translucency. Head is three fingers of white foam with good retention. Aroma is lemons, grass, clove, and toasty malts. Pleasant and curt. Flavor profile is lemons, grass, herbal hops, clove, and banana. Very sly, with a semi-sweet balance overall. Mouth feel is medium in thickness with a fuzzy, soft texture. Overall, curt, sly, and flavorful. Just plain lovely.

Draft. Reviewed from notes.

 

 

 

This was a little green when it first came out, but it has dried out nicely after short term cellaring. Pale straw gold with streams of carbonation, collar of lace and initial finger of foam. Dusty dry Brett aroma.

Tart and lemony, mild Brett funk, musty hay and light grainy pilsner malt. Light bodied and refreshing with ample carb, bone dry finish. Nice and quenching, pairs well with food at the 4th BBQ.

 

A: The beer is slightly hazy light yellow in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a thin bright white head that left a thin collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Light aromas of lemons are present in the nose along with hints of pineapples and Brett.
T: The taste follows the smell and has notes of lemons and hints of pineapples. There is a slight bit of sourness.
M: It feels light-bodies and slightly tart on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This is an interesting witbier with flavors of lemons instead of orange peel.

Serving type: bottle

 

 

Here's what I said almost five years ago.
Off Color has the right mix of upstart enthusiasm, interpreting/saving the odd styles and quickly mastering the craft. As a fan of Off Color, I am thrilled they are now in the league of, at least, collaborating with Allagash. OCB is proof that hard work and having fun pays off.

Here's my review edited for the May 2023 re-release.
Masterful and refreshing. Ghost Lemons Looks like a Wit; except I suspect it would have more foam if it weren't for how Brett and wild bacteria tend to suppress foam. For Smells, Ghost Lemons takes me into a lemon orchard; while this almost over-powers the wheat and spicing, walking among lemon trees is a pretty good sensation from an ale. Tastes are largely the same with the coriander and other drying agents getting stronger in mid-palate and beyond. I also appreciate that neither the funk nor its modest Brett don't try to steal the show as is today's fashion. Cleansing on my palate; but light.

Bought at their bottle shop in 2018, I asked OCB to offer this in smaller bottles. Five years later, they have obliged at Mousetrap. Ghost Lemons seems to pair well with a variety of summer foods. Tapas in 2018. My veggie soup for lunch in 2023. And now that I have three left of the 250ml bottles, I will try with Asian foods to compliment the coriander. Extraordinary Overall Hugs for a collab between two of my three favorite U.S. Belgian-inspired brewers.

 

i love everything about off color and about this beer, i cant believe it isnt rated more favorably. the artwork is sick, the beer is really delicate and unique, and its cool that they got together with legendary allagash to make it. well worth the asking price, kind of fancy, very summery, and infinitely drinkable. funky but not overly so, done with brett from allagash i believe, such a cool contribution to this. the citrus profile is amazing here, fresh and zesty but neither bitter nor acidic, clean and bright to me, delicate and even floral rather than citrusy somehow. its pale golden straw colored and real fizzy, head doesnt last real long but the bubbles do. lemon up front in the flavor, a tangerine type orange complexion, lemongrass, coriander seed, kiwi fruit and melon as well, bone dry, downright interesting on the fermentation, saison esters meet mature but mild brett, a drie type funk, its amazing. a little tartness too but not sour at all, i could have crushed the whole bottle and even a second one if i wasnt sharing. i can taste some crackery pils malt in here which is so nice with the lemon flavor, lemon curd character to it, just amazing. so lively and effervescent, feels almost healthy to me. these guys are positively killing it, i have loved just about everything i have ever had from them, glad to see them expand distribution recently!

 

On-draught @ Jake Melnick's:

5.10% ABV. $8 per 10oz.

High B- / WORTHY