Earl Grey Wheat
Collective Arts Brewing

 

 

Pale yellow with a 1" white head, which slowly fades to a wisp. Moderate lacing.

Aroma of bergamont, lemon, hay.

Taste is oil of bergamont, lemon, tannins, wheat, spices.

Light to medium body, light carbonation. Dry finish with a slight astringency.

Always liked Earl Grey tea so, I thought this was pretty good.

 

Can: Poured a golden color ale with a large white foamy head with good retention and light lacing, Aroma of cereal notes with some dry tea undertones and light spices including coriander. Taste is also a mix of coriander and wheat malt with a dry finish with some tea undertones. Body is about average with good carbonation. Enjoyable wheat ale with a good twist with the tea notes.

Hazy wheaten gold with a decent head and cap. Bready cereal malt nose, a little fruity. Light-medium wheat body with some spicy tea elements. Satisfying crispness.

Pours a hazed pale straw color with a puffy 2 finger bone white cap...Aromas of biscuit, spice and floral tones...Flavor is a happy balance between the 3 main components Herbal-floral teas, coriander and hops, dusty wheat malts ride just below the surface but become more evident in the crisp, dry, spicy, biscuity, slightly tart finish...I am growing to rely on this brewer for constantly carrying of beers with awkward seemingly incomparable components and coming up with a delightfully unique brew....in this case a very drinkable tea-infused witbier

Earl Grey Wheat is a slightly hazy, pale lemon colored ale. The head is rocky, white, and has decent retention.

On the nose, this definitely smells like a European style weissbier. It starts with an up front smack of cloves, supported with fresh rising bread dough full of active yeast goodness. The center gives me a combination of ripe banana and dried orange peel. Dried orange peel and general earthiness do combine in a way that reminds me of earl grey tea.

As with the nose, the first thing I note in Earl Grey's flavor is a combination of clove and coriander. This is supported by the yeasty flavor of fresh baked bread, right out of the oven. The center gives me banana and dried orange peels. In its own way, Earl Grey Wheat does remind me of a European weissbier tinted with just a hint of earl grey tea. Hints of fresh earth give the overall flavor just the right hint of depth and balance to the lighter flavors.

It hits all the right notes for a European weissbier. The earl grey tea is just present enough to provide a little extra character. Overall, flavors are nicely balanced. I would like it more if the finish wasn't quite as dry and clovelike as it is. A gentler finish with an overall subtle tartness would make this an even better beer than it already is, IMHO.

Appearance: Poured with a thumb's work of rocky head that produced minor lacing but stuck around quite well. The body is a very light cloudy yellow to gold depending on how the light strikes it that showcases a lot of carbonation rising from the depths.

Smell: As advertised as tea and bergamot dominates the nose with hints of corriander, citrus and occasional hints of banana and grass. I like that as this beer warms in evolves as certain smells assert and mute themselves as time goes one.

Taste: Starts with citrus and mild wheat beer malt before it turns to a more grassy and herbal character before a mixed bitter tea and bergamot snap finalizes things. There's something odd and missing though from the experience, as there is a bit of a weird note to it I can't really pin down. Maybe that's the cornflower petals?

Mouthfeel: After you finish drinking it, you immediately get a second dry rush of earl grey tea which doesn't quite assert itself the way as I personally would like, as it lacks a certain sweetness to it, and that note predominantly makes up the aftertaste. Carbonation is solid and the transitioning is good apart from that peculiar note.

Drinkability: That dryness at the end poops the party here, but apart from that it's great. Medium bodied, easy to drink, just not very refreshing. That said, I don't usually drink Earl Grey tea to quench my thirst so I can't hold that much against the beer.

Final Thoughts: Normally most beers I see with tea, the intent here is to make a summer quaffer that has beer aspects and iced tea. Generally most fail because I'm left asking "Well, why didn't you such make spiked iced tea?" I'm pleased that this beer doesn't take this route, as given the explicate choice of using Earl Grey, I would think the intent is to make a more sophisticated, after dinner product. I'm not sure I would have gone with what seems to be a wit though in the beer selection. I think the intent was the spice and lack of dryness inherent to the style would have combated the lone weakness here (the dry point), but part of me wonders how this would have faired if say a Belgian style was used, where I am expecting a bit of dryness. Then again, that might overpower the whole thing, but it is something I feel the need to muse on. Either way, it's a solid offering, and I think with a bit of reworking I think could really achieve greater heights.

Pours out a very light colour, crystal clear with moderate head. The smell hits of the promise of tea, with under notes of coriander. This carries through in the taste, with a pronounced tea flavour, along with a more classical wheat beer modifi8ed with coriander flavour, both coexisting. It is an interesting mix, and goes down well.

 

 

 

This one pours a slightly hazy golden yellow color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This one smells like a floral sweetness, grassy hops, tea, and some citrus.

This is as good as this sort of thing is going to be. The tea comes through nicely, and adds some decent funky sweetness here. There's a bit of grassiness and herbal character, with a touch of lemony citrus.

This is light bodied, clean, and slightly creamy, from the wheat character.

This is never going to be 100% my thing, but it's done well.

 

Appearance - Pours a straw gold with four fingers of frothy white head.

Smell - earthy, leafy, and floral hops, black tea, bergamot, coriander, pepper, bready malts, lemon and citrus aromas, and earthy yeast.

Taste - earthy, leafy, and floral hops upfront. The black tea and bergamot are present but not as potent than the aroma. The coriander, pepper, lemon and citrus aromas follow suit. The bready malts and earthy yeast round out the brew.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Finishes smooth with all elements lingering.

Overall - A easy drinking wheat ale. I wish the bergamot and black tea were a bit more pronounced to give it a little more oomph but other than that a quaffable brew.

 

 

Look: A pretty pale yellow, with a hazy opacity. Pours with a finger of bright white head. After 5 minutes the head has settled into a 1/4 finger smooth cover across the top.

Smell: Lovely smell, floral, with clove, spice and maybe a bit of bubblegum. Reminds me of belgium yeasts and Hoegaarden.

Taste: Sweet floral front end, i pick up on the tea and coriander on the back end.

Feel: Light body with a nice spicy tang to it. Plays to the top of the palate most strongly. Smooth.

A very refreshing slightly earthy summer sipper. I give it a very solid B+.