Great Wit North
Lakes & Legends Brewing Company

Scrappy notes from 2016.
I usually don't compare beers but I will here as this Wit beer tastes like a true Belgian Wit and not an attempt. I compare it closely to Upland Wheat Ale from Bloomington, Indiana (also incredibly authentic in a Belgian style) and Lakes & Legends has all the characteristics for a true wit. It pours clean gold with a large white head. Lots of webby lacing. There's wheat, yeast, orange, coriander and sweet malt. It has a med-light mouthfeel and a medium finish. I also used a slice of lemon. The beer is excellent.

From the taproom and from reviewing previous reviews, they did not try and improve the beer. Could be a hefeweizen if I did not know better. Strange band-aid finish. Poorly executed fermentation.

2017 notes:

In the eye: Clear, bright golden color, sizable ivory head, lasting long.

In the nose: Sweet and fruity at first, a little spice, and a whiff of something unpleasant. Plastic-y phenols emerge, a touch of the bandaid. Not big, but there all the same. Further in, it's harder to detect, but it was there.

In the mouth: Fruit, spice, wheat, and those off-flavors are back. This style of beer should be clean, light-bodied, and ultra-consumable, with just enough orange and spice to keep it fun and refreshing. This one misses the mark, and is a bit heavier in the mouthfeel than we'd like. Also, the threat of those off-putting off flavors are still lurking about.

From 12oz can. Pours a hazy lemon gold color. Smell and taste was fruity with spice and citrus finished with some Belgian yeast. Spritzy carbonation with a citrus spicy finish.

 

 

 

A good refreshing summer beer. Poured into a pint glass, it gave a creamy two-finger head that faded slowly. I didn't care much for the smell, but I loved the taste. A good Belgian with hints of orange, citron, coriander, and a little pepper. The citrus overpowered the spice by just a small margin to my enjoyment. Overall a perfect beer to drink (cold of course) on a hot summer's day.

 

Murky turbid copper. Thin beige head. Copious amounts of lace. Decent aroma of spice and belgian malt. Taste is bready malts and subtle spice. The amount of corriander seems to be just right. Solid offering.

Poured out a cloudy, yellow color with a white, foamy, two-finger head. Left small traces of lace. It smelled of wheat, yeast and come clove. It tasted of wheat and spices. It was crisp and very sharp.

 

Lakes ad Legends Great Wit North pours a cloudy dark orange color. The head is small even with a vigorous pours, and it recedes quickly into sparse lacing. The aroma is quite balanced between the oranges and coriander. It is quite strong too. The taste similarly balanced as the aroma, but not as full in strength. The mouthfeel is on the lighter side, and has an unappealing watery texture. Overall, while is isn't a bad beer it certainly needs some tweaks.

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a chalice.

Appearance: Pours a hazy amber orange with a lot of bubbles. Big two finger off white head that slowly settles into a thin creamy layer.

Smell: A spicy and fruity Belgian style aroma with a scent of yeast and citrus. Belgian yeast with a scent of clove, pepper, and coriander. Citrus hints of orange peel. Malt scent of wheat, grains, straw, and cracker. Sweet hints of candied sugar. A solid aroma.

Taste: Like it smells, a spicy and juicy Belgian style taste with notes of yeast spice and citrus. Belgian yeast with spice notes of coriander, clove, and pepper. Citrus fruit notes of orange peel and lemon. Malt notes of wheat, grains, cracker, and straw. Sweet notes of candied sugar.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a medium to high level of carbonation. Crisp and somewhat sticky.

Overall: A decent take on a Belgian style wheat beer. Nice coriander and orange peel presence.

 

L: Poured from a 12 oz. bottle. Tea tinted amber with a slight haze under a cream colored foam cap that takes 3 minutes to recede. S: Citrus, orange, spice, some wheat. T: The orange and coriander are really obvious with bready wheat in the background. Orange flavors linger and mix pleasantly with the wheat. While slightly sweet a mild tartness arises on the finish. F: Medium to medium light body, medium to medium high carbonation, very creamy. O: A decent Belgian style wit.

 

Out of a bottle:

L-Dark bronze colored...ok carbonation..

S-Aroma is real sugary sweet with a slight off smell to it.

T-Sugary sweet but lacking whit characteristics...it says its brewed with orange and coriander but you'd never guess it.

F-Too heavy and sugary sweet feeling

O-Not a very good whit. Really lacks any traditional characteristics you'd expect with this style. My first forray into this places offerings and I am not writing them off yet. Will definitely still make a stop at their brewhouse to get a better feel for their product. This beer though is between poor and average. Closer to poor.