White
Sober Carpenter

Poured from 16oz can into a dimpled mug. The brewer calls this a "Belgian style white" with orange, coriander and wheat.

Appearance: light golden hue with a light haze and a finger of frothy ivory foam atop. The head doesn't stick around terribly long, but it does actually leave a bit of lace on the glass. Not bad!

Smell: the coriander and orange zest come through as rather soapy in the aroma, and while I do get a bit of a wheaty aroma, there's just something about it that seems a bit off. It's not terrible, just ... off.

Taste: like the aroma, the flavor isn't quite right. I think what it is, is the coriander just coming off as raw or something, because there's a definite raw-spice thing going on here. The orange zest is nice and the wheat is present, although malt character is very light. It's not terrible or anything, but it doesn't especially work for me.

Mouthfeel: light body with a moderate carbonation and an ok texture. It has a nonzero amount of body, which is something.

Overall: this beer is not objectively bad or anything, I don't think, especially for an NA beer. It just does not come together correctly for me.

 

Continuing my NON ALC beer streak.

Pours a light blonde beer color. Keeps a little bit of lacing. Lemon zest flavor and aroma to the beer. It's a pretty good one actually and I like it, although like most of these NON ALC beers it's kind of like a flavored soda water in a way. but this one is pretty good for a NON ALC beer. I would get this one again.

 

From the can, it pours a hazy light amber color with a modest white head that slowly reduces. Definite lemon/zesty profile in the nose. The mouth follows with a lightly malty, lemony, zesty brew.

 

 

473 mL can from No Frills, coded LOT 23140 and served slightly chilled. I had a Blanche de Chambly earlier this evening, so hopefully I'm in a good position to judge this non-alcoholic witbier fairly.

Pours a hazy, translucent golden-yellow colour, tossing up over an inch of bubbly white head that fizzles within a couple of minutes. It deposits some delicate gossamer lace as it's reduced to a soapy, frothy collar - it's quite visually attractive. Mild to moderate orange peel/zestiness on the nose, with floral, spicy notes coming through as well; hints of wheat cereal & sourdough.

Spicy flavour profile - plenty of coriander, with orange & lemon zest alongside a wheaty, grainy cereal sweetness. Faint hints of floral hops on the tail end, with coriander and citrus lasting into a mildly spicy aftertaste that fades to mineral water. Light in body, with assertive carbonation that relentlessly prickles the palate with each sip, contributing to this brew's crisp and palate-scrubbing mouthfeel. I found this very easy to drink, but if you don't care for coriander I imagine it'd be a slog.

Final Grade: 3.76, a B+. It's not difficult to tell that Sober Carpenter's White isn't a real white ale, but the basic components are all present and accounted for: the orange peel, the coriander spice, the wheaty malt backbone. In the case of the coriander, it might be a little *too* present, but I appreciated that - NA beers are inevitably a bit dull and watery, yet this one's spicy character kept me interested for the whole session. It's an acceptable facsimile of the real thing, and worth trying if you're interested in low alcohol options.

Had this on 2022-10-31 near Pittsburgh, PA from a 16oz can

Hazy straw with a 1 finger white head and little lace. Smells and tastes appropriately of bread, orange and coriander. Light body and medium carbonation. Just a smidge of bitterness. Refreshing. One of the best NAs I've tried. Will have this again.

 

 

L: Hazy yellow, one finger head. Dissipates rather quick, no lacing.
S: Mostly hops and citrus, not a strong smell at all.
T: Supposedly based on a Belgian white but doesn't have the same depth. Overwhelmingly lemon rather than orange in my opinion. Hops. A little coriander.
F: Light bodied.
Overall: Misses the mark for me. I can appreciate the NA offerings, however. Doesn't feel like a Belgian white but has some bitter fruit involved somewhere in there.

Pours hazy, pale gold in color with one quarter inch head. Taste is coriander, clove, orange and vanilla. Light bodied, sweet with moderate carbonation. Probably the best non alcoholic witbier I have had. Tastes like a real witbier. Will be getting this again. Best Sober Carpenter beer.

473ml can - also called a 'Blanche', as this apparent marketing company is based in Montreal. A Belgian-style white ale, and all that might entail, with less than 0.5% ABV.

This beer pours a slightly hazy, pale golden yellow colour, with three fingers of puffy, loosely foamy, and fizzy bone-white head, which leaves some sparsely spattered lace around the glass as it quickly blows off.

It smells of gritty and grainy cereal malt, musky orange peel, sort of spicy coriander, some earthy yeastiness, and very faint leafy, herbal, and floral hop bitters. The taste is grainy and bready wheat malt, muddled domestic citrus rind, dirty-seeming spice, some dead yeasty esters, and more well-understated earthy, musty, and acrid floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is average in its palate-probing frothiness, the body a thin-seeming medium weight, and not particularly smooth, with the spice and acidity roaming about, looking for a place to happen. It finishes trending dry, the guest ingredients keeping up their lingering undermining efforts.

Overall - yeah, this one certainly has all the expected components, like a bag of new Legos, but lacks a guide (or 'map', as my little guy used to call it) to make everything work out. Not bad, but it kind of wears out its welcome, sooner rather than later.