Barbeerian Witbier
Five Islands Brewing Company

Pours a pale banana colour, very pastel and opaque with a steady bead. Head is beautiful and dense, 1/2 cm on top. Lace is a bit disappointing, but yeah, head is fantastic; as is the colour. Good wit.

Nose is pretty fine. Very strong orange peel aroma with a nice sour clove and coriander spice as well. Tangy and sweet for the most part, with some slight caramelised notes coming through; very pleasant, sweet and spicy wit smell.

Tastes quite sour at first. A distinct lemon and orange character on the front with notes of coriander, white pepper and pepperberry with a vinous edge. Slightly phenolic with a mildly green aspect to it, like it's undercooked or in this case, undermalted. The spice is nice but it's a bit too dominant, which gives it too much pique and not enough body. A bit thin on the feel, with lots of carbonation sizzle.

Not bad flavours though; it's not the tastiest beer I've ever had but it's a decent wit.

Had on tap at the brewpub.

This is a pale straw colour with a little bit of haze. THe head is small, white and has okay retention.

I get very little aroma with the only notes coming off this being slightly lemony.

It's a bit wheaty and a little fruity. There isn't a lot to it, something that isn't particularly helped by the cold serving temperature.

The light body and moderately-light carbonation are suitable for this beer.

It's a drinkable wit but it is boring and lacks the flavours it really needs to be a good example of the style.

Tried on tap at Sydney's Local Taphouse.

Pours a nicely cloudy deep yellow colour. I like smithflipper's description of it: "custard". Head is a pale film of slightly too aerated white bubbles, but there is a little sudsy lacing on the glass. Looks like a pretty damn good wit.

Nose is dominated by spice and pepper, not as buttery or smooth as many a wit, some sharp phenolic characters are most prominent. A little sudsiness is there as well. It's nice - it feels a little out of character though.

Taste is very similar to the nose, lots of spice - I can feel the single spike that it causes on the palate. Refreshing clean afterpalate with just a hint of residual phenol. Mouthfeel is pretty smooth, quite crisp, lacking a bit of depth.

I had a hard time separating this and Bright Brewery's Razor Wit on the evening. The Razor was certainly more cleansing and drinkable, but I think this was more of a classic wit.

appearance - pale custard with 1 finger of bubbly white head.

smell - citrus groves, sweet cream, toasted coriander with a hint of pepper.

taste - plenty of toasted coriander up front, then some zesty citrus with a peppery herbal finish.

mouth - medium bodied with good carbonation

very drinkable beer, would go well with mussels on a spring day.