Winter White (Brewmaster Series)
Long Trail Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've had this bomber kicking around since last season, purchased from Lebanon Health Food Store in Lebanon NH for $5.99. Code 102009 (date = Oct 20, 2009?). Hopefully age hasn't ruined it. Served at 50F in a pilsner glass of similar temperature.

A: Poured gently to avoid disturbing yeast. (I added the yeast later, see comments at the end). Bright solid yellow brew, perfectly clear, throws up a big fizzy 1" of white head that settles fairly quickly. Tons of big carbo bubbles flow upward pretty quickly. Put it in a flute and it might pass for champagne. No lace.

S: Light clean sweetness with smooth orange pith. There's a nice lavender floral herb note that leaves a bit of cool menthol-like feel in my nose. Somewhat reminds me of the powdery floral scent of (I think it's) Johnson & Johnson's hand lotion. As it warms a bit more bitter citrus comes out.

T: Not much on the tip of the tongue, just a little resiny orange... dryer than I was anticipating. Taste hits strong on the mid-palate with big bitter orange rind, floral/herb hop, and spicy/soapy coriander. Dry soda/seltzer finish with lingering bitter orange oil and lavender.

M: Body is a 3/10 in thickness. Carbo is rigorous and abundant, but fairly soft, not sharp or biting. Goes down pretty smooth and a bit more filling than I would expect. Alcohol is limited to a very subtle bit of heat in the back of the mouth... didn't notice it until I went looking for it.

D: Great example of the style. A bit strong on the additives (orange and herbs), I'd like it better if these were more subtle, even if that allowed EtOH to become a bit more evident.

I swirled in the yeast toward the end of the bottle and this added a good yeasty dose to all the A, S, T, M. I think this improved the brew quite a bit bit... added some body, sweetness, and earthy funk to mellow out the sharp orange and floral notes. Before yeast and after yeast is almost like sampling 2 different brews. Cool.

Taste is a bit too strong on the orange and herbs. A little too dry before yeast and a little too sweet after it. Somewhere there's a balance... perhaps swirl it in earlier. I'd like a wit to be more crisp and quaffable, but honestly that's nitpicking because this is damn good.

Whitish body with a decent sized foamy head. This is a unique wit in that it has above-average mouthfeel but solely the sweet-spicey orange peel comes through over the yeast and wheat. The corriander,ginger is much.Missing balance. Not that drinkable.

Poured into a hefe glass. Looked like champagne. Color was a dark golden amber, akin to champagne or apple cider. Lots of carbonation with copious amounts of bubles rising from the bottom. Large head didn't last long. When the bottle says to pour slowly they mean it. Slow pour yielded a huge head. Aroma was citrus like clemintine with a touch of vanilla. Taste was slightly sweet with a small touch of pepper. Felt thin and watery in the mouth, but was nicely carbonated. Pleasantly easy to drink.

A - The first pour produced a lightly transparent, orange body...but the later pour produced a cloudy, orange body (which I was looking for)...the head stood one finger and was white in color...it was gone in a flash and only one ring of lace left behind

S - The nose is loaded with whole orange, orange peel, and orange zest...you can pick out some of the spices and the yeast

T - The orange never backs down...at first sip you are blasted with the orange peel and zest...that citrus flavor really sticks with the beer and adds enough sweetness on its own...the pale malts are kept at a minimum as well as the breadiness but they are detectable...the spices (cinnamon and corriander) add another level to the flavor and those spices really pop with the orange zest

M - Medium bodied...some creaminess...a sweet start with a somewhat bitter finish...more body that a normal wit

D - I know this is labeled as a fall beer because it's heavier than normal but I could drink this all year round!...great orange flavors and good spice combo...another great beer from the Long Trail Brewmaster Series

Great start to the head but it literally dies to no bubbles...none. No lace either. Straw color broth and only a touch hazy.

Sweet aroma of berries and banana. Light wheat.

Lots of spice--I detect clove, oregano?, thyme and strong white pepper. Mild wheat flavor in the background. Very spritzy but the body provides some counterbalance. Short peppery aftertaste.

Served: Bomber bottle poured into a 12 oz tumbler.

A: Opaque, amber-orange with some noticeable bubbles. No head, just initial bubbling when poured.

S: Strong orange smell, much more like an orange soda than a white beer. Very pleasant compared to other witbiers.

T: Initial touch of the tongue reveals orange, spice, and flowery ingredients. Seems sweet. Bitterness later, probably attributing to the bitter oranges advertised on the bottle. Tastes more like a fancy less sweetened soda than a beer.

M: Quite a pleasant witbier that leaves many complex flavors on the pallet. Very refreshing 7% beer.

D: Very easy to drink, especially in the summer, although it's named a Winter White. You don't want to get through two many due to the above average abv.

Overall a great find in my local Shaw's (A great supermarket for more than macro beer) for less than other bomber bottles like Stone, Duvel and other Belgians.

A: The beer poured cloudy pale yellow in color with a thin layer of bubbles on the surface.
S: There is a light citrus aroma in the nose along with some hints of spices.
T: The overall taste has lots of citrus flavors and a moderate amount of sweetness. There are also some notes of spices and wheat.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate with a good amount of carbonation. There is some alcohol warming.
D: For the level of alcohol in this beer, it's rather easy to drink. This is perfect if you like witbiers but want to have one when the weather's a bit colder outside.

Poured from a 22oz bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep gold color, with a large white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is full of spices, citrus, light malts, wheat, Belgian yeast and a touch of hops.

T: The taste is sweet up front with flavors of oranges and coriander spice that are quickly followed by a strong breadiness from wheat and Belgian yeast. The malt character is hearty and there's a mild hops presence that provides a little bit of balance, but it's the orange and coriander flavors that remain dominant into the after-taste.

M: Smooth and crisp, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, good kick, good representation of style, this beer is more on the fruity side than the wheat side but is more well-crafted than other most fruity white ales and has a little more substance to it. Overall it's a good beer to drink for a while.

Poured from a 22oz bottle into my Sam Adams pint glass. Poured a hazy pale gold color with a thin white lacing barely covering the top of the beer. The head all but disappeared after a few minutes and didn't really leave any lacing on the glass.

The aroma has some wheat with a citrusy lemon and orange peel smell, along with some hints of cinnamon or nutmeg spices. The taste has a little more of the cinnamon/nutmeg flavor that the nose hinted at. The wheat and citrus are also present but a little more hidden behind the spices.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Overall it was an interesting beer, it almost seemed like a summer type beer with cinnamon and nutmeg added to make it a winter beer. The spices were interesting but they really aren't my favorite flavors in beer. I don't think it was over spiced though, there were other flavors coming through that made it a little more enjoyable.

A - Very clear see through gold color. Bubbly with a 2 inch frothy head that dissipates rather quickly. No lacing is stuck on the glass at all.

S - This beer absolutely reeks of orange and coriander. Also there is a hint of wheat to go along with an overall pretty sweet smell.

T - With a beer smelling that much like orange and coriander, it has to have a hint of them in the taste. This is very front loaded with both. Almost has a similar orange taste like straight orange juice. The orange/coriander taste is followed up with almost a dry oatmeal taste. Right and after the oat taste the beer suddenly gets a warm sensation which can be attributed to the alcohol, which does go away rather quickly and leaves you with an almost pepper-like finish.

M - The beer looks big and tastes big, but based on the higher ABV, this isn't a light beer at all. It has big carbonation also and although it looks and is smooth like your average witbier it's not.

D - If I enjoyed the overall taste a little bit more it would have a much higher drinkability despite the higher than average alcohol content. It's got an overall good mouthfeel and the taste isn't too bad, I just am not crazy about it because of the peppery finish/after taste. I can definitely see why some people could be big fans of this beer. I guess I'm just used to the normal light refreshing witbier.