Black Nitwit
North Country Brewing

 

 

 

They've recently had this on-tap. The whole "black" trend is being used in every style, so the witbier was inevitable.

Appearance - Very dark, almost stout-like. The beer is mostly transparent, just a very faint haze. When held up to the light you can see through it. The head on it was more carbonated than you'd expect for a beer as dark as this.

Smell - Prominent citrus, but with a touch of roasted malt. Clearly a wheat beer, but with a touch of the dark characteristics.

Taste- Similar to the smell; citrus fruit (orange?) and some spice is very present, but the finish has some earthy malt to it.

Mouthfeel - Crisp, not thick. The color is deceiving, as it looks to be a creamy beer but is instead refreshingly carbonated.

Overall - I'm not a big fan of the whole "black" trend, but this is a great beer. Wheat beers often lack complexity, because too often the brewer focuses on making something summery and refreshing. Instead, this beer really balances the refreshing nature of the beer with the subtle earth characteristics of the malts.

This is supposedly a black witbier, so dunkelweizen seemed like the closest style. Pours very dark, nearly black, but not opaque or thick. Absolutely great spicy, wheaty smell. Cloves, bananas. Taste is really good too. More or less like a good wit. Very wheaty again. Nice underlying sweetness. Just a little roastiness and maybe a touch of chocolate from the dark malt. Seems like a strange combination but its really good. Medium to light bodied. Very easy to drink. One of the best I've had from north country.