Flying Dog’s Woody Creek White Belgian Style Wit Beer

This is a recently released Summer seasonal offering from Flying Dog, based out of Denver, CO. They sent me a sample bottle to try and review, so that is what I am doing.

Here is what they say on their Web site about this beer:

Woody Creek White is a traditional Belgian-style Wit Beer, brewed with unique ingredients like orange peel and coriander, resulting in a refreshing and slightly citrus flavor…

I cracked the bottle open and poured it into one of my pint glasses. It was a nice golden yellow color and was quite cloudy, showing off its unfiltered goodness. One whiff and you know you’re drinking a Belgian-style white. The wheat, citrus and spice notes in the nose bring to mind Blue Moon, just a bit.

Taking the first taste, you know you’re drinking a solid white. The citrus and spice notes are present in the mouth as well as the nose, and it’s got a good wheatiness. This brew is medium to full bodied and is almost like drinking a glass of wheat bread, but it still manages to stay crisp and clean on the finish, not thick and heavy.

That finish makes it a good Summer seasonal indeed. Overall this is a good solid witbier. I still prefer my Blue Moon, though!

Recommended: I’m not a huge witbier guy but if you like wheat in your glass, this is a good example of a Belgian style wit beer
Price: Unknown, it was a free sample
ABV: 4.7%

Blackstone Brewery Chaser Pale Ale

Blackstone Brewery’s Chaser Pale Ale, according to the bottle, is a German-style Kolsch ale.  According to www.tastings.com:

Kolsch is an ale style emanating from Cologne in Germany. In Germany (and the European Community) the term is strictly legally limited to the beers from within the city environs of Cologne. Simply put Kolsch has the color of a pilsner with some of the fruity character of an ale. This is achieved with the use of top fermenting yeasts and pale pilsner malts. The hops are accented on the finish, which classically is dry and herbal. It is a medium to light bodied beer and delicate in style. Most examples one will encounter in the US are brewpub draft interpretations produced during the summer months, though some commercial brewers produce a summer ale in the kolsch style.

This beer fits that bill. It pours a dirty straw color. On the pour there is very little head, but what is there is quite thick and heavy and bright white. The beer has a slight cloudiness to it.

On the nose, there are floral hoppy notes with a slightly biscuity background. This is a medium-light to medium bodied beer. It’s quite smooth, with a pleasant and noticeable caramelly, doughy, bready taste. There are hints at the finish of grapefruit and it is a clean finish, slightly dry but refreshing.

All in all this is a nice pale ale. It has some hop to it without being excessively tart or dry but has some nice malt flavors too.

Recommended: Sure…a good pale ale with character
Price: I paid $7.49 for a six-pack
ABV: Unknown

Coming tomorrow: at least one new review

I am so bad at putting the reviews up after I finish them. Tomorrow I’ll be putting up one of two reviews, if not both of them. One is for Flying Dog’s Woody Creek White, a witbier they sent me to review. The other is for Blackstone Brewery’s Chaser Pale Ale.

Look for one or both of these tomorrow and for more frequent reviews from here on.