Beer Review: New Belgium Brewing’s Mothership Wit Organic Wheat Beer

Part 2 of a (now) 4 Part Series

Part I: Fat Tire Amber Ale
Part II: Mothership Wit Organic Wheat Beer
Part III: 1554 Enlightened Black Ale
Part IV: Mighty Arrow Pale Ale

Cheers,
The Beer Snob

The second part of this series was supposed to be New Belgium Brewing’s 1554, but I seem to have misplaced my tasting notes, and I really needed to post a review tonight (I have a backlog of tasting notes) so I decided to go ahead and post my review of New Belgium’s Mothership Wit instead.

According to the bottle, this brew:

…elevates the zesty wit or white beers of Belgium with wheat, malt, coriander and orange peel spicing – all of which are organically grown. The alluring taste is the result of a gravitational balance of citrus and sour flavors held in suspension by a bright burst of carbonation.

On to the review…

The Pour
This poured into a pilsner glass to a three finger thick head. The head was pillowy and fluffy with a decent amount of lacing as it dissipates. The beer itself is a lemony yellow straw color. It’s definitely cloudy but some clarity can still be observed. It looks like it has a mild level of carbonation.

The Nose
There are nice wheat and spice notes present in the nose right away. You can smell the coriander and slight citrus notes from the orange peel. It’s a nice bready nose with the spice and citrus giving it a nice freshness.

The Taste
This is full bodied and wheaty, with the spice and orange peel definitely present. The spice comes out more as the beer warms. This is a good thick witbier. It’s smoother than I expected it to be, with a creamy smooth mouthfeel. I noticed a sour lemony note on the finish. The beer is thick and coats your palate with good flavor.

Overall
This is a good solid example of a witbier. It’s a good choice if you want to branch out from something like Blue Moon to a more authentic and fully flavored witbier.

Recommended: Yes, it’s a good solid witbier.

Price: $2.99 for a 22-oz. bottle

ABV: 4.8%

Rock the Mike: The Freeman Brainefit

Sad news from the Flying Dog Brewery…

I don’t know if you have heard, but our longest standing employee and brewery manager, Mike Freeman, was recently diagnosed with a very serious brain tumor and the most aggressive of its kind! Due to Mike not being able to work and to offset some medical expenses, Mike’s friends and family are hosting a fundraiser. The fundraiser, Rock the Mike: The Freeman Brainefit, is on Saturday, August 23rd at the old Flying Dog warehouse (24th and Blake) from 7-2am. We are going to have several bands, free beer from Breckenridge, Great Divide and Flying Dog, free food and a raffle with a $20 cost at the door. All of the proceeds from this event are going to Mike and his fiancée Jennifer.

Please check out the website we set up for him at mikesupport.com.  You can also support Mike by purchasing a “Fuck Cancer” shirt!

More:
Press Release
Brainefit Poster

Beer Review: New Belgium Brewing’s Fat Tire Amber Ale

Part 1 of a (now) 4 Part Series

Part I: Fat Tire Amber Ale
Part II: Mothership Wit Organic Wheat Beer
Part II: 1554 Enlightened Black Ale
Part IV: Mighty Arrow Pale Ale

Cheers,
The Beer Snob

New Belgium Brewing’s Fat Tire Amber Ale is a brew my buddy Elmer told me about and he often praised it’s tastiness. He would only get it when he headed west, I believe, usually on a beer run to prep for Bonnaroo. So naturally this is the first one of their brews I tried. And he understated its excellence, if you ask me.

According to the Web site:

Named in honor of our founder Jeff’s bike trip through Belgium, Fat Tire Amber Ale marks a turning point in the young electrical engineer’s home brewing. Belgian beers use a far broader pallet of ingredients (fruits, spices, esoteric yeast strains) than German or English styles. Jeff found the Belgian approach freeing. Upon his return, Jeff created Fat Tire and Abbey Belgian Ale, (assuming Abbey would be his big gun). He and his wife, Kim traveled around sampling their homebrews to the public. Fat Tire’s appeal quickly became evident. People liked everything about it. Except the name. Fat Tire won fans is in its sense of balance: toasty, biscuit-like malt flavors coasting in equilibrium with hoppy freshness.

So let’s check the air in this “Fat Tire” shall we?

The Pour
This poured, in my tall pilsner glass, to a thick 3 finger head. The head was off-white, thick and creamy, with great lacing. The color was a kind of orange tinted light caramel color. It looks to be quite carbonated and crisp and is quite clear.

The Nose
This has an excellent nose, just fantastic! The citrusy hops are balanced with the malt, and subtle chewy chocolate notes. The chocolate and malt give it a nice earthy nose with bright citrus accents.

The Taste
This, to me, is an absolutely unique brew. It is exceptionally smooth and tastes exactly as it smells. What you smell is what you get, as it were. The citrusy hops are slightly more dominant, but the chocolate and malt flavors are well played and well balanced. As you drink this, the hops open the show but melt away into the chocolate and malt flavors, all the while maintaining a medium-light body and a smooth clean mouthfeel.

Overall
This is not at all what I expected, but it is an exceptional brew. The earthier flavors, especially complimented and offset by the citrusy hops, were a great surprise. This is one terrific and drinkable brew!

Recommended: Absolutely a must-try. The flavors are terrific and well balanced and just a well crafted brew.

Price: $2.99 for a 22-oz. bottle

ABV: 5.2%