FIELD DAY ~ FOLLY

Field Day is Folly’s first wit beer. It is quite a unique wit beer and unlike others that I have had. It is brewed with wheat flakes, finished over coriander, orange and grapefruit zest and fermented with a Ontario wild yeast (wild Thing) from Ontario’s own Yeast lab, Escarpment Laboratories. Sampled on draught, the beer pours a clean light bright golden colour with a moderate white head that leaves patchy lacing as it recedes. The flavour is crisp and clean. There was no banana or bubble gum flavours but lots of bold pepper and coriander, with more subtle citrus notes. The carbonation was very effervescent , the body was light and the finish was very dry and bitter. Interesting brew, but maybe a little on the dry side for me.

5.3% from Toronto, Ontario 20 IBU

SUNKICKED ANEJO ~ INDIE ALE HOUSE

This brew is a barrel aged imperial wit. This is the second version being barrelled aged in tequila barrels instead of cognac barrels. Sampled on draught the beer poured a hazy laden orange with a finger off- white head. The head left very nice lacing as it receded into a cap. The aroma contained bread grains, tequila, wood, a bit of funk, booziness, and hints of floral and citrus. The flavour had lots of bread grains, sourness from the barrel aging, touch if funk, citrus notes, tequila, pepper, and a tart fruity quality. The finish has a citrusy bite and lots of warming alcohol. The body is medium and the carbonation was average to lively. An interesting treat - I was very pleasantly surprised.

8.1% from Toronto 10 IBU

SUN KICKED (FATES & FURIES) ~ INDIE ALE HOUSE 

Sun Kicked is part of Indie Ale House’s “Fates and Furies” series. The series looks back to older brewing styles and wild yeast or barrel aging is often part of the process. This beer is an Imperial Wit made with blood oranges, that has been barrel aged in cognac and tequila barrels and then re-blended. Sampled from a Growler, the beer poured a hazy golden orange colour with a white head. The nose contains lots of tartness, fruit , with hints of booze and wood. The flavour has a nice complexity to it: sourness first, with a bit of funk, bready yeasts, some wood, wisps of cognac, citrus, tart berries, and fruit. The body was medium, carbonation was soft and the finish was smooth and buttery. A very delicious sour beer that could easily compete with its European counterparts. Bravo, what a treat!

7,5% from Toronto, Ontario IBU < 10

WALKERVILLE WIT ~ WALKERVILLE BREWERY

Sampled on draught Walkerville Wit poured a hazy opaque yellow gold with a small white head. The head had little retention, and diminished to a film, leaving some lacing behind. The nose contained notes of citrus, Belgian yeast, wheaty grains, with hints of orange and coriander. The taste, which was slightly sweet, contained light malts, yeasty esters, light coriander, doughy graininess, a pinch of pepper, and orange and lemon citrus. The finish had a lingering citrus and little bitterness. The body was on the light side the beer was carbonated moderately with fine bubbles. This is quite a serviceable example of the Wit style – thirst quenching and refreshing but a little on the safe side.

4.9% from Windsor, Ontario

WHITE ~ BLACK BELLOWS

Black Bellow’s is a new brewery, presently contract brewing in Ontario beer hot spot, Collingwood. White, a Belgian-style wheat beer, is their debut offering. Sampled on draught the beer pour slightly hazy, bright yellow-gold, with a thin white head. Though the head was small, it did linger and left delicate lacing when it left. Lots of citrus on the nose along with wheat, coriander, hops and light fruit. The aroma has a slight pungency. The taste is a melange of slightly sour, tart, floral hops, spice, citrus and wheat malts. The mouthfeel is crisp and medium bodied. Carbonation was lively and refreshing. This is quite unlike other wheat beers and wits that I have had, a really pleasant summer brew none the less. Hope to see more from this brewery.

5% from Collingwood, Ontario 13 IBU

Photo Courtesy: Black Bellows Instagram

CASSIS WIT ~ MILL STREET 

The Cassis wit is a new seasonal brew from Mill Street. Sampled on draught at the brewery, the beer poured a hazy pinkish-beige with a persistent frothy off white pinkish head, which left nice lacing. The nose was mostly cracker, wheat, and estery yeast with a slightly buried berry and black currant. The taste was much the same; bready malts are dominant with semi-sweet black currant and berry flavour in the middle. There were also notes of Belgian yeast spice, banana (typical of a hefe) and a strange sulfuriness. The beer ends with a hint of grassy floral hops and an abrupt finish. The beer had lively active carbonation and a light body. I found there fruit to be a little understated and would have preferred a little more tartness, that being said, this is quite a pleasant summer patio beer.

4.8% from Toronto 8.5 IBU

HOEGAARDEN ~ BROUWERIJ VAN HOEGAARDEN

MACRO BELGIAN ~ I remember a number of years ago when I had my first Hoegaarden; it was poured in a heavy glass that looked at large as a fish bowl.  The glass was rinsed with its very own beer bidet before pouring.  It was my introduction to wit beer. 

Sampled from a bottle the beer poured a cloudy light yellow (fermented twice but not filtered).  Aroma has lots of sweetness and wheat, with a smidgen of citrus..  Taste has tons of wheat, with a trace of citrus and spice.   It is an easy drinking summer beer, not bad, but not stupendous either.  I’ve heard this called a lawnmower beer, something to quench your thirst on a hot day.

Hoegaarden (the location near Flanders) had been the site of a brewery from the mid 1400’s.  The tradition had died out in the 1950’s with most of the breweries shuttering their windows.  In the late 1950’s Pierre Celis (who had been a milkman) decided to purchase the brewery and make ago of it.  His new brewery was called Celis; they used the traditional ingredients of wheat, hops, yeast, coriander and dried orange peel in their brew.  By the 1980’s he could not keep up with demand and expanded.  After a fire in 1985, several brewers offered their help, Interbrew (now InBev) the largest brewer lent him the money to purchase other buildings to keep up with production.  He felt that they corporate brewery pressured him to adjust the recipe in order to ‘mass market’ the beer.  Celis then sold InBev the brewery and moved to Texas, US, where he set up Celis Brewery, and continued to make the original wit beer.  Miller, who later sold the equipment and name to Michigan Brewing Co, which went bankrupt and also sold the name, later acquired that brewery.  Since the InBev takeover, the original brewery in Hoegaarden was threatened with closure, sparking many protests among the locals.  InBev has kept the brewery in Hoegaarden and invested to upgrade facilities.  Multinational Anhauser Busch now owns the beer company.

4.9% from Hoegaarden, Belgium

FALLEN IDOL ~ INDIE ALE HOUSE

Fallen Idol is a sour wit, made with rhubarb.  The beers pour an opaque gold with a hint of a peachy hue.  Lemon, herbal notes, and wheat dominate the nose, with a touch of sourness.  Taste is sweet wheat with lots of lemon and other citrus with herbals flavours, with a pleasant Brett-y/lactobacillus sourness.  The beer has some depth, really well done, highly drinkable, and thirst quenching.

The beer so far has only been made once and is available on draft.   “Fallen Idol” was actually made by accident, when rhubarb was added to their wit beer, it turned out really well and Indie Ale house will be attempting to recreate the accident

5%  from Toronto, Ontario    25 IBU
Key Ingredients: Lactobacillus, Rhubarb

BROKEN HIPSTER ~ INDIE ALE HOUSE

Broken Hipster is a traditional Belgian Wit.  Indie ale house brews it with rose, lavender, ginger, orange and ‘other stuff.’  The beer pours a murky unfiltered light gold.  Nose is banana, bubble gum and spice.  Flavour is yeasty/bready with citrus, clove, bubble gum and very subtle peppercorn.  I wish that some of the herbs would pack more of a punch, but this is a very drinkable wit for a hot summers day. Very enjoyable!

5% from Toronto, Ontario  

IBU 25 to 30
-beer 88-

 ~ ORANJEWEISSE ~ 

AMSTERDAM BREWERY

Made as a nod to Amsterdam’s Dutch heritage, it is a traditional unfiltered Wit beer.  The beer’s spicy and fruity flavours come from, un-malted wheat, orange peel, coriander and anise.

The hazy brew starts citrusy and moves to banana, subtle spice and yeast at the end. Crisp and refreshing, definitely a summer brew patio brew.  

5% from Toronto, Ontario       12 IBU
-beer 72-