I never could get the hang of Thursdays: White by Allagash Brewing Company

There was a time when drinking a Belgian (or Belgian-style) witbier conferred an aura of refinement upon the drinker. Being seen with a bottle of Hoegaarden in your hand meant you had taste that went beyond the plebian and, if you could pronounce the name correctly, well, that was a mark of true sophistication. Then Blue Moon became available and drinking a domestic version of the classic Belgian style put you into petite bourgeoisie territory, at the very least.

The witbier was the diametric opposite of Miller and Bud. It had wheat in it instead of corn and rice; it was flavored, not simply with hops, but also orange peel and coriander which gave it an unfamiliar, more complex taste. According to my memory, the style became rather popular here with Leinenkugel even brewing their own witbier, a cloying, Tang-like take on it called Sunset Wheat. While it might not be Leinenkugel's fault, the style fell out of favor and was replaced in the hearts and minds and livers of craft drinkers by the IPA and Summer Shandy.

But in defiance of the vicissitudes of the craft beer world, the Allagash Brewing Company has been brewing Allagash White, their witbier, for decades. The first batch was brewed back in 1995 which, I believe, is the same year Blue Moon was invented. It has gone on to garner a reputation for being the best American brewed Belgian-style witbier and one of the best microbrews ever. At least those are the terms I've usually heard it spoken in.

In addition to a lot of effusive praise, previous talk of Allagash White also involved admonishments that tasting it meant going on a pilgrimage to the Northeast because it wasn't available here in the Midwest. I noticed that this situation changed 2 or 3 years ago when I saw Allagash in a suburban Chicago liquor store. And then last year I read that it would be returning to Wisconsin. Returning? Apparently, Allagash did distribute here but pulled out of the state to concentrate on their home turf around 10 years ago. I have no recollection of seeing Allagash back then. Did they distribute only to the Milwaukee area, perhaps? Harumph.

I recently decided to take the plunge and bought some of this stuff to discover if it would live up to its reputation. My sample was bottled on 6 April.

The stuff was a bright lemon yellow and quite hazy. A small white head decided not to stick around for long which was odd because I thought the proteins in wheat produced a larger head that went away more slowly. Maybe there's an anti-foaming agent in orange peel. It sure looked pretty sitting there on a hot, sunny summer day. The aroma was great too with wheat and coriander joining a lemony citrus scent. So far, it had certainly lived up to the hype.

I tasted the orange peel first and it was joined by some banana and coriander in slightly lesser doses. And there was the wheat as well. The body was medium-light, towards the latter, and it had a nice, solid fizz to it. With a swallow, all of the flavors mellowed just a bit and some bitterness became apparent while the orange peel taste lingered.

What really stuck out for me was an overall "fuzziness", as my notes say. The flavors were gentle, for want of a better way of saying it. Nothing very sharp or sprightly. It tasted like the flavors were all in disarray and then came a soft, effervescent blanket which put everything right. All the edges were rounded and rogue piquancies were checked. I don't think I've ever tasted anything quite like it in a beer.

This is an excellent beer and certainly tasted like an exemplar of the American witbier. It is flavorful yet light and mellow. Simply wonderful stuff. It should come as no surprise, really, as it embodies the adage "Practice makes perfect". Allagash has been brewing it for 26 years so it ought to be good. And I am very glad it's still around instead of having been discarded in favor of something trendier.

Junk food pairing: Belgians love their frites so bust open a bag of Andy Capp's Cheddar Fries to go with your Allagash White.

George Hodgson + Pierre Celis + James Harrison = Blister in the Sun by Wisconsin Brewing Company

Blister in the Sun is Wisconsin Brewing Company's latest summer seasonal. Billed as an "India White Lager" this creation of Kirby Nelson's minion Clint Lohman takes the Belgian wit, adds more hops, and then lagers it. When I first heard of the brew I recalled that Coney Island did something similar with their Albino Python. How would this creation compare?

I got a chance to chat with Herr Lohman a few years ago when he was Scott Manning's minion at Vintage. It was either a pre-Great Taste event or a Craft Beer Week one. I found him to be a very pleasant fellow and fun to chat with so I'm happy that one of his creations has been bottled and is being distributed throughout the land. It's also nice to see WBC innovate with lagers. In some of my more officious posts here I've opined that Nelson and WBC ought to stop trying to jump on the IPA bandwagon and instead take advantage of the presence of a brewmaster whose reputation is based on 30 or more years of lager brewing. They've split the difference here with a lager whose style is prefaced with the dreaded "India".

Blister in the Sun is a spin-off of the Belgian wit. The witbier (or white beer) is a wheat ale known for being light on the hops and instead having a flavor that highlights coriander and orange peel. Lohman's creation is light gold/deep yellow in color which seems to be a bit darker than your average witbier. Blister is rather clear also unlike a traditional witbier. I presume the beer's clarity is due to the lagering process as opposed to an absence of wheat. My pour got a foamy white head which lasted for quite a while. The brew is quite effervescent with lots of bubbles going up. A very pretty beer to be sure.

The India in this India white lager was quite apparent in the nose with grapefruit bitterness from the Amarillo hops being quite prominent. There was also some coriander and a bit of bready sweetness to be had as well. With Blister being 7% A.B.V. I was expecting a fair amount of malt flavor and a body with a bit of heft. My expectations were met, for the most part. It had a medium body and there was definitely some bready malt flavor to be had but it undergirded more grapefruit hop bitterness as well as the coriander and the mellower fruitiness of the Nelson Sauvin hops. The orange peel tasted much sweeter than I anticipated as it blended with the malt to provide some contrast to the hops.

The beer finished fairly dry with the citrus hop flavor becoming more herbal and the typical clean lager taste.

I chatted with Scott Manning over at Vintage not too long and he said that Lohman had a real affinity for the Amarillo/Nelson Sauvin combination during his tenure there so he wasn't surprised by Blister in the Sun's use of these hops. They contribute lots of citrus and fruit flavors which taste quite refreshing on a hot summer day but also belie the fact that this is a fairly big beer at 7% A.B.V. You'll want to sip this stuff in the shade instead of quaffing in quantity.

Having lectured you about how and where to drink Blister in the Sun I shall say that I found it much tastier than I thought I would. India anything beers are a turn off for me because of over-hopping. While the hops are certainly prominent here, they are not completely overwhelming and do allow the other flavors of the beer to come through instead of doing a blitzkrieg attack on my tongue. I also appreciated how the coriander and grainy flavors provided contrast to the hops. Blister in the Sun is the aestival version of a barleywine in winter – a heartier beer to sip while enjoying the weather of the season.

Junk food pairing: Pair Blister in the Sun with spicy foods like Jalapeño Cheddar Chex Mix or Lay's Sriracha Potato Chips.

Rolling Out the Summer Brews - 5 Lizard by 5 Rabbit

With the weather finally moving into summer territory I thought the time was right for some 5 Lizard, a Latin-style witbier by Chicago's 5 Rabbit. I first time I had it was at The Great Taste of the Midwest a year or two ago and loved it on that 80+ degree day. A fantastic summer brew. The witbier is a Belgian wheat beer commonly spiced with coriander and bitter orange peel. Here the folks at 5 Rabbit replace the orange with lime and give it a tropical twist with the addition of passion fruit.

5 Lizard poured a hazy yellow and had a nice, frothy white head. (I believe both of these characteristics are due to the wheat.) The glass really glowed in the sun on my porch. It was well carbonated too. Upon smelling it, my nose was struck by the passion fruit first and foremost but there was also a slight bit of herbal hoppiness in there.

The beer has a light and bubbly mouthfeel along with a lovely creaminess on the tongue which I think it owes to the oats in the grain bill. The passion fruit is prominent here with its succulent sweet and sour flavor cozying up to your tastebuds. The tanginess of the lime was also present making this a very fruit forward beer with the carbonation accenting these flavors. While fainter, the coriander was unmistakable. To top things off there was also some graininess present that was vaguely sweet. That's a lot of flavors to juggle and 5 Lizard pulls it off well. The fruitiness dominates, to be sure, but the other flavors don't let it run away with the show. Everything balances out in the end.

The brewery states that 5 Lizard has Motueka hops in it which I discovered to be a variety from New Zealand that has a citrus/tropical fruit flavor and a Noble hop aroma. While I caught the aroma, I'm not sure about the flavor. I didn't find it hoppy; then again, this is probably the first and only beer using Motueka that I've ever had and was expecting more of the Noble flavor since it was in the aroma. More fool me.

The finish is smooth with the lime zestiness and more passion fruit goodness that lingers for a short time.

I have to admit that I liked 5 Lizard even more than when I had it at The Great Taste. My tongue hadn't been battered with a dozen other brews when I had it this go round like it had been at the festival. It is light and smooth plus it has a delightful myriad of flavors that balance well. At 4.3% ABV this beer is quite sessionable and incredibly refreshing.

Junk food pairing: 5 Lizard pairs well with friend plantain chips.