It seems that I am on something of a wheat beer kick of late. That shouldn’t be too surprising, since it’s summer and a tall cool and quenching glass of wheat beer is just the thing to help chase away the summer heat. Recently, I wrote of review of Dogfish Head Festina Peche, an interpretation with liberties taken on a Berliner style wheat beer.

Tonight, I’m sipping a bottle of Flying Dog Woody Creek White Belgian Style Wit, another wheat beer, but this time Belgian style. While the Germans are very particular with what they use to make their beer, the Belgians have a habit of tossing in anything they think might taste good, at least once. That may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but only a little bit. The Belgians do add spice to their wheat beer. Here in the case of wit, they add coriander and orange peel, usually from Curacao oranges.

Interestingly, the Belgians call their wheat beers by the same name as the Germans. “Wit” means white (“Weiss” is German for white, and they call their wheats by that name). In both cases, the reference is to the cloudy white appearance that wheat imparts to the final product.

Flying Dog names their wit after the town of Woody Creek, where their head brewer is reputed to be an unofficial mayor (or so they say on their bottles). They make the stuff with Belgian pilsner malt, wheat and oats, and a smidgeon of Hallertau hops. Alcoholic strength is average at 4.8% by volume.

I pour my bottle of Flying Dog Woody Creek White Belgian Style Wit into a Flying Dog logo pint glass. That doesn’t really make the beer taste any better than any other pint glass would, of course, but hey, it’s a beer geek thing. The beer is a cloudy yellowish white in color with a very light head formation and a soft, spicy citric nose.

I take my first sip, and I’m surprised at how light this beer is, even for a wheat. I do get some crackery wheat flavor and a crisp tartness before I start to pick up the spices. I get a little of the coriander at first, then some of the citric orange rind. The citrus flavor picks up a bit in the finish, and refreshes but the finish seems a little thin.

Overall, not a bad effort, but not an exceptionally great one either. My main complaint here is that the body is a tad thin and the spices on the light side. A little more coriander and orange would certainly (ahem) spice things up a bit. Worth checking out for the hot summer weather, but not something I would go out of my way looking for. But since Flying Dog's ales are so widely distributed, you probably shouldn't have to.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

 

 

 



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