Day 18: Weïti

Label featuring a Guyanese jaguar

Weïti

Origin: Jeune Gueule, Brasserie Guyanaise (Matoury, French Guiana)

Style: Witbier

ABV: 5%

IBU: Not listed

Description: When I was in elementary school, I used to watch a kids TV game show called Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Contestants acting as junior detectives would use their geography knowledge to capture fictional villains on the loose. And during the Bonus Round (my favourite part of the show), the final contestant in the episode would try to correctly identify different countries on a giant unmarked world map for a chance to win a trip. You might wonder, What does this show have to do today’s beer? Well, very little. But when I saw the beer’s from French Guiana, I wished I’d paid more attention to the show so I didn’t need Google Maps to tell me this country is located in South America, bordering Brazil and Suriname.

Brasserie Guyanaise started off as a pico-brewery (which produces less than half of an average nanobrewery’s annual output). Less than six months after it made its first batch in 2011,  the brewery expanded its production tenfold to keep up with demand. A good thing, since it’s the only craft brewery in the entire country.

I can tell right from the get-go that tasting this beer is going to be quite an adventure. Uncapping the Weïti, I see bubbles trying desperately to escape the bottleneck, a sign that carbonation is quite high. It pours a cloudy straw colour with a thick, fizzy white head, topped off with some clusters of sediment from the bottom of the bottle. A little unappealing but has little affect on the taste of the beer.

Its bold aroma is of candied lemon and orange peels and cloves, reminding me of mulled cider during the holiday season (How fitting!). Light-bodied, it tastes of pithy bitterness of citrus peels, fruity and tart. I would’ve liked the spicy, peppery characteristic of a witbier to be a little more pronounced in the Weïti, as I have a difficult time detecting it.  Nonetheless, a fine Belgian style wheat ale I’d like to try when it’s freshly made, perhaps with some pad thai.

Typically considered as the perfect summer beer, witbier can still be enjoyed year-round due to this style’s popularity. Try Victoria, B.C.’s Driftwood White Bark, , Kili Wit from Hood River’s Logsdon Farm Brewery, and from Italy – Birrificio Brùton‘s Bianca, each with its own distinctive notes of coriander and orange peels.

Though I may have trouble identifying places on a map, what’s clear to me is that delicious witbiers are being made around the world and I want to try them all. -C.T.

Day 17: Marmalade Porter

Marmalade Porter

Origin: Wold Top Brewery (Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK)

Style: Porter

ABV: 5%

IBU: Not Listed

Description: On the Eastern coast of Northern England sits a 600 acre farm that has been worked by the same family for generations. The 80s and 90s were a hard time to be in the agriculture business, so the current generation looked at their options for diversification. What did they decide on? Beer!! It seems like they made a good choice. Wold Top Brewery now produces an extensive line of award-winning cask and bottle-conditioned ales that have found distribution all over the world.

This offering from Wold Top Brewery is a porter produced from barley grown on their land and malted on site. Water is drawn from a borehole and chalk filtered to feed their brewhouse. Their source of hops isn’t mentioned in any of the literature I’ve found, but all of their ingredients certainly combine to produce a fresh, clean-drinking brew.

The pour is typical of a porter, with a thin creamy head that quickly dissipates to rim the surface of the brew. The colour is a very dark brown with amber and gold hues towards the edges.

Although the body is thinner than I prefer on a porter, it does produce more than its fair share of aromatics and flavour notes. Claiming to be triple hopped, I’ve found a decent amount of citrus hops wafts from the glass accompanied by a malty sweetness. On the palate the bitter bite is most noticeable, the hops playing well with roasted coffee and chocolate notes that border on burnt. Citrus also plays a role here, though it is quite muted.  My least favourite trait of this beer is the finish, which I find quick and dry without any lingering tastes to hang my hat on.

The best food pairing for this would be a dessert, preferable creamy and sweet. Crème brûlée would do nicely, or a generous slice of chocolate cake with creamy layers and a wafer crunch. Perhaps I shouldn’t write these posts while hungry. Yum, beer and cake.

Overall I was a little disappointed in this beer. It just doesn’t seem to have any legs to really stand it up as a quality beverage. There are certainly interesting tastes there, but overall it lacks punch. It does hold the distinction of being a certified gluten free beer, as does a good portion of the Wold Top line, so I am interested to try the other two offerings on Legacy Liquor Store shelves, the Against The Grain bitter and the Scarborough Fair IPA. Or, if you are interested to try a few other porters, I would suggest the Driftwood Blackstone Porter or Samuel Smith Famous Taddy Porter, both nice examples of the style. – C.L.

Day 11: Tropical Christmas Saison

Tropical Christmas Saison

Origin: Cervejaria Wäls (Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil)

Style: Saison

ABV: 7%

IBU: Not Listed

Description:  I have always been confused with saisons in winter. The going story is the style came from the farm for the field workers in the summer. So why make a beer like this for Christmas?

Another mystery is the ingredients: coriander and orange peel. That is the classic ingredients for a Belgian wit. Again the questions come out – why in a saison?

The beer itself pours a lovely medium amber with a thin head. The nose is fairly robust and I can pick up the raisins and figs they used coming through. Strange for a saison but I like a brewer who plays. The pepper that I expect from a good saison is missing and I get a orange gumdrop. The finish is really sweet and cloying. This is a fruit bomb and full of the suggested tropical. Good thing I am wearing my Hawaiian shirt.

For a saison try the Dupont or the Farmhand Ale from Driftwood and pair with fish or salad.

Now I think they have made a Belgian wit and done a very cool example of it. Fun to drink and will go with a big pig roast with fruit. Why they called it a saison I have no idea but I have seen enough bad translation signs that I am willing to look the other way. Hey, I am the guy wearing the Hawaiian shirt in December! – C.B.