Witbier in the Corner News 11-28-2007

Our sixth weekly craft beer column in Auburn’s Corner News. This one focused on Witbiers available in the Auburn area. The thumbnail to the right links to an image of the Corner News article, or click here for a .pdf version. The original text is copied below. The end result appearing in the paper may be a little bit different than the original due to space and formatting issues.

Spice up your beer choice
By Stephen Hamilton

For those who have been reading about the interesting beers in this column every week, but don’t have enough guts to venture away from your light American lager, give this a try: Belgian Witbier. Don’t let the name scare you away—this beer is a great crossover beer that you won’t regret. In fact, it is such a great crossover beer that the mega brewery Coors has inched its way into the microbrew market with their own version, Blue Moon.

The 400 year old Witbier style has a moderate sweetness in aroma and flavor, and is hazy and light gold in color. The haziness comes from the fact that it is typically made from around 50% wheat. Although it looks similar to its cousin, the German Hefeweizen, it is uniquely different due to various spices added to it. It is commonly brewed with coriander and sweet orange peel giving it a citrusy and spice flavor, but it can also contain chamomile, cumin, cinnamon, and Grains of Paradise. It typically has a low to no hop flavor, and any hop flavor will not get in the way of the spices. The beer finishes with a slight refreshing tartness urging you to have another sip.

This refreshing beer is one you won’t want to miss, and luckily you don’t have to drive to Atlanta to pick one up. You can easily purchase two commercial examples of this style, Hoegaarden (4.9% abv) and Blue Moon (5.4% abv) in Auburn. This beer doesn’t age as well due to its lower alcohol range and its spices. Over time the citrusy and spice flavors will begin to fade, so it may be best to find this beer fresh either by checking the freshness date on the bottle or having it on tap. Fortunately you can find it on tap at local Auburn restaurants to include Locos, Buffalos, and the Mellow Mushroom. This beer typically pairs well with salads and desserts, so have one at the beginning and end of your next meal!

Stephen Hamilton is active duty in the US Army, and is attending Auburn to earn his Master’s Degree in Software Engineering. He has been homebrewing beer for 9 years.

Filed under: Commercial Beer, In the News