Wolaver's Ben Gleason's White Ale
Otter Creek Brewing

Wolaver's Ben Gleason's White AleWolaver's Ben Gleason's White Ale
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From:
Otter Creek Brewing
 
Vermont, United States
Style:
Witbier
ABV:
4.34%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.8 | pDev: 11.84%
Reviews:
27
Ratings:
31
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 27, 2024
Added:
Apr 11, 2009
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Photo of Lexluthor33
Reviewed by Lexluthor33 from New York

3.93/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Golden yellow color with a frothy head good lace action.
aroma of citrus and hops.
taste of citrus, hops, malts, grains.
feel was light body , medium carbonation and a zesty finish.
Feb 27, 2024
 
Rated: 4 by wrightst from Maryland

Oct 03, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by matjack85 from Illinois

Jan 27, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by bigeyedfish89 from Maryland

Dec 19, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by ElGallo from New Hampshire

Nov 19, 2011
Photo of jsdunlop
Reviewed by jsdunlop from North Carolina

4.05/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This is beer was bottled on March 18 2010, so it's about a year old...picked it up for a discounted price at a local gas station, let's see how it tastes a year later...

Pours out a hazy yellow-golden color, lots of sediment floating around, white whispy, frothy head formed and quickly dissipated. Not much lacing going on with this one.

Smell consists of some wheat, bit of earthy-musty yeast, and some light fruits.

Surprisingly, this tastes pretty damn good. Lots of citrusy flavors mingle around with a fairly bready and biscuity malt backbone, bit of spice throughout. Light sweetness seems to go good with the orange peel, slight grainy aftertaste with a touch of bitterness towards the end.

Mouthfeel is refreshing and light, with a moderate body and matching carbonation.

Overall, this beer seems to have held up just fine a year past its bottled-by date. Very refreshing beer, a nice change of pace. I'd buy it again.
Feb 24, 2011
Photo of kingcrowing
Reviewed by kingcrowing from Vermont

3.41/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
On tap poured into a tulip.

Pours a very hazy wheat golden color with a nice white finger white head. Nose is wheat, citrus and fruity.

Mouthfeel is very thick and creamy with a sharp bite and a very clean finish. It's quite easy drinking, one of the better wits.
Dec 18, 2010
Photo of Metalmonk
Reviewed by Metalmonk from North Carolina

3.66/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Pours a cloudy sunny yellow color (yes, I swirled), with a creamy head that, while thin, sticks around a very long time and leaves a lot of lace splattered on the glass.

Aroma is mild. Very mild. What's there is obvious in a way that you don't need the label to know it: orange peel, coriander, wheat, and a faint trace of yeast. Par for the course/style, neither impressive nor offensive, just there.

Taste brings a nice earthy, grainy component, staying soft in feel and flavor the whole time. There's a hint of sweetness here that reminds of a Belgian pale ale, or some kind of honey-like ale...also soft and subtle. The orange peel is more present than the coriander. Fairly dry, and while no insane bonk over the head of beer greatness, it's quite enjoyable.

Feels soft and silky in the mouth, and the ample carbonation only adds depths and does not detract from the smoothness of texture.

I know it's organic, but it really does drink about as earthy as any witbier I've had, feeling, smelling, looking and tasting completely unadulterated; solid and worthy of any witbier fan's time and money.
Nov 21, 2010
Photo of MoreThanWine
Reviewed by MoreThanWine from Massachusetts

2.16/5  rDev -43.2%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Maybe something went wrong with my sample. In addition to some smell of coriander and citrus peels I get a hint of that unmistakable smell after a woman gets her hair permed. And that's not really the same smell as skunking, it was something else about it.

It poured a 1" head. Light yellow color. Taste to me wasn't bad but it also wasn't much better than a Bud Light or any of dozens of comparable beers.
Sep 21, 2010
Photo of jdhilt
Reviewed by jdhilt from New Hampshire

3.35/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a one finger white head that fades quickly leaving traces of lace. Cloudy amber color, with some yeast left in bottle. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Lemon, pepper nose. Flavor is lemon, pepper and yeast. $1.60 for a 12oz bottle from Beverage Warehouse Winooski, VT.
Aug 18, 2010
Photo of OtherShoe2
Reviewed by OtherShoe2 from Massachusetts

3.68/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Received a deep gold brew with a foamy white head. Some light lacing. Light haze.

Some spice and lemon combined with yeast and wheat. It works, although the lemon has a bitter/herbal element to it.

A decent wit, you get clean refreshing sweet wheat, with some bitter lemon and some light white pepper spice. Not overdone and well balanced. A touch on the mild side, but the light body and carbonation are right. Quite drinkable and refreshing, even though it is a little bit on the weak side.
Aug 15, 2010
Photo of ujsplace
Reviewed by ujsplace from Oregon

3.89/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Poured into a nonic.

Pours a hazy pale orange brew with a white fluffy head that disappears fairly quickly and leaves minimal lacing.

Smells of wheat, yeasts, orange peel and spices.

This brew has a nice wheat flavor and good spiciness. The bitterness from the orange peel and the peppery coriander makes a nice spiced flavor.

The mouthfeel is medium/light with good active carbonation.

A nice Witbier that suits the style nicely. Would easily recommend for gatherings.
Aug 14, 2010
Photo of magine
Reviewed by magine from Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Poured into a Hoegaarden glass.

Pours a cloudy yellow/light orange color. Has a wispy lace layer head that leaves a slight lace behind as you drink. Looks like a standard witbier.

Brew smells of wheat, yeasts, orange and coriander. Nice smell.

Brew is crisp and slightly spicy initially, nice carbonation. Then the brew finishes smooth and you can really taste the wheat and the orange as well as the yeast and spice. Very good tasting brew. Almost has the complexity of a good hefe. Finishes and drinks very refreshing. Nice balance.

This is one of the standout Witbier's I have had. A very drinkable, very tasty brew.Very refreshing, could easily session this one all night.
Jul 30, 2010
Photo of kenziek3259
Reviewed by kenziek3259 from Connecticut

4.19/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
This beer poured a hazy golden straw yellow. The finger thick white head that first appeared, disappeared into thin a lacing. Nothing residual was left behind to cling to the sides of the glass.

It smelled upfront of clove and coriander, pleasant and not over powering.

This was a enjoyable, easy drinking beer. The body was nice, and the carbonation I feel enhanced the taste of clove and coriander. Being my first organic beer I would easily drink this again.
Apr 30, 2010
Photo of phillipzayas
Reviewed by phillipzayas from Texas

4.25/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
I really love this beer. It kind of reminds me of Duvel, but not so spicy. The apprearance is really clear which isnt usual for a white ale, but it is nice. The smell is awesome, sweet and spicy. The taste is AWESOME in my HHO. Taste is really similar to a Duvel. Mouthfeel left a bit to be desired. I would have like a bit more finish in this beer.

Overall a really spot on beer. MUST HAVE!!
Feb 26, 2010
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

3.92/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Flax gold with lemon juice accents and multiple streams of upwardly rushing bubbles. The cream colored cap looks pretty good too and is starting to produce a few squiggles of sea foam lace.

The nose is exactly what a witbier nose should be. There's plenty of orange zestiness and an ideal amount of spicy coriander. The Belgian yeast is responsible for a few additional esters that are more than welcome additions to the party.

Ben Gleason's White Ale is proud to be organic beer. From where I sit, the only thing that matters is whether or not it's good beer. It definitely is. The most remarkable thing is that this bottle is almost 11 months old. Mouthfeel is the only characteristic that seems to have taken a hit.

The malt backbone is on the skimpy side, but then that isn't unexpected for the style. The beer has a crackery pale maltiness and plenty of citrus and spice. A little more sweetness would be nice, rather than the 'tonic water added' bitterness that is partly due to overly aggressive carbonation. From a flavor standpoint, WBGWA is right on the money.

The mouthfeel is thinnish and overbubbled, although neither one is a deal-breaker. It was almost certainly better last summer and fall, so that has to be taken into account. Besides, both improve in the bottom half of the bottle.

Ben Gleason is an organic wheat farmer who lives about 10 miles from the brewery and supplies the wheat used in this offering. The beer named in his honor is a wonderful wit that I would be happy to drink again.
Feb 19, 2010
Photo of allengarvin
Reviewed by allengarvin from Texas

4.44/5  rDev +16.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
This pale-gold beer is hazy, with a head that fades away very quickly, but leaves a bit of lacing.Very good wit aroma, though: a large surfeit of coriander makes for a very perfumy nose, together with a nice citrus zest. Top notch wit flavor as well. If you like a coriander-filled wit, this is for you. Good notes of wheat, bitter orange, and yeasty clove. Bitterness is high for the style, but fits in well, drying out the finish. Nice, spritzy mouthfeel.

Very yummy beer from Wolaver/Otter Creek--probably the best of their line-up I've had.
Dec 17, 2009
Photo of GratefulBeerGuy
Reviewed by GratefulBeerGuy from New Hampshire

3.75/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
It's a hazy yet, bright colored yellow-golden color, a rather hefty all-white head starts out with a bang and then dissipates pretty quick but it's right on style-wise.

A very nice and hearty aroma, plenty of dry and musty wheat, not tooo much corriander and spices, just enough it seems. No need to over do it with the added goodies and this one seems just about right. The yeast provides more hearty aroma's and some gentle sourness with a hint of lemmony-zest.

The flavor is a thrist-qeunching hearty wheat and yeast, gentle complexity with spices that fit right in. Gentle citric zest does not overwhelm and a simple, light wheat malt with a hearty and rather complex yeast. (for an American version of this) Sure this is light and refreshing for summer, but it fits in well with the harvest season too! The feel is light and buzzy, just right.
Nov 10, 2009
Photo of westsideblaze
Reviewed by westsideblaze from California

2.98/5  rDev -21.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Not that satisfied with this beer. I think I expected more. It has a nice boquet out of the bottle but the mouth feel and finish are short lived. Look elsewhere, organic or not.

A - Burnt orange hue.
S - Boquet of bananas, ripe orange and coriander.
T - Navel orange with an undertone of wet wheat.
M - Light and uninspiring.
D - One beer and your moving on to something else.
Oct 14, 2009
Photo of smcolw
Reviewed by smcolw from Massachusetts

3.52/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5
White head that settles quickly. Leaves web-like lace. Greenish tinge to the otherwise straw-yellow liquid. Crystal clear, surprisingly

Semi-sweet malted wheat aroma.

Spritzy carbonation, thin liquor. This beer is all wheat. The aftertaste is short lived. Easy beer to drink, good on a hot day.
Aug 16, 2009
Wolaver's Ben Gleason's White Ale from Otter Creek Brewing
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 31 ratings