Blanche De Bruxelles / Manneken Pis Belgian White - Brasserie Lefèbvre SA

magictacosinus

California

3.2/5  rDev -14.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured out of a 750ml bottle into a tulip glass. Freshness date is present, but is too blurred out to be legible.

Pours a straw yellow color that's complete with an odd, gray contour. There's an initial, generous head, but it eventually dwindles down to nothing. Despite low carbonation, there's slight cloudiness, and the yeast seems to be meshed well with the rest of the beer. Sloppy looking at first, but still an authentic wit overall.

Slight funky aromas caused by the yeast appeal in the initial whiff, followed by slightly dry hops and light maltiness. The advertised coriander and orange peel are both surprisingly present in the aroma, although they seem to lightly perfume the malts as opposed to overpower the senses. Tarty, slightly fruity, and well balanced, although not too explosive.

The initial flavors are surprisingly maltier than expected, although there's an immediate bitter aftertaste followed by mellow, relaxing aromas of orange, lemon, and seasonal spices. No alcohol is present, and at the same time, there's no sweetness to speak of that may have been able to mask the rather bland malt aftertaste. I do enjoy those fruity flavors, albeit subtle ones, yet there's something missing here for me. Is the lack of any sweetness? Is it too filtered for a wit? Are the malts not bready enough? It could be the latter, as this beer is ridiculously thin - thinner than even the macro versions of Hoegaarden that you find out here in the West. I personally like my wits to be juicier than this, which is usually aided by adding thicker texture and yeastier notes. This is very watery, and as it warms up, it becomes apparent that the key ingredients seems to separate from each other.

A rather mediocre witbier, even coming from Belgium. The other person I had this with told me it tasted like "rice" as it warmed up. While I don't exactly agree, it does indeed get grainier and more astringent as it sits, and none of the yeasty phenolic notes intended for these types of beers end up sprouting out. For the price ($8), it's not the worst, but it is sadly underwhelming overall.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2012 07:49:38 | More by magictacosinus

UncleBuccs

Arizona

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

06-19-2013 03:58:08 | More by UncleBuccs

larbush

Illinois

2.5/5  rDev -33%

06-19-2013 02:04:01 | More by larbush

Mebuzzard

Colorado

3.23/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3

Well, this one bottomed out my expectations. Nothing fancy here, and very few, if any, spices or herbs. What?

Pours a hazy, pale golden, 1 finger head that dwindled to a collar

Faded lemon and pomelo in the aroma. Nothing sharp or spicy, kind of dull. Nothing bad, either.

The feel really kills this beer. It's like a filmy, lemon coating that the carbonation *should* take away, but doesn't. And that's too bad, because the flavors are damaged by it. Lemon zest turns to lemon film. Pomelo turns to nothing.
A lawnmowing beer, if cold

Serving type: can

06-18-2013 05:29:33 | More by Mebuzzard

falconxman

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -6.2%

06-16-2013 17:34:02 | More by falconxman

gtermi

Texas

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

06-16-2013 05:11:55 | More by gtermi

Satsuma

Florida

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

06-16-2013 04:00:57 | More by Satsuma

Vogie

Michigan

4/5  rDev +7.2%

06-15-2013 23:19:28 | More by Vogie

Beric

Michigan

3.96/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Serving: 16oz can into footed pilsener
Served: 15 June 2013

Appearance: A hazy light yellow. Color wise, it almost looks like an unfiltered pilsener. When pouring, you get a nice pure-white two finger head that rather rapidly dissipates. Mega-carbonation visible as the bubbles stream up from the bottom of the glass. You can see particulate suspended in the beer, but it doesn't look like yeast. Maybe this particulate is the 'spice' that the can claims is inside.

Smell: An outstanding spiced, citrusy smell. Smells fresh and clean. Very inviting and curious smelling. Smells like it will be a sweet tasting beer.

Taste: Basically the same as the smell- spiced and citrusy. Some of the banana and clove tastes evident of wheat beer styles, but nothing too overpowering on either end of the spectrum. This beer tastes better as the initial carbonation starts to diminish after being set out for a while.

Mouthfeel: Heavily carbonated, with bubbles that feel large on the tongue. This counterbalances the full bodied feel from the suspended matter floating around in the beer. I think I would want to have just slightly less carbonation to emphasize the unfiltrated nature rather than seem to diminish its effects. As I kept drinking this and the carbonation started to come out of the beer, it started tasting more how I wanted it to. Overall, this is a good beer and above average, but certainly less than anything astoundingly notable.

Serving type: can

06-15-2013 23:18:04 | More by Beric

djre4orm

Virginia

4/5  rDev +7.2%

06-13-2013 19:53:02 | More by djre4orm

InspectorBob

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

06-12-2013 18:46:05 | More by InspectorBob

RobertColianni

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

06-12-2013 16:35:24 | More by RobertColianni

Luweezy

Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -26.3%

06-11-2013 02:07:36 | More by Luweezy

Flounder57

Massachusetts

3.74/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

16.5 oz can was poured into a large snifter.

Appearance: This beer poured a two finger billowy head that reduced to a thin layer. It is a hazy with little visibility and some bubbles coming up through the glass.

Smell: sweet, bready, spicy, pepper, and a little citrus.

Taste: Same as above with a little bit of vanilla, apple, and pear.

Mouthfeel: A bit chewy, smooth, medium to full bodied from being unfiltered, and low to medium carbonation.

Overall: This beer is truly a classic that one can enjoy from time to time. I know I will.

Serving type: can

06-10-2013 05:08:06 | More by Flounder57

juicebox

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

06-09-2013 19:38:27 | More by juicebox

safaricook

Netherlands

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

06-08-2013 16:55:55 | More by safaricook

mkomalley

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

06-07-2013 05:35:28 | More by mkomalley

Ant4711

South Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -6.2%

06-06-2013 15:12:18 | More by Ant4711

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.8/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Served in a shaker pint glass at Bigby's Pour House.

I've recommended this beer so many times that I've forgotten I haven't actually had it myself. Wow. Anyway, this stuff pours a cloudy straw topped by a finger of white foam. The nose comprises cracked wheat, coriander, clove, lemon zest, and a pinch of black pepper. The taste brings in more of the same, with the emphasis placed on the spices, though the lemony wheat surely isn't mild. The body is a hefty light, with a light moderate carbonation and a slightly drying finish. Overall, a solid, spicy wit, worthy of all of those recommendations I've given out in the past.

Serving type: on-tap

06-06-2013 01:07:07 | More by TMoney2591

Rihup

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +20.6%

06-01-2013 23:37:02 | More by Rihup

iRollFlaccid

Illinois

3.48/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

From a bottle from whole foods. Pulled it from the back of the shelf trying to avoid that... that is in the light. A decent witbier I've had on tap that has continued to make me say "meh". By no means am I a beer snob, but I expected more from Belgium.

The beer has a lovely golden haze and smells of delicious Belgian yeast with a possible hint of lemongrass. A hefty body of carbonation with foam lacing apparent but disappearing as we speak. A mild lemony taste with a faint taste of wheat and sweetness.

In all, a slightly less than balanced brew from Lefebvre SA that I expected more of. By no means is it bad, but when it warms it becomes brain-ier than expected. Surprisingly disappointed for my four pack that costs around $12.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2013 07:41:54 | More by iRollFlaccid

StaveHooks

Oklahoma

3.43/5  rDev -8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pint can to pint glass

A - Pours a cloudy yellow with 1 finger of white foamy head. Average lacing.

S - Stone fruit, floral and grassy hops, wheat, lemons, white pepper, light banana

T - Same as the nose, lots of grainy wheat, lemons, peaches, bananas, soft peppery yeast adds some heft. Finishes mildy spicy, slightly acidic, and fruity.

M - Soft medium body, moderate creamy carbonation.

Had this after mowing the lawn. It hit the spot on a nice spring day. Light and refreshing with good fruit flavor.

Serving type: can

05-28-2013 19:02:15 | More by StaveHooks

vandemonian

Maryland

3.38/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Blanche De Bruxelles Belgian White isn't a particularly good witbier. It's cool to have a Belgian witbier in a can though!

A: Cloudy yellow colour and a big 2 cm head. Looks lovely! 4.5

S: Belgian yeast and lemon. Some stale chalk aroma. 3.5

T: Sharp wheaty base with lemon and some unpleasant vegetable kinda tastes. 3

M: Nice and foamy. 4

O: 3.5

Serving type: can

05-28-2013 03:14:05 | More by vandemonian

stampfler07

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

05-28-2013 00:18:53 | More by stampfler07

Kingcurio

Oklahoma

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%

05-27-2013 23:27:08 | More by Kingcurio