Witch's Wit - The Lost Abbey

Zorro

California

3.55/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Cloudy gold colored beer with a small white colored head.

Smell is spicy with a strong coriander scent. Little bit of bread and vanilla in the scent. Little bit of ginger and wild flowers in the scent.

Starts out neutral with a bit of bitter in the finish. Mildly flavored. Not a lot of complexity here.

Mouthfeel is good.

Drinkability is just OK. This would be an OK beer at $7 a six pack but at $9 for a 750 ML bottle I'm feeling cheated.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2010 02:21:33 | More by Zorro

jrallen34

Illinois

3.73/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

750ml bottle into a De Stuise glass...A darker than average with, hazy, not the nice neon color I like, decent white head, a little light and whispy, ok retention but not great lacing...Super strong aroma, too strong burns the nose hairs, coriander, wheat, lots of alcohol...The taste is thankfully much lighter, loses the bite and the alcohol, leaves what you should get from a wit, a light refreshing yet flavoful beer. Sweet to start, wheat, a little honey, coriander, oranges, a little ginger....Feel is nice to start but a very light and watery finish...Easy to drink.

A wit that's all over the place, but after a rough start enjoyable enough to barely recommend.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2010 23:32:10 | More by jrallen34

tedsox31

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 750 ml into a tulip glass. The color is pale golden/orange and a small white head that quickly dissipates. Some lacing.

The smell is very nice. There is a strong presence of citrus, both from fruit and hop additions. Some coriander is also evident.

The taste follows the aroma, with citrus very strongly up front and coriander in the middle-back. The end is somewhat wheaty in character.

The mouthfeel is carbonated and dry. Very refreshing.

A very drinkable beer with more depth than your typical wit. I would go back to this beer again and again.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2010 21:55:29 | More by tedsox31

drummstikk

California

4.22/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Outstanding spices meld with tangy wheat and Belgian funk in a delicious and refreshing beer. Color is a hazy straw and carbonation is nice and brisk, perhaps 3V. Smell is of citrus, and orange and citrus flavors are balanced by a noticeable hop bitterness and not quite enough Belgian yeast character. The sweet spices accentuate the residual sugar to make the beer slightly too sweet. But these are quibbles one only notices in beers that are close to glory as Witch's Wit.

Serving type: on-tap

08-09-2010 07:07:53 | More by drummstikk

stimulus

New Jersey

3.15/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

750 mL bottle, corked and caged.

A: Pours a pale gold with a light white head, but no yeast appears to be present.
S: Some light spices, but not your typical wit.
T: Very sweet, sugar and honey appear before the light spice, but the honey/sugar dominate the palate.
M: Light bodied and well carbonated.
D: Just a bit too sweet to drink more than one glass. Honey instead of orange peel and coriander doesn't appeal to me that much.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2010 13:47:43 | More by stimulus

DoubleJ

California

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap in a shaker pint glass at Verdugo Bar, on to the beer:

Urine yellow in color, but it has that "glowing" effect, probably from the cloudy body. Head retention is okay, but i was most impressed with the rings of lacing I was getting. This is a witbier the has some lemon sweetness to it, and ground corinador, which while still brings some spice, isn't too much, but rather "rounded". In the mouthfeel, a light bite of carbonation from the beer comes along with a semi-creamy feel. To summarize this beer, a very respectable witbier.

Serving type: on-tap

07-29-2010 20:15:49 | More by DoubleJ

CraftLoverSD

California

4.4/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I tried this beer for the first time having just found out about Lost Abbey a few weeks ago. This is their new relesae for 2010 that just came out about two weeks ago. I had it in a sampler 4 oz glass. So onward to review:

A - there was a medium - low head of foam on this that went down fairly quickly with little lacing. The color was a typical wheat beer color.

S - I didn't notice anything really sticking out regarding the smell besides the usual wheat.

T - tasted less sweet and had more depth than a typical wheat beer.
D- Very drinkable. I had the 4 oz and was ready for some more. Can't say that for all beers I've tried at breweries.
Overall, great refreshing beer that will plan on coming back for a growler fill for. Great for summer.

Serving type: on-tap

07-19-2010 17:48:03 | More by CraftLoverSD

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Hazy yellow, straw hues with moderately low levels of head and lacing.

S: Wheat, citrus, spices.

T: Decent beer, though slightly odd. The unconventional ingredients Lost Abbey use in brewing this witbier give it a distinctive flavor. This is a very complex beer, especially considering the style and low alcohol.

M: A bit thin. Decent feel.

D: An unusual and cool beer unlike the other witbiers I have had. One small serving was plenty for me. Worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2010 04:47:17 | More by Huhzubendah

WesWes

New York

3.6/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours a nice gold color with a thick frothy white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a light pale and wheat malt scent along with a weak coriander and orange peel spicing. It has a thin citrus feel with a light to mild yeast fruitiness. The taste is decent. It has a rather bland pale and wheat malt flavor. The spicing is weak as is the yeast character. It's watery and not very complex. The mouthfeel is above average. It's a low bodied beer with with adequate carbonation. This is probably the weakest offering from Lost Abbey. It's an easy drinker, but a forgettable wit.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2010 20:13:40 | More by WesWes

charlzm

California

3.88/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Consumed November 29, 2008.

Beer pours a mimosa color with a fine white head.

Aroma of wheat and oranges. Somewhat bitter aroma.

Flavor has a light citrus character and the expected wheat tang. Some coriander. Flavor is quite "wet" (as opposed to dry) and somewhere between light and medium.

Texture is somewhat thinner than expected.

Fine, drinkable witbeer though Hoegaarden has nothing to fear.

Serving type: on-tap

03-14-2010 07:01:17 | More by charlzm

Rayek

Colorado

3.6/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a tulip.

A: My bottle didn't have much of a pop to it when it opened. As such, a strong pour only netted a small foamy head that quickly retreated to a thin ring. The bright peach color had a nice swirling cloud of yeast. A nice amount of lace was left in the beer's wake.

S: Pretty mild. There's a lot of orange at work, plus some lemon and a light sourdough twang.

T: Tart orange rind and lemon zest do most of the work here. A sourdough biscuit flavor has nice toasted quality to it. Bitterness is extremely mild and has just enough of a spicy bite to counterbalance the other flavors. Finishes very tart, with a pronounced yeastiness.

M: The light body is slightly doughy. The carbonation feels low for the style.

D: The low ABV helps this beer go down quick. Very easy to session with. The flavor lacks the traditional Wit spiciness, but is still quite pleasant. A nice pickup.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2010 01:49:06 | More by Rayek

srandycarter

California

3.9/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours murky light honey, stark white head. Leaves fast to ring.

S - Not much there. A little barn fun, but light. A little straw.

T - Definite straw, light malt, nice clean taste.

M - Light bodied, very lager type mouthfeel, good balance and fair coating.

D - Super easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2010 05:06:20 | More by srandycarter

ClassicBrad

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured this 750ml, corked bottle into my DFH signature glass a pale, cloudy, straw yellow. Head fizzled away like soda but left a ring of lace around the glass.

Nose is mostly of pale wheat malt. Not a lot going on with the smell.

Such a crisp and refreshing beer; lacks your traditional coriander spice and orange zest, but makes up with an original burst of wheat malt and a strong suggestions of honey with hints of what I can only describe as dark berry fruit.

Carbonation is vigorous and makes the beer a thirst quenching experience.

Drinkability is average for a beer under 5%, but still feel like I should give it props for being so darn refreshing!

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2010 02:41:49 | More by ClassicBrad

corby112

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a clear golden yellow color with a one finger creamy white head that quickly fades into a thin ring. Not much in the way of lacing.

Bready yeast aroma with crisp light fruit, citrus notes and subtle spice. Hints of apple and lemon peel with some spicy pepper and lemon zest as well as a bit of lemon zest.

Flavor is very similar to the aroma in that it has a nice balance of bready yeast, citrus flavor and subtle spice. The peppery zesty spice is prominent up front with lots of clove and corriander. Light crsip citrus fruit, especially lemon and orange peel with a touch of honey that adds a nice sweet element. This helps balance the spiceiness and subtle bitterness from the hops. Pretty quaffable with a slightly dry finish.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2009 16:39:48 | More by corby112

bulletrain76

California

3.88/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle at the brewery. Hazy blonde with a big white head. Floral yeasty spice and orange/grapefruit aroma. Dry flavor with light wheat and a slightly tart, herbal finish. Light bodied and spritzy. Nor really a traditional wit, but pretty tasty and drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2009 05:34:06 | More by bulletrain76

Mora2000

Texas

3.78/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a glowing, hazy golden color with a small, white head. Smells like you expect a Belgian wit to smell, with spices and malt being the predominant flavor. Taste is corriander and orange, with a finish of lemon. I don't detect any honey in the aroma or flavor even though the bottle says it contains honey. A very drinkable beer and I could drink several of them, but not the best beer of this style I have ever had.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2009 03:00:01 | More by Mora2000

katan

Colorado

4.05/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 mil into a goblet

A - Pours a light golden golden color - very effervescent looking. Not much for head formation, only a light film remains. Not at all hazed like I would expect a wit to be, but this may be a symptom of not dredging up the yeast sediment.

S - A light yeast-like bready scent leads the way, with only the most subtle honey backdrop. No hopping, or any other off-notes present.

T - Starts off with a light malt sweetness that is immediately accompanies by a dry honey flavor. Mid-stream shows only the lightest hint of bittering, no hops. Yeast notes, as well as coriander and orange peel are difficult to find. Finishes with a direct sour-acidic note, indicating some wild yeast introduction. Aftertaste is clean.

M - Moderate to light in body. Comes across dry. Carbonation bite is very light. Clean finish, no after taste or clinging sensations.

D - Very drinkable beer. ABV is easy drinking. Flavors are smooth and well integrated. Sourness is the only portion of this beer which may get just a little bit bothersome.

I always struggle with knowing for sure if the Port/Abbey beers live up to the reputation of their brewer. In this case, I'm very pleased with the results.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2009 03:19:02 | More by katan

nomomentwasted

Oregon

3.93/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this today out a bottle today that I got on sale from Freddy out at Beverages 4 Less. $6.99's a pretty good deal on any Lost Abbey, and I drank it with good friend and fellow BA @tahlstro. Poured into a Hefeweizen glass.

Appearance: Beautiful, just like I'd want a Witbier to look. Unfiltered, opaque, and golden-yellow, with a nice little bit of head and beautiful lacing. Wished for just a little more head as it was relatively minimal, but other than that it was spot-on.

Smell: Light with some spiciness, with sweet honey and clove and a bit of lemon to it. Refreshing and light, but a little less than I was expecting.

Taste: Clean, sweet, and a little clove to the front-end, with a slight bit of sourness on the finish. The honey and wheat are definitely the two main ones here, and I traced a bit of raisin to it as well. Definitely not super-complex or multi-layered, but tasty and super refreshing on this hot San Diego night.

Mouthfeel: Crisp but not too dry, with a nice coating and simple aftertaste of slight sourness.

Drinkability: For the ABV it's actually a bit slower than I'd imagine, but still very quaffable in this summer heat. Served this relatively cool too and was very refreshed. 10 bucks would be steep for this, but on sale it was a great bottle to add to the collection and a very refreshing summer Wit.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2009 05:19:31 | More by nomomentwasted

Arbitrator

California

3.68/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Chilled bottle into a glass, shared a recent tasting. An extra from Tomme Arthur after he replaced a few flat bottles of mine. Thanks Tomme.

A: Pours a clear straw-colored/gold body with a generous off-white head (there were more than a few jokes about the ample carbonation). Retention is poor, but it leave spots of lace down the glass as it recedes.

S: This isn't super pungent, but it has a nice lemon peel aroma, clove, coriander, caramel, banana, and light honey.

T: Slightly white-bread-ish on the tongue at first, but it goes into a lemon-honey cracker flavor. Some oats, wheat, banana in the mid-taste. Gives way to citrus, clove, and coriander in the end taste, with a slightly dry finish. General yeastiness and a slight funk throughout (but I seem to have been the only one that got that).

M: Light-bodied, good carbonation that peppers the tongue and gives it a clean, crisp flavor.

D: Quite a good witbier. Not sure it's worth Lost Abbey's usual premium prices, but I'd get more of this if it were a reasonable price.

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2009 21:59:09 | More by Arbitrator

jwc215

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev -4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to PhxHorn for this!

750 ml bottle:

Pours golden (not cloudy until the last part). Not too great of a head retention. Minimal lacing.

The smell is of orange peel, light coriander, bread, light malt, wheat tang.

The taste of coriander/pepper picks up much more on the taste. Spicy with orange peel, lemon tartness and a wheat tang coming through. There's a bit of a metallic tinge in the spicy finish.

It is light-bodied, but not thin. A firm effervescence and creaminess make it gentle and refreshing on the palate.

A bit too heavy on the coriander for me, but still a solidly refreshing wit.

Personally, I don't understand why a wit would be in any bottle too large to pour it all into the glass at once, since the real "treasure" of the style lies on the bottom of the glass, that needs to be swirled. In large bottles (like this) you have to wait to get through too much of it in order to be able to swirl and pour it if you want to enjoy the sediment on the bottom.

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2009 03:54:26 | More by jwc215

Blakaeris

Iowa

3.03/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours hazy golden with a thick soapy head.

Aroma is very medicinal, bubblegum, powdery and musty, with unidentifiable spices.

Taste is sweet up front. Citrus fruit, lemon grass and bubblegum. finish is medicinal, with lingering nutmeg, coriander, and allspice.

Mouthfeel is light-medium in body. Spritzy.

Overall drinkable, but flavor is disjointed. Oddly medicinal and almost flat tasting. Not my favorite.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2009 01:10:38 | More by Blakaeris

bashiba

Iowa

4.1/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a clean golden color with a thick and sticky white head.

Has a big cotten candy and bubblegum smell with a bit wheat.

The flavor is light and fruity with the bubblegum(bazooka joe) coming through strongly along with a bit of spices and a long wheat finish.

The mouthfeel is light and refreshing with a good bit of carbonation.

Very drinkable, I like it. Excellent belgian white.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2009 01:08:30 | More by bashiba

ALESwhatCURESya

Wisconsin

3.95/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Got this from a friend via the Rare Beer Club

A-Airy whimsy head and hazy golden body. Slight starchy yellowness in the appearance.

S-Lemon peel and coriander are dominant in the aroma. Nothing too overpowering.

T-Sweet and and slightly tart flavor up front. Spices and clove are strong but very welcomed. The hops are there and noticed, but not to intense.

M-Dry throughout with an unexpected level of hop bitterness. The hops dry out the finish and add an earthy touch.

D-This is a very nice beer, but maybe a tad too dry for a refreshing wit. Definitely well done for a tough style, but not my favorite wit.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2009 00:41:45 | More by ALESwhatCURESya

grub

Ontario (Canada)

4.15/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Viggo brought this one over. thanks eric!

750ml bottle, corked and caged. sampled june 7/09.

pours fairly clear pale yellow with a small cap of fine white head. the head drops fast and leaves spotty lace behind.

aroma is great. lightly sweet caramel and honey. cracker and white bread. just a touch of alcohol. lots of nice belgian spice. orange peel, clove, corriander. other light citrus and floral character too.

taste is good. white bread with just the slightest toasting. cracker. hint of alcohol. orange peel. bit of bright floral character. nice belgian spice. low bitterness level. at moments this feels like a lighter tripel. after a few sips i'm noticing the alcohol a bit more and it starts to feel like more than the listed 4.8%. i'm not sure if it's my imagination, but i feel like there's just a touch of brett in here. it's more in the mouthfeel than anything, but there is just a touch of horse blanket and leather.

mouthfeel is great. nice light body with a fairly dry finish.

drinkability is good. nice balance. unlike many american interpretations of belgian styles, i really think lost abbey has nailed this one. often the malt profile won't be quite right, or the spice too obvious, or the sweetness too high. this one scores well in all regards. blindfolded i'd easily guess this was from the other side of the ocean. good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2009 00:30:17 | More by grub

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle, big thanks to GregMcQ for sending my way!

Pours a lightly cloudy dark amber orange, pretty interesting colour, thin white head forms, quickly settles to a thin ring around the glass, some lace spots stick, looks alright. Smell is neat, some light toast, banana, sugary sweetness, wheat, orange peel, coriander, some frutiness, lightly yeasty, smells good. Taste is great for a witbier, very dry and toasty, oats, wheat, banana, spices, coriander and orange, pepper, tropical, quite malty too, nicely balanced, really nice for a witbier. Mouthfeel is light bodied with medium to high carbonation, insanely dry and toasty in the finish. Usually not a big fan of witbiers but this one is great! Thanks Greg!!

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2009 00:05:30 | More by Viggo