IJ Wit (Scharrel Wit) - Brouwerij 't IJ

thepeter

United Kingdom (England)

4.2/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A- Pours a hazy yellow with a frothy head that doesn't last very long and leaves little lacing.

S- Smelled really nice, lot's of Banana, fresh baked bread, and some vanilla. Very sweet smelling with some spice added

T- Not as clean tasting as most Wit's, but still very tasty and I am not complaining. Again, banana along with some other fruity flavors, apple maybe, cloves, spice, and some pepper on the back end. Very different but really tasty and went SO nicely with brunch. Weird because it was not what I was looking for but still I really liked it.

M- Pretty smooth, but normally that is not what I am looking for in a Wit. Hmm usually the big bubbles and light zing is a great palate cleanser with food. This one is smooth and creamy. . . good but not what I prefer in a Wit.

D- Very easy to drink, but again when compared to most Wit's it does not have those same clean, refreshing qualities. I could still drink this quite a bit but it's just not the same.

Very good beer, but not in the traditional sense. Most of the Beers from 't IJ that I have tried have been a bit "different" so I guess this is no surprise. In the end I rated this as the beer itself and NOT as or compared to other Witbiers.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2010 11:45:52 | More by thepeter

cadenwhitaker

Minnesota

4.43/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a clear amber with a fizzy white head. Wait a second, clear? Well after careful inspection I realized that the fact that my beer isn't reflecting the other reviewers must be due to a thick layer of yeast stuck to the bottom (inside) of the bottle. I'm guessing this has aged at least two years.

Anyways, despite the clarity, the beer was fresh tasting, and quite carbonated.

Taste, I'm getting a bit of alcohol in the taste, some honey, malts, wheat, spices and etc.

Overall, a highly drinkable beer, but due to the outrageous cost to purchase ($4.50 a 12oz bottle) I might wind up sticking with Unibroue for now.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2009 19:58:00 | More by cadenwhitaker

ATPete

New Jersey

3.98/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served at Brouwerij 't IJ in April 2008

A- Cloudy yellow, small white head.

S- Very wheaty, bready, yeast, some banana and citrus. Good aroma balance.

T- Very soft, some more citrus comes through, bisquits, wheat, very inviting.

M- Light like it should, very simple and refreshing

D- very good

Serving type: on-tap

05-05-2008 18:43:29 | More by ATPete

Onslow

Texas

4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Had fresh on tap at the tiny brewpub in Amsterdam: WOW! this is a heavy witbier! Darker,more alcohol, and fuller in the mouth than any other witbier i've ever seen. even the dutch guys with me said this wasn't a wit, but it is . and a damn fine wit..not as traditional but its fun and inspiring to see a brewery push the limits. this was flowery and delicious and hazy and pronounced. me likey!

Serving type: on-tap

02-26-2008 14:01:59 | More by Onslow

GClarkage

California

3.28/5  rDev -16.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

07/07/07- Purchased at John's Marketplace in Portland, OR.

Presentation- 11.2oz bottle with no freshness info. Strange how some of this breweries beers have a date strip and some don't. Poured into my Petrus chalice.

Appearance- Deep golden colored, lightly clouded pour. The bottom the the glass looks clear as day while it gets cloudier as it gets to the top. One small yeast chunk floats in suspended animation. Full 1 inch head on pour which settles at a 1/4 inch. Pretty nice lace patchwork is left behind after each sip.

Smell- Fairly musky scent in the nose. Grassy with corriander and white pepper. A tiny bit of fruit peel scent if really digging deep.

Taste- Has a pretty decent hop afterbite. Almost like a unripe orange pith flavor. Starts out nice and sweet and succulent and turns dry and kinda setzerlike. Light corriander and white pepper and some confectioneirs sugar at first. Just seems to get a bit lifeless as you get halfway in.

Mouthfeel- The slightest touch watery with a dry mouthfeel, but full. Effervescent carbonation level.

Drinkability- It started out very good and took a turn for the bland. Still worth a try. It's damn dry as a bone though and the carbonation seems champagne like. Kinda like a Bud Select with a decent flavor added at the end and a good wit at the begining. Jekel and Hybe beer here. Does have a good abv kick though at 7%.

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2007 00:04:55 | More by GClarkage

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pale orange juice with lemonade trim. The polished ivory crown is the best part of the beer's appearance. Not only is it firmly creamy and incredibly persistent, it crackles like Rice Crispies in milk. Nothing like a little ear candy to go along with the eye candy. Unfortunately, lace looks to be no more than an afterthought.

While this is only my third Brouwerij 't IJ offering, I've found their beer to be a little off-center. Therefore, I'm not a bit surprised that Scharrel Wit doesn't really smell like a witbier. It smells golden fruity with a moderate musky spiciness. Repeated sniffs deliver what might be cordiander, but orange peel is still a no-show. Style aside, I like the nose.

This is one of the oddest witbiers that I've ever had. I can kinda, sorta taste the resemblance, even if I probably couldn't have come up with the style on my own. I would have said Belgian pale ale or weak tripel. The biggest reason for the style confusion is that the beer is sweeter and more full than the typical witbier.

Golden apples, white grapes and wheat swirl throughout the mouth, accompanied by the briefest blip of citrus peel and a musky spiciness that I would have been hard-pressed to identify as coriander. Of course, I'm assuming the brewery stuck to the style guidelines (highly doubtful) and didn't give it their usual 'original interpretation'.

As noted above, the mouthfeel is anything but light and airy. Actually, given the hard working carbonation, it is light, in a lightly viscous sort of way. It's pleasantly creamy too. I have no idea if 'Minstens Houdbaar' means 'brewed on' or 'best by', but my label is notched at 3/05. The beer certainly tastes fresh to me.

I never know what to expect from Holland's Brouwerij 't IJ. The slim brown bottles and the labels are rather unassuming, but the beer is always delicious. Although Scharrel Wit is far from typical, it's proving to be well worth the $4.49 that I paid for it.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2007 13:25:31 | More by BuckeyeNation

akorsak

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A 33 cL bottle from vwcraig.

A: The wit is a slightly hazy (I stress slightly) yellow color. The head is nothing more than a thin white layer on top of the liquid that quickly recedes.

S: The nose is fairly light with a very strong orange aroma, not just orange peel mind you, but orange pulp and juice.

T: The ale has a surprisingly strong malt body, thick enough with grainy bread flavors that the citrus in the nose rarely breaks through. The big malty body does not overpower all of the spicy sweetness however, allowing some peppery coriander and orange peel sweetness to come through. This really reminds me of the St. Bernardus Wit with its bigger body.

M: The mouthfeel is difficult at times, the big body makes a normally easy drink a little too thick.

D: This is not a witbier for a hot summer day, the flavor is strong enough to hold up nicely on a brisk fall night as well.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2007 00:06:16 | More by akorsak

Absumaster

Netherlands

2.98/5  rDev -23.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I drank this beer at the brewery where it was poured into nice looking glasses.

An orange, yellow fizzy beer with a creamy head.

Smell is sweet and aromatic with coriander and orange. The sweetness overrules the yeasty smell, which normally imparts a slight tartness and spiciness.

Taste is SWEET, like it hasn't been fermented properly. Sweetness is actually all there is for the first few sips. Then the yeast gives some spicy character and spices also comes through. Obviously no hop character. Mouthfeel is sweet and full. This is probably a mistake and can't be ment to be like this.

Serving type: on-tap

02-19-2007 14:48:06 | More by Absumaster

GooberMcNutly

Florida

3.48/5  rDev -11%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A strong Wit style, but too clear for the style, even after swirling the bottle a little. Nice white fluffy head stands up and stays with you through the beer. A Belgian twang to the wit tartness is a nice balance. The bottle was a little oxydized, the beer was almost 2 years old. The label says that it is 100% organic except for the hops, if that tickles your funny bone.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2007 15:03:27 | More by GooberMcNutly

wl0307

United Kingdom (England)

4.18/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

BB 01/07, served lightly-chilled in a broad-rimmed goblet.

A: dark golden hue, slightly murky, coming with abundant fizziness to feed a pillowy beer head which settles slowly to a 0.5cm cap sustaining throughout the drink, while the lively carbonation softens to constant streams of tiny fizz. Looking very nice indeed.
S: smelling of a heavier body than usual witbier, bearing hints of Belgian pale ale's exotic yeastiness; wheat-ish malts, sweet lime and orange peels, grapefruity bitterness, green apples, along with a wave of coarse, spicy (white-pepper+coriander+ginger) yeastiness at the back. Quite colourful.
T: exotic+soapy yeastiness and fruitiness abound... on top of semi-sweet bready malts and lighter wheat-malts... tangy and dryish lemon-zests develop along with coriander seeds, clove, and white pepper, followed by a tinge of bitterness of hops and rough yeasts, turning drier and drier towards a rather tangy finish with a quiet stream of alc. felt down the throat.
M&D: softly carbonated, very light on the mouthfeel and utterly quaffable; the body is very light for 7%abv., leaving just a bit of alc. in the very end to remind one of the strength. This witbier shows a fuller flavour profile as well as a fuller body than all other witbiers I've tried, and should I admit how impressed I am by this beer! Not as complexly spicy as some of its counterparts, but the beer is solid and delicious, even like a cross b/w Witbier and a Belgian Pale Ale. A very successful and lovely beer IMO--perhaps my favourite Belgian Wit from now on~~

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2006 01:23:27 | More by wl0307

patto1ro

Netherlands

4.3/5  rDev +10%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pale yellow colour with a fine white head. Coriander, ginger, clove, grass and elderflower aroma; sweetish/bitterish taste with coriander, orange, herbal and wheat aromas; bitterish finish with hop, ginger, butter and herbal aromas.

An unusual combination of wheat, spice and hop that works quite well. Too strong and hoppy for a normal witbier, but so what? It still tastes good.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2006 13:11:06 | More by patto1ro

Crosling

Colorado

3.63/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Cloudy toasted peach. Vibrant peach and melon aromas, with hints of coriander and orange peel, as well as a hint of mint, herbs and grass. Assertive nose, although I wish it showed less spice and hop, and more Belgian yeast attributes. Banana chip, peach, nectarine and tangerine notes on the initial palate, followed by hints of apple butter and caramel, which melds into subtle orange-like spice, toffee hints and a 5 second hay and spice finish, which slowly fades.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2006 06:39:41 | More by Crosling

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.28/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Brouwerij 't IJ's organic IJ Wit delivers a standard witbier appearance with a cloudy yellow-orange body beneatha white head that holds welll and leaves limited lace about the glass.

The nose is distinctly sweet with clear notes of wheat malt and soft coriander, as well as a light touch of citrus fruit.

It's zesty, effervescent carbonation leads it to become airy in the mouth as it warms; and then its dextrinous light-medium body simply slips away.

The flavor is yeasty with a sweet (and even a touch candyish) wheat malt; some sweet spice; and mild orange notes. It finishes drying with some stick malt about the mouth and lingering coriander.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2005 13:53:58 | More by NeroFiddled

cypressbob

United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)

4.25/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at the brewpub

Pours with a cloudy golden orangy body, thick creamy white head with amazing retention

Smell, bejebus...very floral, sweet perfumy aroma, smells like fields of flowers soaked in perfume. Some clove kicking in also

Taste, smooth, some yeast kicking in. Perfumy once again

Probably my favourite wit, amazingly fresh on tap from the brewery

Serving type: on-tap

07-28-2005 16:59:51 | More by cypressbob

Andreji

Colombia

3.5/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I wasn't overly impressed by my this, my first choice at the eproeflokaal in NE Amsterdam.

I think this is the same Scharrel Wit, because the bottled version boasts a huge "IJ WIT" sign with only a tiny "Scharrel" inschrijving atop it. anyway.

The looks of it is just so...wit. not that that's ever been bad. golden but opaque with a medium retentive bright white head, pleasant to look at and more pleasant to try.

The smell is clearly citrusy and foremost lemony. this beer was meant to be a thirst quencher or a session beer- not necessarily a bad thing again. just a pleasant remark.

The taste, however, wasn't too good. a bit watery, with a taste judgeable more by the nose than by the mouth- nonetheless wheaty and- yes- lemony, with good carbonation to give it a further refreshing tone (see: pop). not bad anyway, but het IJ does better.

Serving type: on-tap

07-04-2005 14:16:08 | More by Andreji

Bierman9

New Hampshire

4.03/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This was my first bier sampled at the 't IJ brewpub. Full name is Scharrel-IJwit. It was a medium to dark golden color, and cloudy within. Head was a creamy white one, which lasted well and left fine lace. Nose was most definitely wheaty, with hints of clove and banana a la Weißbier. Medium bodied, it also passed fairly well across the tongue, with little prickliness. Has a crisp flavor, with a light toasty malt sweetness at the start. Tastes of some citrus and additional fruit flavors like tropical fruit. Quite a pleasant brew! Goes down easily!
Prosit!!

overall: 4.05
appearance: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | mouthfeel: 4 | drinkability: 4.5

727

Serving type: on-tap

08-30-2004 19:11:51 | More by Bierman9

rastaman

United Kingdom (England)

3.53/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pretty nice little wit. Spicy, citric and lemony. Fairly yeasty as other t'ij i've had tend to be. Not as smooth and soft as other witbiers, but nice anyway, bitter finish, with some light crispness in the finish also. Refreshing and tasty, which is all i ask for in my wits(Bottle- GBBF 03')

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2003 00:59:43 | More by rastaman