Dim Whit
Valkyrie Brewing

Dim WhitDim Whit
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From:
Valkyrie Brewing
 
Wisconsin, United States
Style:
Witbier
ABV:
Not listed
Score:
79
Avg:
3.23 | pDev: 15.79%
Reviews:
15
Ratings:
15
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Sep 09, 2009
Added:
Aug 06, 2003
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Photo of Wisconsin
Reviewed by Wisconsin from Wisconsin

3.47/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
12 ounce bottle directly from the brewery into a pint glass

A - Pours a hazy, golden body that has faint amounts of carbonation rising up to the top. The head was a half finger thick, white and bubbly. After a few minutes it faded to a lace.

S - Very welcoming smell. Strong wheat up front with a nice amount of clove, coriander and ginger mixed with some subtle citrus notes. The smell leaves my mouth watering in anticipation of it's taste. I can't remember a witbier smelling like this.

T - Wheat, plenty of it with an interesting blast of lime notes along with the expected coriander and ginger. The lime is a bit of a surprising considering how faint the smell was in comparison to the ginger and coriander. Conversely, the ginger and coriander are more subtle when tasting. Pretty good amount of carbonation. I would have liked to see a more full tasting beer with stronger ginger and coriander notes.

M - Light bodied beer. Carbonation early up front with faint amounts of wheat, coriander and a stronger blast of lime citrus notes. The balance between the coriander and ginger is not in sync with the citrus notes. With a better balance between the two this beer would be much better.

D - Not a tough beer to drink, but the combination is still a work in progress. Until they improve the coriander/ginger and the lime balance I couldn't see myself having too much of this in a session. The beer has potential, they just need to tone back the lime and crank up the ginger and coriander.
Sep 09, 2009
More User Ratings:
Photo of supercolter
Reviewed by supercolter from Wisconsin

2.73/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Meh, Just ok. Appearance is average, no real head or lacing. Smell is pretty bland, some ginger and citrus fruit.
Taste is lemondade with ginger, that's it, I think I'm drinking lemonade.
Mouthfeel is a bit more promising, lightly carbonated and light on the tongue.
Drinkability is good, but not like it should be.
May 30, 2009
Photo of paulthebeerguru
Reviewed by paulthebeerguru from Florida

3.4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
12oz. brown bottle

A: snifter. hazy yellow, very cloudy. Solid white head, good retention, and fair lacing.

S: tons of ginger. very floral. nice yeasty aromas. some sweet wheat aromas.

T: nice sour backbone. very ginger ale-esque. a lot of bretts in here. tropical fruits like passion fruit, papaya, etc.

M: a little dry. slightly creamy. high carbonation level.

D: very good, but I didn't expect any sours out of this. very unique.
Apr 20, 2008
Photo of objectivemonkey
Reviewed by objectivemonkey from Minnesota

3.08/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Into a pint glass, pours an odd murky yellow with a nice fluffy head, decent lacing. Aroma is all ginger, all coriander, the wheat only slightly coming through, and I actually don't mind, kind of neat. Taste follows same lines, lots of spice with a nice whit coming through, and after a few sips, the novelty wears off and it just gets annoying. Body is actually pretty good, airy but not watery, enough carbonation to keep it up. Overall, a novel experiment, but one and done.
Nov 28, 2006
Photo of CharlesDarwin
Reviewed by CharlesDarwin from Rhode Island

2.62/5  rDev -18.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Originally reviewed on September 17, 2005. Bottle served at the Big Lake Brewfest. Cologne like distinctive aroma, almost like fermented paper boxes. Cloudy golden pour, with nice head. A bizarre ascerbic and stinging flavor that’s hard to describe, fading to a bland finish that’s fairly clean. Not particularly drinkable.
Nov 26, 2006
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

3.52/5  rDev +9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Faintly foggy sunflower gold beneath a three finger cap of sun-bleached bone that is being maintained by a whole slew of bubbles emanating from the bottom of the glass. The foam is on the light and airy side; not bad for a witbier. Thick bands of sea foam lace are strewn this way and that on the upper reaches of the glass.

Leave it to Viking to screw around with the tried and true by adding ginger, along with the classic coriander, to their witbier. That's okay as long as it works... and it does, fabulously well. The ginger adds something of value without overpowering the other ingredients (with the possible exception of the wheat itself). Different, aromatic and appealing.

Man oh man, they could have brewed a classic and couldn't quite pull it off, due to what I've come to recognize as a brewery trait: sourness. Quite a few Viking brews are ruined, or close to it, by a puckery, citrus juice tartness that gets in the way of what would otherwise be pretty good beer. While it doesn't sink this ship, my taste buds are having to bail like hell to factor out the sourness.

Ginger was an inspired choice and I now want other brewers (better brewers sorry to say) to add that particular spice to their wits. Again, what should be a modestly tart oranginess is a mouth-squinching lime zestiness that is just too much to overcome. Is it possible that these guys want their beer to taste this way or did they have an extended run of bad batches? My money's on the former.

The body/mouthfeel is light without being thin and has an acceptable amount of carbonation. Technically, the citric tartness should be included in any description of mouthfeel since it goes beyond mere flavor, but I've decided to keep it within the realm of taste. Not that it really matters since the scores are the same.

Dim Whit is yet another oddity from Viking Brewing Company. The shame of it is, it could have been a great oddity with a shift in emphasis within the flavor profile. I'd love to taste it after a partial lime juice-ectomy, but I'm not sure the brewers see it as flawed. More's the pity.
Nov 10, 2006
Photo of dfried
Reviewed by dfried from Minnesota

3.56/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Definitely not you typical wit, but Viking is not exactly a "true to style" brewery. Pale straw in color, thin white head forms a ring. I was a little turned of by all of the coriander in the aroma, but there is a lot of other things there, mainly ginger and some spiciness. In the flavor however, the coriander is not too overpowering and heeds to some other good flavors, again some ginger, but quite a bit of twist of lime, and some white pepper like spiciness on a zesty wheat malt. Average body and carbonation. Good and refreshing, not at the top of my revisiting list, but a solid summer brew.
Oct 17, 2006
Photo of TastyTaste
Reviewed by TastyTaste from Minnesota

2.88/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Light, hazy gold body, not very whit or very dim. Head is nice, though, about 3/4" that settles down to a solid 1/8" on top of the beer. The beer smells spicy, ginger and range peel, not quite right for the style. Taste is not very wit, either, light spiciness but a rather thin flavor. Mouthfeel is good, vs. the breweries other offerings (which usually suck). This is not bad, but not good either. Average at best.
Sep 11, 2005
Photo of beveragecaptain
Reviewed by beveragecaptain from New Jersey

2.8/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Edit: I was a little unfair in my original review. As this beer warms it becomes much better. The flavor becomes less soapy, with more lime flavor, which is strange, but not bad. Adjusting ratings.


Pale yellow with a small head. The aroma is lemony, but unfortunately, it's the lemon most often found in lemon/lime scented soap. The flavor is lime, ginger, and soap. This is a truly awful flavor. It's only made worse by the fact that there is almost no carbonation. I generally like weird beers, but I can't tolerate this stuff. Oh, what will I do with the remaining 3 bottles?
Sep 10, 2005
Photo of Skidz
Reviewed by Skidz from Wisconsin

3.39/5  rDev +5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Pours out pale, crystal clear, tinged golden straw and sits a hazy bright gold in the glass with a whimpy white head, gone too soon.

Smells lightly sweet, malty with loads of ginger barreling through. Hints of orange peel and lemon come though. Flat, hop spiciness in the background.

Tastes faintly malty up front and the ginger flavor quickly takes it's place. Tiny bit of lemon sourness and orange zest. Hops provide a decent amount of spiciness and bitter quite well.

Light-medium body with carbonation that needs a pick-me-up. Crisp, and clean feeling in the mouth.

Not terrible, the ginger seems overpowering. Still a satifying summer brew, but not one that I will flock to.
Nov 28, 2004
Photo of BeerBuilder
Reviewed by BeerBuilder from Minnesota

3.12/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Hazy orangish-yellow appearance, with just a ring of lacing. The ginger is very strong in the aroma, with the coriander present as well, but not as intense. The flavor is spicy with the ginger being the forefront followed by coriander in the finish. It is very thin in body and somewhat drying in the finish. A spicy, unique brew; I'd probably only have one though.
Nov 11, 2004
Photo of feloniousmonk
Reviewed by feloniousmonk from Minnesota

2.33/5  rDev -27.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
appearance: hazy gold, adaquatemilky froth.
aroma: citric, yet not spicy, but...soapy? oddly astringent, waxpaper meets lemon rind, candle leavings wrapped in orange blossom petals...odd, i say again...a whiff of vanilla in a pool of cheap cologne, lighter fluid with a twist of lime...
taste? a little more of the same...smooth, lightly fruity, then dullsville, bordering on cardboard, inoffensive, but builit on blandness, a plasticine gel flops around the mouth, then dissolves, dissipates, disappears...light body, non-present texture, gone-in-a-flash finish.
Flavor? Not pleasant...no joy here, and I'm looking into doctoring it up somehow to make it bearable, for I don't spend $3 on a bottle of beer, just to dump it down the drain.
Final thought: you should usually steer clear of beers which employable clever puns in their names that can easily be turned to disparage them. Dim wit, indeed!
Sep 29, 2004
Photo of ADR
Reviewed by ADR from Pennsylvania

3.52/5  rDev +9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5
Out of a bottle, Autumn Brew Review 2004...

Light marmalade appearance, just barely hazy. Whispy pale head, just a skim after a few seconds. Small dots stick to the glass. Properly aromatic, more ginger than coriander to the nose, peppercorns of the green variety. Ginger and the slightest tar-iness come out strongly in the flavor but what is a little bit of letdown is the mouthfeel -- too undercarbonated and tea-like. Finish is herbal and just the slightest bit vegetal. While this is admittedly not a favorite style for me, this brew could use some more sharp spice and lively spritz seen in some Wits.
Sep 12, 2004
Photo of ZAP
Reviewed by ZAP from Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
The nose is all oranges...not orange peel, but sweet, fresh oranges...pours a semi-hazy golden color....fizzy white head on top....mouthfeel is very charged up...almost too much...flavor is big on the oranges...also a hint of ginger....not getting much corriander....

Overall, a unique Whit that's for sure....don't think I could handle more than one of these but a nice change up...One per summer is enough for me...
Sep 03, 2003
Photo of Bighuge
Reviewed by Bighuge from Minnesota

4.54/5  rDev +40.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Slightly hazy golden in appearance. Almost clear though. Pretty transparant for a "whit." A thin ivory white head caps it off. Soon all that remains of the head is decent collar with staying power. This beer has an aroma to die for. So fragrant and fruity. Orange creamsicle, a little lime, musty lemon and sweet raspberry and cherry. The carbonation is pretty good. Slightly below the norm, but that's par for the course with this brewery. The flavor profile is quite pronounced. This one grabs you. There's a definite lime characteristic that is quite refreshing. The bottle says this one's an ale brewed with coriander and ginger, but I get a notable orange presence as well. A little musty yeastiness adds some depth and a refreshing wheat-like tang cleans off the palate. Damn fine summer refresher.

Gotta say this about Viking. Their beers are not run of the mill but they are usually pretty tasty. They often have quite a distinct character about them.
Aug 06, 2003
Dim Whit from Valkyrie Brewing
Beer rating: 79 out of 100 with 15 ratings