Widmer Brothers | The J Street Beer Review

Brew Review: Widmer Citra Summer Blonde Ale

I recently wrote an App for my Blackberry to make reviewing beers more efficient. It takes input of various aspects of the beer, allows you to take a picture and then emails all of this to you. This was in effort to get myself to review more beers. Well, the App works as intended but so far I haven’t been as successful in reviewing more beers. I think it will help because it helps me from forgetting certain aspects of the beer.

The first beer I reviewed using my App was the Widmer Brothers’ Citra Summer Blonde Ale. I love most beers made with citra hops so I had to give this one a try. It poured a light light golden blonde color with quick fading white head; as to be expected from a blonde ale. The aroma was all about the sweet citrus smells from the citra hops. It had a refreshing feeling even before I took a drink. The taste started with a sweet citrus flavor that faded into a crisp refreshing finish. At 4.3% it is a very light and sessionable summer beer. This is definitely a summer beer worth trying.

-Pyzocha

July 9, 2012 | Categories: Reviews, Seasonal Selections | Tags: BEER!, citra, pyzocha, Widmer Brothers | Leave a comment

Brew Review: Widmer Brothers Dark Saison

Widmer Bros W’12 Dark Saison, 5.5% ABV

I have had a couple of Widmer Brothers beers since moving back to States in 2009, and, to be honest, the jury is still out for me. I’ve had a couple that I find delicious (usually the styles that are not cheap to make but easy to get right like barrel aged stouts) and a few (say, the lemongrass that was unique but not my mug of beer) that finished with the same “only a little bit more to go, just gut it out” facial expression as I have during that last mile of run. Consequently, I have decided to try and stick to their darker style beers for the time being.

Now, I picked up the Widmer Brothers Dark Saison as one of the 24 that I grabbed in the olio (means “mixture” and is a word that gets as much use in crosswords as a Miller Lite tap in a college bar) made possible by a Groupon. Let’s see how it shook out:

Pour: Came out a rich brown color with traces of red. The little white head disappeared in about 10 seconds, and it had loads of carbonation at beginning but then nothing aside from very small bubbles coming up through the middle of the glass..

Aroma: It came off a little sweet with hints of dark fruit (like prunes), but there was a little spice towards the end of a deep inhale, too.

Taste: The Dark Saison was sweet for an instant at the beginning but finished with a mild tartness. The sweetness reminded me of banana chips.

Body: The beer has a nice thin body that has a surprising bit of carbonation, which I wouldn’t expect based on not seeing more bubbles in the beer, but maybe it’s quantity and not quality — lots of wee little bubbles.

In the end, Meh. I’ve had better saisons.