What a neat wheat
I’m not normally a fan of wheat beers due to a sharpness I find in their taste from time to time. In fact, when I first tasted the Struise Witte from Belgium’s Noordhoek Ostrich Farm (yes, you read that correctly, this brewery is an Ostrich farm) I was a bit underwhelmed. Reading the label proved to give this beer a second chance as I noted that it’s a bottle-conditioned beer– accordingly, I decided to stick a few in the back of the fridge to let them age and hopefully mellow out.
The Struise Witte, which roughly translates to “Robust White”, pours a slightly cloudy yellow hue due to its unfiltered nature. It reveals virtually no head and has a pleasant malty nose with citrus hints. The ale’s taste is delightfully smooth like a Belgian blonde; however, its edge, typically associated with these beers, has significantly abated leaving a citrusy warming taste with subtle spicy hints. I was quite impressed with this beer’s smoothness and could pick up a slight lime presence that could be emboldened with the addition of a lime slice on a warm summer’s day.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised with this beer’s soft aging, which has revealed an inviting spicy essence bound to please even the most demanding of beer connoisseurs. Just remember to give this beer time to mature!
December 18th, 2006 at 8:10 am
Hello Andy, through this reply, I wish to thank you for the nice posting you made around our “Robust White”. We celebrate our fifth anniversary this year and things have changed a lot since we first started brewing at the farm. “Struise Witte” was our first recipe and was meant to be served only at the farm & vacation resort for the guests that visited us regularly. Five years later, this “Sturdy White” can be found in several places around the world. It is due to beer enthousiasts like you that this evolution has taken place. Kindest regards, Urbain www.struisebrouwers.be
December 18th, 2006 at 8:08 pm
Urbain– you are most welcome! Keep brewing excellent beer!!