18 August 2008

Ommegang Witte (NY)

Witte is one of five Ommegang regulars, along with the eponymous abbey ale, Rare Vos, Three Philosophers and (my favorite) Hennepin. I don't think they sell Witte in anything smaller than the corked 750ml bottle.

As per instructions on the label, I poured slowly to keep the yeast sediment in the bottle (the opposite of what, say, Hoegaarden recommends). Thus, the body is only slightly hazy underneath its puffy, lacy head. On the tongue, it's cleaner for the lack of yeast (and possibly less complex). Instead, its mostly sweet citrus and coriander spice. Tastes a little like orange marmalade, and for some reason made me think of ice cream (!?). Witte isn't cloying though. The body is light and spritzy. Just for kicks, I poured in some yeast at the end, and it really changed the taste, adding some tangy and earthy aspects.

This seems to have a reputation as being the least of Ommegang's offerings, but I thought it really hit the spot on a summer's day. I've been drinking Hoegaarden recently as well, and might say I prefer Witte overall, but it depends on what you want. Hoegaarden admittedly does have more going on.

2 comments:

Nikola Tesla said...

I can say without a shadow of a doubt that they also have Witte in 6 pack bottles as well.

Which is good, but kind of pricey for what it is. If I needed an American made Belgian wit, I suppose that is what I would go for.

Buttle said...

I don't think I've seen any Ommegang in six-packs, only four-packs or 750 ml. Witte is probably there but I don't notice it.

I bought the 750 ml for around $4.25 (on sale from $4.99 or something) which isn't bad. At least it seems cheap compared compared with the other Ommegangs.