The Beer Critic

Beer reviews for beer enthusiasts.

Beers Tagged ‘ coriander ’

Starr Hill Lucy

August 3, 2010 | 1 Comments | Specialty, Spiced

Brewery Website: http://www.starrhill.com

Type of Beer: Herbed / Spiced Beer

Alcohol Content: 4.40%

Beer Review -

Appearance: Poured a very clear, golden straw color with a micro-fine two finger head. Sadly the head fizzled down to a film pretty quickly leaving behind little to no lacing.

Smell: …Quite interesting. Lots of spice going on in the nose of this strange brew. The first scent to jump out at you is lime..yes I said lime. With a strong mixture of coriander and candied ginger. If you think that these scents may sound like they may not belong together…you could be right. The coriander is nice but the ginger and lime seem to overpower the scent making it smell a bit like an astringent.

Initial Taste: After such an interesting bouquet the flavor doesn’t disappoint. Right off the bat the lime jumps out at you and grabs a hold of your taste buds and doesn’t let go throughout the entire drink. Some ginger (tastes exactly like the pickled stuff that comes with sushi) makes it way through the cloud of lime but sadly the coriander is almost non-existent. Finish is limey with a bitter/sour hop aftertaste.

Thoughts: Starr Hill makes some great beers like their Amber Ale and Northen Lights IPA , so these guys are no strangers to brewing top class beer. However when it comes to Lucy this reviewer thinks it should have been left on the shelf. I’m sure there are a selection of people who really like lambic style beers who might enjoy something as unique as Lucy. While the idea of a lime and ginger beer with coriander might sound enticing the balance is just too far off. Lime is a very overpowering flavor when added to beer (or any drink for that matter).  It’s presence in Lucy is just too strong making this beer taste more like a certain macro lime beer (initials BL Lime). I highly recommend you try this beer to develop your own opinion. It truly is a beer unlike anything I’ve had before. So on that bombshell, happy drinking!

http://www.smithwicks.ie

Double White Ale

February 23, 2010 | No Comments | Ales, Belgian

Brewery Website: http://www.southamptonpublickhouse.com

Type of Beer: Witbier

Alcohol Content: 6.7%

Beer Review -

Appearance: Color is a pale gold. Clarity is cloudy as you’d expect from a witbier. Nice white two-finger head that receded slowly leaving very little lacing.

Smell: Very appealing. Good mixture of spices are very dominant; cloves, coriander and vanilla. Those traditional Belgian White Beer citrus notes are right there balancing the spices helping to create a damn good smelling beer.  Has a bit of a grainy/ alcohol ester smell in there as well.

Initial Taste: Delicious. The baseline of wheat and grains are there to carry you into the waves of citrus and spice. Much more flavor than I expected from a witbier. Lots of yeast. Citrus and coriander spice are balanced to near perfection creating a witbier that is high in flavor and high in drinkability. Slightly tangy citrus finish.

Thoughts: This unassuming bottle of Double White Ale is a unique take on Belgian White Beer (witbier). This golden beauty is the beer-child of Southampton Publick House Brewery. They created this double style beer to add more than just alcohol to this Belgian style beer. They doubled up on all the flavors – “more complex orangey/citrusy fruitiness, a slightly fuller body, more alcohol and a more satisfying finish”. They achieved this perfectly. This Double White offers what other witbiers can not, lots of flavor with high drinkability. This has jumped to the top of my list of favorite witbiers. Highly recommend. Cheers!

http://www.smithwicks.ie