Beer – #834 – Epic – Snow White
Snow White is a Wheat Ale in this instance
In a 500ml bottle, this is 6.5% ABV and 35 IBU thingies, 195 calories a serve size, this is 2.7 standard rink units of beer.
Brewed by Epic Brewing Company (NZ) in the style that is of a Wheat Ale and they are Auckland, New Zealand
Earlier in the year (2016) there were several news headlines about bad weather referring to “Epic Thunder”, a beer we had just release, many people commented on the free publicity.
A few weeks later there was an “Epic Snow” headline so we took it as a sign for the next beer we should brew.
Hair of Snow White
We had penciled in brewing a White IPA this year, so this was perfect. To make the beer “Epic Snow” it was decided to head to the mountain and collect some snow to brew with (as per video).
What makes this beer different? We have brewed it with wheat malt for the pale hazy appearance.
The noticeable orangey citrus character comes from the marriage of crushed coriander seeds and the Cascade and Centennial hops. The fruitiness comes from the really warm fermentation with a special ale yeast.
So, what could possibly go wrong?
Rather hoppy for a wheat beer I thought on opening, then there is a burst of lemon and it calms down.
Pours like you might expect of a wheat beer, although I thought there should be more head, I even chose an oversized glass just in case.
Pale hazy straw yellow with a small head is how it ends up. Aroma in the glass is slightly grassy.
Sugary sweet gives way to a solid amount of bitterness that is quite nice and refreshing and it washed to a ing finish and a slightly dry edge at the back. That is a refreshing beer.
This has a full strong mouth feel ,surprisingly so, alarming so, as it’s disappearing in a http://wp.me/p1FL5z-3Ashurry of large mouthfuls of enjoyment.
Hard to tell you exactly what it is that is so different, unusual and enjoyable about this, except this isn’t much like any Wheat beer I remember having.
Brilliant. Flawed. Not a lot of the esters things, not a lot of the soft citrus thing either. These are substituted instead for right sugars, higher hoppiness, and a slight hint of a dry finish.
The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 8 of its things from the thing. Even though this is refreshing that’s pretty much all it is, there isn’t exactly a take-away or memorable moment that you’d sit back in contemplation and talk about. It is fine beer, odd to the style and has what you don’t expect, which is both good and at the same time bad. I wanted a wheat beer I suppose, I got something that wasn’t quite that.
Then, because it needs a play on words, if I was one of the dwarves I’d be the one that was ‘slightly miffed’.
The double dip review
- Where did I get it? Liquorland in Forrest Hill, it should be everywhere, and I do shop elsewhere sometimes 🙂
- Am I enjoying it? I did totally enjoy, I just don’t remember much about it.
- Would I have another? If I was out and about I’d go again of course, it’s nice.
- Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? I don’t know that this has enough of a difference to make a difference in a conversation. I like it sure, you might, but it’s an expensive aside to a conversation.
Music for this: ” Cat Empire ” on Spotify
The Cat Empire are an Australian ska and jazz band formed in 1999.
Wheat Ale
Golden to light amber in color, the body is light to medium. The wheat lends a crispness to the brew, often with some acidity. Some hop flavour maybe be present, but bitterness is low. Not as estery as German or Belgian-style wheats.
A life just as ordinary 