On White Ales

Up until a year or two ago, I was convinced that I didn't like any type of wheat beer: hefeweizen, Berliner-weiss, white ale, weizenbock, you name it.  Recently, I've grown to like wheat beers quite a lot actually.  In the summer time, I particularly like white ales... 


Now let me ask a question: What beer are you thinking of right now as I say the phrase "Belgian White Ale"?


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Don't look down there, I'm giving you time to think...
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Blue Moon, right?  Everyone knows Blue Moon "Belgian" White Ale.  Well, how about that.  The only white ale that most Americans even know exists just so happens to be the second lamest one (the lamest one, in my opinion, being Shock Top, which is also a popular one).  And why does everyone only know about the two lamest ones?  Because one of them (Blue Moon) is made by Coors Brewing Company and the other one (Shock Top) is made by Anheuser-Busch.


Marketing has allowed craft breweries and shit breweries alike to describe a beer as being from a particular country even if it's not, just because it pertains to a particular style borne from said country.  That's fine by me, as long as they're doing justice to these traditional styles.  Blue Moon does not do much justice to the style of Belgian white ale, in my opinion.  And no everyone, it's not actually a Belgian beer... it's a bastardized version of a "Belgian-style" beer - the white ale, or witbier.  There are  better ones out there.


Anyone ever hear of Wittekerke white ale?  That one's actually from Belgium, and it's pretty decent.  Hoegaarden, another very good white ale, is actually from Belgium too; fortunately, it happens to be reasonably popular.  Unfortunately, it was bought by Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2005.

Southampton "Double White" ale is an American take on the style, and gets an A- rating from Beer Advocate.  That's a damn good rating for a white ale, which honestly is a style that is somewhat shrugged off amidst beer snobbery.  The same score is given to Allagash White Ale, another American beer brewed in the Belgian style.  Ommegang "Witte" was given a B+ rating, which is also quite good.  New York's Ommegang brewery specializes in flavorful, authentic Belgian-style beers.


So what should a good white ale taste like?  Crisp and refreshing, with a pronounced bready/yeasty kick, a lemon/citrus tang, and often a bit of herbal flavor (almost chamomile-like even).  Not usually particularly hoppy.  Traditional white ales, by definition, are light-malt wheat beers brewed with some orange zest and coriander.


American craft breweries are fantastic artisans; don't let the massive macro-breweries tarnish the phrase "American beer" for you.  This summer, try some of the better white ales out there.

Image taken from http://beertalking.wordpress.com/2008/09/07/