Little White Lie

I asked Josh (Napa_Smokes) if he would pick me up an empty growler when he told me he was going to go to the Russian River brewery. Being the ridiculously generous person that he is, not only did he send me one, but it was full. These have to be the coolest looking growlers around and will look awesome with my collection, and the beer was great too!



Style – Witbier
ABV – 4.8%
Brewed In – Santa Rosa, CA
Availability – Rotating

Score - 9/10

Appearance
Poured into a weizen glass, it is a very cloudy, light yellow. The head is big and bright white. It has medium retention and produces very heavy lacing. There are signs of a lot of carbonation.

Smell
There are a ton of esters going on in the smell. Pear, citrus, and floral to name the ones I can pick out. There are also some perfumy hops, coriander, and wheat.

Taste
Wheat malt in full force, but not overpowering. There’s notes of banana, oranges, and coriander. Finishes with a light tang. This is a very balanced and incredibly smooth beer. I can’t imagine a much better/more refreshing session beer, especially on a hot summer day. While the spices are definitely present, they aren’t overwhelming and cloying like I often experience with this style.

Feel
The feel is very light and crisp with nice, heavy carbonation. Even with the high level of carbonation, it still manages to be very smooth on the palate.

Verdict
I’ve held the MT made Beltian White from Harvest Moon on a pedestal for a long time because it was head and shoulders above any other Wit I’d had. If this one isn’t better, it’s at least as good. Extremely drinkable, I finished the growler and was ready for another. An amazingly balanced and smooth representation. Thanks again Josh!

Sounds like a delicious beer! And you're right, that is a unique growler.

That sounds like a great beer! When I was at Russian River, being the hophead that I am, I never got past Pliny the Elder! :blush:
And I have one of those great growlers, it always gets compliments from the guys in the local homebrew club!

Wonder how much a refill is, if one was to be so fortunate.

Is Russian River produced in hard to obtain quantities, or is just regional distributed. I can't find it for the life of me. We do have one holy grail of beer stores in Southern suburbs of Minneapolis (Blue Max), I just don't get there often enough and didn't even know of Russian River until recently. I wonder if they'd have it. Spose I could pick up the phone.

What about Three Floyds Brewery? Any of you guys tasted their beers? They seem to be held in high regard as well.

Well, just talked to Blue Max and they don't carry either, they don't even get Great Lakes. Bummer, but they did tell me of a place just across the river in Wisconsin that might have them. The search continues...

Sure seems like there ia lot of popular breweries around here.

tsmckenney said:

Wonder how much a refill is, if one was to be so fortunate.

Is Russian River produced in hard to obtain quantities, or is just regional distributed. I can't find it for the life of me. We do have one holy grail of beer stores in Southern suburbs of Minneapolis (Blue Max), I just don't get there often enough and didn't even know of Russian River until recently. I wonder if they'd have it. Spose I could pick up the phone.

What about Three Brothers Brewery? Any of you guys tasted their beers? They seem to be held in high regard as well.

Click to expand...

This beer isn't bottled unfortunately, so you can only get it at the brewery. They do bottle some of their stuff though, and are starting to expand their distribution. It recently made it to CO, but I don't think is in MN yet.

If you're looking for some great beer you can get locally Mick, check out Surly and Minneapolis Town Hall. I love Surly, and from what I hear, MTH is amazing.

I can't find Three Brothers anywhere on BA, but I've heard good things about Two Brothers and Three Floyds rocks?

smellysell said:

tsmckenney said:

Wonder how much a refill is, if one was to be so fortunate.

Is Russian River produced in hard to obtain quantities, or is just regional distributed. I can't find it for the life of me. We do have one holy grail of beer stores in Southern suburbs of Minneapolis (Blue Max), I just don't get there often enough and didn't even know of Russian River until recently. I wonder if they'd have it. Spose I could pick up the phone.

What about Three Brothers Brewery? Any of you guys tasted their beers? They seem to be held in high regard as well.

Click to expand...

This beer isn't bottled unfortunately, so you can only get it at the brewery. They do bottle some of their stuff though, and are starting to expand their distribution. It recently made it to CO, but I don't think is in MN yet.

If you're looking for some great beer you can get locally Mick, check out Surly and Minneapolis Town Hall. I love Surly, and from what I hear, MTH is amazing.

I can't find Three Brothers anywhere on BA, but I've heard good things about Two Brothers and Three Floyds rocks?

Click to expand...

I do like some of Surly's stuff, and amazingly, I haven't yet tried MTH; but a childhood friend of mine is moving here from Alaska to work for MTH. He's going to be one of their brewers, apparently, he really knows his shit. So, I'll get over there soon. Probably next week.

Damn bro, you really know your shit. Thanks!!

Oh, and though I've mentioned it here before, I'm really impressed with Great Lakes Burning River. Probably my favorite ale right now.