Beer Review: Hahn White

Yeah, yeah I know, I've currently got a Lion Nathan boycott going.  But as this august journal does provide a valuable community service, I occasionally need to set my petty principles aside and suffer for my esteemed readers.

This beer, Hahn White, is labelled as a Belgian-style white beer (i.e. "wit"), but also as low carbohydrate. Talk about hedging your bets. All brewers are conscious of the market's infatuation with low carb beers, so any move away from this attribute would spell disaster (to the marketers and accountants, at least).

But they're also conscious of the burgeoning craft brewing market, and in and effort to get ahead of the game, have managed to combine both a crafty element with the alleged slim(mer) wasteline.

How are they going to manage it ?  Wits are famous for their spice & citrus aromatics, the cloudy appearance, and nice, wheaty mouthfeel. So what do you think the Hahn brewers have sacrificed at the altars of low carb and mass market ? Let's see.....

Guide to review scoring is on the post Beeradvocate Ratings Systems

Unless otherwise specified, these reviews are my own.

Hahn White witbier 4.2%

D / 2.17 look: 3 smell: 3 taste: 1.5 feel: 1.5 overall: 3

An each-way bet from Lion Nathan... trying something new without scaring the low-carb market.

a) Clearish pale yellow/straw. White rocky head that lingers a little, light bubbling. Doesn't look like a wit... wheat haze has been well and truly filtered out of this one.

s) Big hit of coriander seed and citrus peel, ginger powder, some sulfur which, together, give the impression of a sandwich meat such as devon. No malt to discern.

t) Like home-made lemonade, maybe a hint of lime, falling away to a typical dry-style flavour like Toohey's Extra Dry. No hop or bitterness. All show on the nose, nothing to support on the palate.

m) Starts off spritzy, like soft drink, then disappears. Typical low-carb body.

d) Probably quite good on a hot day, when there's lttle else.

Perhaps this is a good entry point for the young & impressionable to discover the aromatics of the wit style.... after this they may head towards a real wit, and give this all-show-and-no-substance offering the flick.