Judge's Review: 83 Rating - Kinroo Blue by Brouwerij Martens

Kinroo Blue Belgian by Brewery Martens is a Belgian Witbier and will be judged as such by BJCP 2015 category 24A. This beer looks the part with a light yellow color, slight haze and a dense white head that lasts and leaves a lovely Belgian lacing on the glass. The aroma has a grainy, crackery, bready (think baguette) malt character along with some sweet honey-like notes, orange peel & candied lemon. There is also a light spiciness reminiscent of coriander, cloves and pink peppercorns and virtually no hops. The aroma does come off a little stale vs fresh and bright as in the best witbiers. The flavor is more lemon-forward with some tartness that combats the sweet honey wheat bread-like flavor. The spices are much more in the background with only a light coriander note left. There is very low herbal hops with a low bitterness that leaves the beer a little on the sweeter side despite the fairly dry finish. Unfortunately, this beer appears to be past its best days as the date on the bottle was only a few weeks beyond receipt. It retains the makings of a good wit, but the staleness truly diminishes it.