Summer Catch

Summer Catch by Cape May Brewing is a Belgian Witbier (24A) with an American hop flair that pushes it into the BJCP 2015 category 21B (Specialty IPA – White IPA). From the start this beer doesn’t quite look the part of a wit pouring a straw yellow color with minor haze, but otherwise much clearer than usual for style and a bright white head that’s not quite as big, dense or lasting either. The aroma shows some familiarity with plenty of Belgian spice (lemongrass, white peppercorn, clove) as well as some regular spice (coriander & orange peel), but also some citrusy hops (passionfruit, tangerine). Beyond the fruit & spice there is some mild tart/funk and a light grainy malt. The flavor is similar to the aroma with lots of spice & some citrus. It’s yeast/spice forward (lemongrass, clove, coriander, orange peel) with a fair balance between malt (grainy, crackery & lightly toasted bread) & hops (floral, tangerine, lime). However, the bitterness, whether from the hops or spices, is fairly high & a bit pithy and doesn’t mesh well with the rest of the beer and really pushes it out of the Wit style. The light body and slight acidity allows this bitterness to sit on the tongue detracting from what is generally a soft & refreshing beer. This is a tough beer as it doesn’t really have a proper home. The bitterness & extra citrus from the hops pushes it away from a traditional Wit, however despite the extra hops it lacks the hop aroma/flavor potency for a white IPA. It’s really not the lack of a fit that hurts the beer tho as a little extra hops could have made it really interesting if it weren’t for the off-putting bitterness. Summer Catch by Cape May Brewing is a Belgian Witbier (24A) with an American hop flair that pushes it into the BJCP 2015 category 21B (Specialty IPA – White IPA). From the start this beer doesn’t quite look the part of a wit pouring a straw yellow color with minor haze but otherwise much clearer than usual for style and a bright white head that’s not quite as big, dense or lasting either. The aroma shows some familiarity with plenty of Belgian spice (lemongrass, white peppercorn, clove) as well as some regular spice (coriander & orange peel), but also some citrus-y hops (passionfruit, tangerine). Beyond the fruit & spice there is some mild tart/funk and a light grainy malt. The flavor is similar to the aroma with lots of spice & some citrus. It’s yeast/spice forward (lemongrass, clove, coriander, orange peel) with a fair balance between malt (grainy, crackery & lightly toasted bread) & hops (floral, tangerine, lime). However, the bitterness, whether from the hops or spices is fairly high, a bit pithy and doesn’t mesh well with the rest of the beer and really pushes it out of the Wit style. The light body and slight acidity allows this bitterness to sit on the tongue detracting from what is generally a soft & refreshing beer. This is a tough beer as it doesn’t really have a proper home. The bitterness & extra citrus from the hops pushes it away from a traditional Wit, however despite the extra hops it lacks the hop aroma/flavor potency for a white IPA. It’s really not the lack of a fit that hurts the beer though, as a little extra hops could have made it really interesting if it weren’t for the off-putting bitterness.