Tasting Notes: Het Uiltje: Wingman

By Alcoholandaphorisms

Het Uiltje: Wingman (Netherlands: Witbier: 6% ABV)

Visual: Cloudy dark lemon juice. Thin white head.

Nose: Lemon juice. Fresh watermelon. Paprika dusting. Fresh dough. Fresh strawberry. Thick and just slightly oily. Flour.

Body: Light front. Very light strawberry. Doughnuts. Watermelon. Light pepper. Wheaty. Bready bitterness. Lemon juice. Vanilla.

Finish: Watermelon. Clean. Slight hop oil sheen. Soft lemon sponge. Slightly bready. Slight pepper. Lemon juice.

Conclusion: This is a very easy going beer for 6%. There is a viscous middle to it that does say “beware – alcohol involved” but generally it feels easy going in a session style. So,ya know, be warned.

The flavours come in with soft vanilla, lemon juice and yes, a distinct watermelon character. Though I will admit that , since I know it is made with watermelon, I may be slightly influenced on that last one. While it is pitched as a Wit, this feels closer in flavor to a gentle Hefewiezen for me, though the mouthfeel is closer to the Belgian wit. There is a light pepper character to it, but not as much spice as I would usually associate with a wit. I think that they are deliberately leaving room for the lighter, fresher watermelon flavours to roam.

Without that extra character it feels a tad simple – enjoyable, but simple and as that it doesn’t seem to grab me. The watermelon is a nice touch, but it feels like the rest of the beer had to be moved back to make room for enough.

Nice enough lemon and watermelon tasting wit, but not a must have.

Background: Uiltje! The happy Netherlands owl beers! Always fun, with silly cartoon style antics on the cans and bottles, which is whimsically charming. Tend to be a tad experimental, like in this case, a wit beer, a style I really want to drink more of, but with added watermelon, odd but enough to make me grab a can and see how it goes. Another one found at Independent Spirit. Music choice was .. odd .. for this one. I had recently had a debate with a mate. I held that, despite liking them as a kid, that Limp Bizkit are unmitigated shit. He held that they actually were not that bad. So I put on some Limp Bizkit while drinking to refresh my memory. It is shit. Like, really shit. Songs where they use other peoples music like Faith and the Mission Impossible one are passable. Everything else. Shit. That may have affected my tasting notes. I mean really shit, like tortured orangutan farting into a mic about how hard it is being rich, level bad. Young me had terrible taste. Seriously bad. The Tesco value lager of music.

Advertisements