Style: Witbier
ABV: 5%
Presentation: 6 packs of 341 ml brown bottle
Brewery: Alley Kat Brewing Co.
Country: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

KANPAI! w/ Jeff Werstiuk

Before I go any further, I’d like to take a moment here to lament the disappearance of The Lingnan’s Pi Jiu beer (by the way, Pi Jiu is simply the Chinese name for beer). This was their first house brand that they produced with the Alley Kat Brewery for the airing of the t.v. show Family Restaurant on the Food Network. I enjoyed it the first time I tried it, there were aspects of it that I just couldn’t put my finger on, and it still remains one of the best herbed beers I have yet to try. What blew me away was when I later found out that they used a Pilsner for the base of it, and not an Amber Ale style which I had initially assumed. Let me tell you folks it takes a fair amount of skill to pull off that sort of flavour profile brewing with an herb when producing a Pale Lager style, as there is no room to hide any flaws whatsoever.

From what I heard it seems this beer just didn’t really catch on with the Lingnan’s clientele, possibly because it seemed a bit too exotic or strange at first. Regardless it’s a sad loss to the local beer drinking community here in Edmonton, I know that I miss it.

However on the bright side the new Lingnan house beer that is replacing it is equally as good in its own right. I suppose that sometimes you have to lose something good in order to get something good.

Chinese New Beer was released this year to coincide with the 15 days of celebration associated with Chinese New Year. The label itself even represents the ringing in of The Year of the Rabbit, and the booting out of The Year of the Tiger, quite literally! The style for this one is a Belgian Witbier that was chosen specifically to pair well with The Lingnan’s food menu, along with being a very approachable type of beer for the common palate. While it does have a prominent orange finish reminiscent of real mandarins there are none actually present within the beer itself, I was assured that it was all pulled off by the finesse of the brewers using the traditional coriander and orange peel utilized for this particular style.

If you’re curious to try this beer it’s available at the Lingnan Chinese Restaurant when dining in, and is also available for take home consumption in 6 packs here at the Sherbrooke Liquor Store.

The beauty of Witbiers is that they are quite versatile and you have several options with which to serve this one in question. Feel free to choose a pint glass, a Pilsner glass, or your favourite piece of stemware. Perhaps let it sit about 5 minutes out of the fridge to help take the initial chill off, and you’ll be set to go.

True to style Chinese New Beer pours out a cloudy light apricot colour, with a short creamy white head that slowly settles. It gives off the aroma of soft wheat, coriander, and traces of orange. The flavour offers some soft sweet wheat, the peachy and floral character of coriander, while finishing on a quenching orange citrus note with a clean aftertaste. This is delivered by a creamy smooth medium-bodied mouthfeel accompanied by some spritzy carbonation.

Since this is the house beer for a local restaurant here in Edmonton I thought it was fitting to offer some food pairings straight from their menu. Miles Quon from The Lingnan was kind enough to provide me a shortlist of dishes that stand out most for him with the Chinese New Beer. He should know after all, he was able to try everything on the menu along with their house beer, it was inevitable. It wasn’t all in one sitting though, that’s just crazy. For people who are only feeling a little peckish, Miles vouches for any of the Dry Ribs or Spring Rolls from the Appetizers section. When it comes to main courses his top picks are the Szechuan Shrimp, the Mandarin Beef, the Black Bean Chicken and the Dry Spicy Chicken.

The next steps in the cooler:

Also From Alley Kat:
Aprikat
Full Moon Pale Ale
Alley Kat Amber
Charlie Flint’s Original Lager
Olde Deuteronomy

In-Style:
Hoegaarden Original White Ale
Unibroue Blanche De Chambly
St. Bernardus Witbier
Wittekerke
Hitachino Nest White Ale
Lost Coast Great White
Mill Street Wit
DDC Rosée d’hibiscus

Lateral Steps:
Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat
Erdinger Weissbier
Edelweiss Snowfresh Weissbier
Duvel

For The Adventurous:
Delerium Tremens
Chimay White
Tripel Karmeliet
Gouden Carolus Tripel

Style: Hibiscus Flower Wit
ABV: 5%
Presentation: 6 packs of 341 ml brown bottles
Brewery: Brasserie Dieu du Ciel
Country: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

KANPAI! w/ Jeff Werstiuk

I honestly can’t think of a classier way to quench your thirst during the hot summer months than this unique Witbier from the highly celebrated Montreal craft brewery Dieu du Ciel. Originally brewed in 2006 as a one-off for the famous annual Mondial de la Biere festival, it was such a crowd hit that this brewpub decided to brew it on a regular basis to keep up with popular demand. It also pulled in a gold medal for the brewers in 2007. Fortunate for us that they expanded to a microbrewery facility in order to bottle this refreshing wheat ale so good folks like us out West could eventually enjoy it as well.

Hibiscus flowers in general are known as the Queen of the Tropics, while this particular variety is widely known as a China Rose. They add a distinctive rosy pink hue to this beer, since the petals are added during the brewing process. Bitter orange peel and coriander are also added in small amounts so as not to overwhelm what the hibiscus has to offer, turning this wheat beer into a modified version of a Belgian style Wit. On a side note the ancient Egyptians once believed that tea made from red hibiscus flowers could induce potent sexual desire within women, and to prevent licentious behaviour within its population actually banned it from common use and consumption. Just saying….

This Witbier is best served fairly chilled, and although anything from a wide mug to a tall lager glass will suffice, do yourself a favour and present it in some stemware to show off the unique tint of its appearance.

The appearance in question is a bright cloudy pink grapefruit hue, and there’s a short splash of fizzy light pink head while it lasts. There is some sweet tropical fruit in the aroma, some tart wheat and citrus, faint dry spice. What continues in the flavour is a unique experience that is tart, sweet and dry at the same time. Sharp wheat and citrus, with a sweet yet herbal character from the hibiscus. This is all delivered by a light mouthfeel with an impressive effervescence which is well suited to the overall flavour profile.

To me this is the perfect swanky patio beer to while away a sweltering afternoon or evening with good company. When the time comes to eat this will pair perfectly with light salads tossed in fruity vinaigrettes, the acidity in both will compliment one other perfectly. Sushi is another meal that would pair ideally. Same with cooked crab or lobster, especially if dipped in melted butter, as the acidity of this tropical Wit will cut through the fatty nature of the butter nicely.

The next steps in the cooler:

From This Brewery:
Aphrodisiaque
Blanche du Paradis
Corne du Diable
Dernière Volonté
Fumisterie
Paienne
Péché Mortel
Route des Épices

Other Wits:
Hoegaarden Original White Ale
Unibroue Blanche De Chambly
St. Bernardus Witbier
Wittekerke
Hitachino Nest White Ale
Lost Coast Great White
Mill Street Wit

Lateral Steps:
Coney Island Albino Python
Unibroue Don de Dieu
Duvel

For The Adventurous:
Dogfish Head Festina Pêche
Petrus Aged Pale
DeuS (Brut Des Flandres)

Style: Witbier
ABV: 5%
Presentation: single 500 ml brown bottle
Brewery: Microbrasserie Charlevoix
Country: Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec, Canada

KANPAI! w/ Jeff Werstiuk

We take things for granted here in Alberta at times when it comes to our beer. At the moment there are around 650 different kinds available from all over the world, starting with a few local breweries represented right here in Edmonton, stretching to Japan, Australia and Russia. Not every beer available in the world, and maybe not some personal favourites that we pine away for, but all things considered we still have it pretty good.

Let’s look at the belle province of Quebec in contrast, where you are lucky to find any beers produced in another province, let alone international imports. There’s no surprise then that to counteract such a bleak market Quebec has in turn sprouted a plethora of innovative and high-quality craft breweries and brewpubs over the last couple of decades. This DIY approach and attitude has sparked and cultivated one of the most impressive beer cultures our fine nation has to offer, much of them emulating many of the exotic styles that originated in Belgium.

Microbrasserie Charlevoix is no exception, a microbrewery that has been around since 1998, and recently expanded in 2009 to help keep up with demand and provide extra space to produce more unique beers.

Their Dominus Vobiscum Blanche is one of my favourite interpretations of the classic Belgian Witbier. Wits (which simply means “white” in Flemish) are a Belgian variation of the wheat beers produced by their German neighbours to the East. Yet rather than utilizing the unique yeast strains common to German Wiessebiers or Weizens with their telltale notes of clove and banana, Belgian Wits hearken back to a time before hopped beer. In turn these light ales are spiced with coriander and orange peel most commonly, along with one or two extra secret ingredients that tend to differ from brewer to brewer. The result is a light, spritzy, quenching beer that can find accommodation in almost any circumstance.

As a side note, for those light in the Latin department, Dominus Vobiscum is an ancient salutation and blessing that is traditionally found in Roman Catholic mass, however it also found its way into a Frank Zappa song too. Into English it translates as “May the lord be with you”, so consider yourself in good company when drinking this Blanche.

It’s practically dealer’s choice for glassware with this Witbier, whether you want a pilsner glass, pint glass, tall Weizen glass, mug, chalice or oversized wine glass, none of that will cramp its style. Keep the beer nice and chilled as well, not ice cold, but best results will come from letting the bottle sit out of the fridge 5-10 minutes before opening and pouring.

Prepare to be greeted by a cloudy, deep honey golden hue that begins to approach amber. There’s also a massive tall white spongy head, so depending on the glassware you chose it may take 2 or 3 attempts to completely empty the bottle into the glass. All that head releases an intense bouquet of tart citrus notes like lemon and rosehips, a little bit of spicy chamomile, with faint orange and wheat grain in the background. It only takes a couple of sips to full realize a light citrusy tart wheat canvas embellished with light spice, with citrus notes of tangerine, lemon, and most predominantly that of key lime. All this accompanied by a dry and quenching finish.
The full, lush, creamy smooth mouthfeel is contrasted with the lightest of pinprick carbonation on the finish.

This is a gorgeous ale to enjoy on a hot sunny patio, even a margarita chased with a dry martini won’t slake your thirst with such delicious and refreshing ease. For those hot days when you feel like eating light, you’ve just found yourself an ideal beer to go with a hearty salad. When a more substantial meal is called for there are massive options from almost any fish or shellfish you can prepare (including sashimi and sushi!), to cutting through saltier pork based dishes. It will also provide a good contrast for sharp, tangy and earthy cheeses. And if the heat from the chilies and spices aren’t too intense, this Dominus Vobiscum Blanche will match the citrus notes of most Thai, Indian and Mexican foods while cleansing and resetting the palate.

The next steps in the cooler:

From This Brewery:
Dominus Vobiscum Blonde
Dominus Vobiscum Double
Dominus Vobiscum Triple
La Vache Folle Double IPA – Simcoe

In Style:
Hoegaarden Original White Ale
Unibroue Blanche De Chambly
St. Bernardus Witbier
Wittekerke
Hitachino Nest White Ale
Lost Coast Great White
Mill Street Wit

Lateral Steps:
Mt. Begbie High Country Kölsch
Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier
Hacker-Pschorr Hefe Weisse
Schneider Weisse
Erdinger Weissbier

For The Adventurous:
Aventinus
Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock
Samichlaus