Avery Brewing Company - White Rascal

For the First Beer of Christmas, someone devilishly naughty made it onto Santa's nice list.

Avery Brewing
White Rascal

On their third visit to the Twelve Beers in five years, Avery Brewing's Belgian style white ale is a change of pace from 2013's Old Jubilation, and English Olde Ale, and 2011's Hog Heaven, a barley wine with IPA tendencies.

Pouring fills the glass with a hazy, straw colored beer with a thin cap of foam. There's very little lacing and the head dissipated quickly, leaving small swirls of bubbles on top and around the edge where the beer meets the glass.

The aroma is full of fresh yeast with lemon zest, coriander, and a little bit of freshly cracked peppercorn. The smell reminds me of fresh hay in the barn.

The carbonation is lightly crisp with a zip of small, tight bubbles across the tongue.  There's orange and lemon citrus flavors along with a soft zing of spice - pepper, coriander, and ginger - with a light yeasty finish.

The light body and crisp finish makes it extremely refreshing and sessionable. I'm kind of wishing it was summer right now so I could sit out in the back yard with this. But then I'd have to mow (or, rather, pay the neighbor kid to mow,) so I guess I'll just sit here in the house and drink it with the heater running. This will definitely be on my list for this coming summer.

Stats
Brewer: Avery Brewing Company
Location: Boulder, Colorado
Website: http://www.averybrewing.com
Style: Witbier
Alcohol Content: 5.60% ABV
Interesting Note: White Rascal is an unfiltered beer. So yes, that stuff in the bottom of the can is live yeast. Pour out most of the can, give it a good swirl, and then pour the rest into the glass. Brewer's yeast is a good source of B-complex vitamins but it does not contain B-12 (per the University of Maryland Medical Center: http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/brewers-yeast.) There appear to be all kinds of health benefits, but beware of the side effects. Drink too much and you might be a bit gassy. Not that it's ever happened to me. I'm just sayin' ...