New Belgium Mothership Wit

by Chris Perrin
(Beer Delegate, MO, USA)

New Belgium Mothership Wit: quality, taste, organic. Pah, can anything beat it?

Sometimes going green can taste very, very good. Case in point: the New Beligum Mothership Wit, a white (unfiltered) ale, that features a delicious light, crisp taste, and is made from completely organic wheat, spices and fruit.

Now, I admit that I first ordered a pint because it was organic, not because I had any particular interesting drinking another white ale. Because it was organic, I expected the beer to taste off, like eating soy chicken nuggets or strange salad greens, but I was wrong. Very, very wrong.

From the very first sip, all doubts that this was anything other than an excellent beer were blasted away. I was amazed at how crisp it was. The first drink was a pleasant mouthful of carbonation; so pleasant that I drained half my mug in three quick gulps. After realizing I might want to taste the beer, I slowed down a bit and enjoyed the full range of this very complex brew.

Because the Mothership Wit is a white ale, the most prominent flavor is wheat malt. However, unlike a lot of whites which rely on wheatiness to be the star, this particular beer carries a very strong orange flavor. There is not enough orange to classify this drink as a fruit beer, but the taste is very noticeable.

But the flavor did not stop with orange; it also featured an earthy undertone complementing the stronger citrus, but I could not identify what it was. The marketing slick for the beer was noticeably vague, stating only that there was "spice" in the beer, but that was enough to unravel the mystery. One sip confirmed that it was coriander, the seed version of cilantro, which gave the beer its depth of flavor.

Despite that depth, New Belgium Mothership Wit is not a perfect drink. It has absolutely no aftertaste which is not a good thing for this brew. When first drank, this white ale practically overloads the tongue with wheat and orange and spice, but it has nothing to follow it up. By the time the beer is heading down the throat, all of the taste has vanished.

All in all, there are worse fates for a beer. I would recommend this brew to anyone who likes light ales, especially unfiltered wheats. Few, if any, white ales on the market today can match New Belgium Mothership Wit for its taste and its quality. And, it is organic, which makes it a bit healthier. For a beer anyway.