Dogfish Head's Red and White. A Witbier or a Lambic?

Dogfish Head bills their 33(6Red : – _ and White as a witbier, but is it? Dogfish Head has a reputation of pushing the edge with brews like their 120 minute IPA, but this? Is it a beer or wine? Typically, a witbier is a cloudy yellow color, has a high amount of wheat and sometime use of oats in the mash. Almost always spiced and accented with coriander. Fruit Lambics are generally beers where fruit has been added in the fermentation process, then allowed to mature longer; whereas an un-blended lambic is brewed with large amount of wheat, wild yeast and bacteria penetrate the beer while fermented in in airborne and tainted barrels allowing for a tart flavor.

On their website, Dogfish head describes Red and White as “A big, Belgian-style Wit brewed with coriander and orange peel and fermented with Pinot Noir juice. After fermentation a fraction of the batch is aged in Oregon Pinot Noir barrels, and another fraction is aged on oak staves. The beer is blended together before packaging. This has been one of our most popular Limited Edition beers at both our Rehoboth Beach, DE brewpub and at festivals. It successfully marries the refreshing citrusy qualities of a Belgian-style white beer with the robust complexity of a bold red wine.’

Well, that sort of wrote the review for me, did it not? Despite their already great description, I’ll give it a go:

Poured into a pilsner glass, Red and White is a kind of medium and cloudy orange hue in appearance. The head on this one is truly amazing, two fingers at least, and dissipated slowly, leaving a wonderful sticky lacing on the glass.

Coriander and orange peel aromas instantly hit the nose, along with a subtle but very pleasant Belgian yeast smell leaving one with a very pleasant sweet aroma.

My first sip of this was surprising, but pleasant. I expected a lambic feel to it. What I got was a distinct creamy Belgian yeast flavor, balanced with a mild hops and yes, some fruit: flavors of apple and orange. What was nice is that the taste of alcohol was subtle, almost an after thought, but present none the less, balancing the flavors together nicely.

Overall, exactly what I would expect from Dogfish Head. But a lambic it was not. The fruit flavors were not over powering and only accented the yeast flavors. This was a great brew to enjoy as I prepared for the Superbowl last Sunday. An nice sipping beer indeed that paired nicely with the cheese and crackers I was enjoying at the time. Weighing in at 10% ABV, the many wonderful flavors can cause this one hit you slowly.