Brewery: 3 Sheeps Brewing Co., Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Beer: Cirque Du Wit
Serving: 12 oz bottle
Glassware: 3 Sheeps Pint
Information: 4.2% ABV, 12 IBUs.
Style: Witbier
Availability: Year-round
Cellaring: Not recommended for extended aging.
Pairings: Fish soft-shell tacos or a grilled white fish sandwich
Appearance
Shimmering with clarity, this bright golden yellow beer pours with a well-formed and long-lasting white head. Lace doesn’t cling to the glass as the foam tumbles, but a puffy collar rests neatly on the beer.
Smell
Cirque Du Wit opens with a very pleasant and inviting strong wheat aroma and gentle Belgian yeast presence. Subtle earth esters consisting of clay and white pepper are overlapped by soft and velvet smooth, faint pale malt graininess and sweet pilsner notes which spin around one another. Light floral hop accents comprise the closing act.
Taste
Wheat takes the center ring, once again, as 3 Sheeps loads it into the mash. Plenty of wheat flavor and softness arise with just enough of a pale malt backing and kiss of pilsner sweetness. The finish is very subtly complex, shifting from a quick splash of floral and citrus hops and moving to earthy Belgian yeast notes before finally finishing with a balancing graininess.
Mouthfeel
Cirque Du Wit’s crowning achievement is the spectacular feel in the mouth; the light body remains clean and refreshing while the wheat really adds a soft, full, voluptuous feel that’s balanced by both faint hop bitterness and a tickle of perfect carbonation. Outstanding.
Overall
3 Sheeps manages to pull off an excellent classic witbier; they don’t succumb to the notion every wit nowadays must include coriander and orange peel. The simplicity of it’s ingredients and subtle Belgian yeast combine for a totally satisfying witbier capable of slaking even the burliest of strong-man-sized thirsts.
Score: 91 / 100 – Exceptional
Cheers,
-Andy
Sheboygan is very lucky to have a great brewery like 3 Sheeps. i wish Sheboygan people would get over their cheapness and try some of this great craft beer.