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In our ninth episode we review Celis White. A Belgiam witbier by Celis Brewing while discussing Ridley Scott coasting, Marvel TV shows (Legion), and the things Cutter will do for rotisserie chicken.
Music for the show:
Evil Eye/ The Stranger Rides Tonight by Daddy Long Legs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.
Bottle of Beer by simon_mathewson is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
Show Notes:
Celis
Celis White: the legendary “Father of Witbier” first brewed by Pierre Celis in 1965 is back. The signature witbier is made with the original Celis recipe including Cascade, Saaz and Willamette hops, coriander and orange peel, as well as the proprietary yeast strain from Belgium. This traditional top fermented witbier is hazy bright yellow with strong citrus with spicy fruity scents. Celis White sparkles slightly tart fruit flavors balanced with light maltiness and wheat. It finishes with complex citrus and spice for a refreshing taste that is perfect on a warm Texas afternoon.
Celis White is called the father of witbier. It was first brewed by Pierre Celis in 1965.
Pierre is actually credited with reviving the witbier.
Witbiers are descended from medieval beers that were flavored and preserved with a blend of spices and other plants like coriander, orange, and bitter orange instead of hops.
Like those medieval beers, Celis White is flavored with coriander and orange peel but it also contains Cascade, Saaz, and Willamette hops.
So witbier or biere blanche or just plain old white beer gets its name due to suspended yeast and wheat proteins which cause the beer to look hazy or white, especially when cold.
So as we mentioned Celis White is a wheat beer.
There are two common types of wheat beer. There’s weissbier, the German style, based on the tradition of using at least 50% wheat to barley malt to make a light-colored, top fermenting beer.
And the second is the witbier, made in the Belgium style, where they use flavorings, typically coriander and orange peel. Belgian wheats are generally made with raw wheat unlike other varieties that use malted wheat.
And I am sure Cutter is delighted to know that we are drinking a belgian.
Celis White is known to have somewhat of a sour taste due to the presence of lactic and acetic acids. Which are most likely due to the use of a proprietary yeast strain that comes straight from Belgium. That yeast also causes the beer to continue fermenting after it has been bottled.
Serving
Bavarian-style wheat beer is usually served in a 500ml vase-shaped glass.
But in Belgium witbier is generally served in a 250ml glass and each brewery has their own shape.
Kristallweizen and american wheat beers are sometimes served with a slice of lemon or orange in the glass. This is in no way a tradition in Bavaria and is often generally frowned upon.
The american custom of fruiting the beer is thought to have originated in Portland, Oregon in the mid-80s. Where a local bar served a local weizenbeer with a slice of lemon to accentuate the citrus flavor of the Cascade hops.
The Brewery
Celis is known as Austin’s first craft brewery. It started during the craft beer craze of 1992. Celis White was so popular and led to such rapid growth that Miller sought out and bought a controlling interest in the brewery and the Celis name. But by 2000 Miller decided that instead of buying up good breweries and Rian Johnsoning them they decided to sell off their ownership and focus on their core beers.
And December 31st 2000 Celis closed its doors and the taps went dry. That is until Christine Celis, daughter of Pierre Celis, reopened the brewery in Austin’s brewery district, and revived her father’s legacy as her father revived and championed the witbier in his hometown of Hoegaarden, Belgium.
Champion!
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