Beer of the Week: Belgian Wit

As the founder and brewmaster of New English Brewing, Simon Lacey has been celebrating the ales of his native U.K. through his Sorrento Valley business for the past 17 years. He makes arguably the best local iterations of English styles, including brown ale and extra special bitter (AKA: ESB…yay, acronyms!), but he’s no one-trick pony. Over the years, Lacey has expanded his brewery’s offerings to include beer styles of varied geographic origin. Of late, he’s been delving into classic Belgian ales, starting with a formidable Belgian-style blonde, which has been well received and given way to this week’s featured beer, Belgian Wit. A Belgian-style witbier (translation: white beer), it is designed to mimic the hazy, wheat ales of its country of origin, right down to its trademark flavor adjuncts, dried orange peel and coriander. Both of those show up big in this self-titled release, with the former stealing the show even before the first sip. The sweet scent of that citrus fruit meld seamlessly with vibrant, floral esters brought on by the Belgian yeast used to ferment the beer. It’s an alluring aroma similar to that of the aforementioned blonde, enticing one to return to its lower-alcohol offspring for continued enjoyment. In this day and age, where most breweries’ tap lists are limited almost exclusively to IPAs, pale ales and sun-friendly lagers, it’s heartening to see New English sticking to its U.K. roots, while also exploring territory few of its contemporaries are charting courses for these days. (But don’t worry, Lacey also brews stellar IPAs, pale ales and lagers, too!)

Our beer roads are currently leading to Belgium. As people’s response to our Belgian Blonde has been so positive (we also love this beer), we decided to keep traveling down this path. Additionally, two of our favorite cooking ingredients are coriander and orange peel, so brewing a Belgian wit was a no-brainer! Our version is as close to authentic as we can get it: light straw in color and cloudy with a zesty flavor and crisp, aromatic finish. We’re very happy we landed here. It tastes great on its own or paired with curry, fish and chips or your favorite chocolate cake.”

Simon Lacey, Co-owner, New English Brewing

New English Brewing is located at 11545 Sorrento Valley Road in Sorrento Valley