Friar's Belgian-Style White Ale - Sherwood Forest Brewers Ltd., Marlborough

I've been putting off drinking this bottle of Friar's Belgian-Style White Ale from Sherwood Forest Brewers because it all seems a bit... fake. I can't fault these guys for the obvious, making a Belgian Wit outside of Belgium, that's not my quarrel. What turned me off to this beer was all the Robin Hood references. They're kitschy in an annoying sort of way. Unless you're selling this beer to six year olds who think Robin Hood and Friar Tuck are cool, don't hide your beer behind public domain cartoon characters. It feels like you're talking down to me, "I know you like Robin Hood so maybe you'll like our beer because it has a cartoony Friar Tuck on it!" Seriously, let the beer speak for itself...

Aside from the packaging, how is this beer? Honestly, not bad... really not bad. It's actually quite good. I'm a little surprised because these theme marketed beers are usually crap. The Sherwood Forest guys actually know what their doing, at least when it comes to brewing... they could still use some help in the marketing department.

This beer smells like a good Belgian Wit, with loads of clove and sweet citrus. Those aromas carry through to your palate but in slightly different proportions. The flavor of the Friar's Belgian White has plenty of clove to make it unmistakably a Wit, but there is a good deal of pale malt and spice that keep your tastebuds busy. My main complaint with this beer is the thin texture on the finish. There are so many light flavors it all seems to fall apart in the final few seconds. The flavors are great though and the alcohol content seems low enough that this could be a decent session Wit. My caveat here is that the ABV is not printed so they could have just done a really good job masking the alcohol. Either way, this beer is worth trying if you see it sitting on the shelf.