This was a somewhat blind buy for me; White Birch are 2 for 2 with me due to their last beers I've tried being pretty unique and incredible. On the offset, this seems no different. Though low alcohol compared to other WBs, it's a strange-seeming beer with a bizarre flavor character. The pour has a strong and tenacious white-ish head that keeps up a finger or two throughout drinking. Body is cloudy with a nice orange-red color. Lacing seems very clean and solid; nothing special but it's strong regardless. When I uncapped it, I immediately got some grassy, rustic notes in the nose, followed by a deep caramel maltiness and some sour rye characteristics which seemed to blend together well and create a kind of "old ale" feel. Taste is big malts up front that mingle with very lightly peppery/earthy hops, bringing out a lot of notes ranging from rural grains to lemon zest and some orange peel. Darker fruits open up as it warms and the light alcohol (6.3%; weird here because BA says this is a 10% Belgian Strong Pale; it really isn't... I'm wondering if they've just majorly screwed with the recipe or something?) comes out to play a bit, warming as the beer drinks and playing well with the bubbly, spirited carbonation. Belgian yeast character is a bit subdued here, and the finish seems to wrap up quickly with very little lingering flavor other than a strict, powerful dryness that draws you in for another sip each time. Body is somewhat thin and seems to rely heavily on the peppery/spicy rye to mingle with the sweet citrus going on, but it only sometimes works properly. Opinions on this beer are _wildly_ inconsistent among BAers and RateBeer users alike, but I'll just go ahead and call it decent but not outstanding. It seems that its main lack is consistency, especially given that from pictures/reviews I'm seeing around, they change the recipe and overall style of this all the time. That just seems weird as shit, and not really in a good way. Makes it difficult to be objective about it. Regardless of that weird note, this is a perplexing and complex beer that defies categorization in simplistic terms; it's like a slightly-sour pale ale with saison qualities and maybe some dubbel-esque fruit tones. I therefore almost want to call it a mess, but WB is just so likeable that I have difficulty doubting them here. Bizarre.
