Mothership Wit, named affectionately after the New Belgium evangelists, the Beer Rangers, who refer to the Fort Collins brewery as the "Mothership" is a fairly new brew at New Belgium. It's inspired by the traditional Belgium Wit or White beers of Belgium. "Wit" is Dutch, and Flemish, for white, and refers to the "white" or cloudy appearance of the beer; because the beer is made with a combination of barley and wheat, and is top-fermented. In the middle ages, such beers were traditionally made with spices (typically coriander, cloves, and sometimes, orange peel or essence of orange) instead of hops, or, later, in addition to hops. Belgian wit beers are cousins of Lambic and and Hefeweizen.

You can smell spices—cloves, and coriander, and something that I can't quite place (cardamom, maybe?), as well as taste them in this interesting and very medieval-style beer. New Belgium's Mothership Wit is a beautiful light gold in the glass, with a creamy white head. The citrus is more apparent in aroma and taste it is than in the bottle (yes, for you, I tried it both ways, because I'm dedicated like that). For those purists out there, I am one of those beer drinkers who like Wit beers with a slice of orange, and I'll be trying that as well. Some of us aren't afraid of girl cooties or " girl beer."

The ingredients on the bottle note that I note that not only is New Belgium's Mothership Wit a wit beer, it's an organic beer using Belgium wit yeasts, malted barley, and according to the package "citrus flavors suspended in organically-grown wheat, hops and spices." At 4.8% ABV this is a session style beer, and perfect for enjoying with meals and after. This very much feels and tastes like a big beer; the ABV was a surprise to me. I have to agree with Website recommendations of both Chef Todd Davies, a partner of Tap House Grill, who recommends pairing this beer with jumbo lump crab cakes, with braised leeks and saffron, and with Melissa Newell, the owner of Terroir Restaurant, who suggest pairing New Belgium's Mothership Wit with a yellow Thai-style curry.

I'll definitely add New Belgium's Mothership Wit to my New Belgium list of beers to try on tap; it's right up there with Abbey Ale, and Mighty Arrow. I note that I'm not the only fan, either. I do wish that they'd kept using the lovely art of Ann Fitch; I think she could have designed an exquisite stop-and-buy from six feet away label for this beer.