For some reason there's a bar in Tokyo themed around the St Bernardus brewery in west Flanders. As good a theme as any, I suppose. In 2012 the brewery produced a special witbier for it, and again I'm not sure why: St Bernardus already has a perfectly serviceable wit. It was meant as a one-off but was revived earlier this year with an updated recipe and distribution which included my local off licences.The website describes Tokyo (for such is its name) as somewhere between a saison and a witbier. It's half a percent stronger than St Bernardus Wit at 6% ABV but looks ordinarily witty: yellow with a faint haze and a frothy white head. The aroma too, of sweet oranges and gentle peppery spices, says witbier to me. There's something different in the flavour, though. I get green tea and aniseed, bringing a kind of oriental feel to proceedings. The official blurb says I should be tasting chamomile, clove, banana, vanilla and red apple. The first of these, yes, but it's not complex enough for the rest.
This is no radical re-imagining of witbier. Pierre Celis would still recognise it, and maybe even enjoy it. If you fancy a mild twist on standard witbier, but still well-constructed and not too outré, look no further.