Smuttynose Wheat Wine

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

Bottle. Moderate cookie and caramel for the malt, orange for the hops, light soap for the yeast, with background notes of cherry, dried fig, dates, milk and alcohol. head is small, bubbly, white, with fair lacing and good legs and is fully diminishing. Color is sparkly, hazy orange/red with some tiny particles. Flavor starts moderately to heavily sweet and acidic, then finishes lightly sweet and moderately acidic and bitter. Palate is medium to full, creamy and has a lively carbonation and a heavily alcoholic finish that’s, oddly enough, sticky on the lips and dry on the roof of the mouth. Not a lot of presence to the wheat as far as I could tell, but this is certainly an excellent Barley Wine.

bottle, amber orange pour with no foam, sweet fruit aromas with a malty tropical fruit and caramel flavor, some alcohol showing but not overpowering, finish is slightly bitter

on tap at Taco Mac Metropolis on 3/7/10. deep orange pour with a white head... big sweet nose... with some hops in the background... medium creamy body... very smooth... citrus notes, more light and dark fruit and more bitterness... really nice hoppy wheat wine... solid beer.

Bottle. Pours amber with a medium sized off-white head. Flavor is sweet with caramel/toffee notes, fruit, and very boozy. It was a nice departure from the standard barleywine.

(Out of a 22oz bottle into a small tester glass) Depending on the angle of the light, could be one of two colors: 1) a pink/rose-colored blush, or 2) a copper-orange. It’s very very clear. There is a very slight amount of head, but a decent amount of carbonation. Mostly smells like a wheat beer, but has a sweet, wine-like scent as the secondary aroma. Not like a barley wine, but a "wine" wine. A white or a blush. Smells more like wine than beer. Extremely pungent, sour flavor. Major pucker going on here. It tastes like a strong Belgian crossed with a strong ale, with just a hint of white wine sweetness. Much stronger than it looks. The hops are slight; they drown in the sweet-n-sour of the rest. Major metallic alcohol bite. Medium thickness, but a bit bubbly. Bites you on the way down. This is some heavy drinking, more akin to a liquor than a beer. Gets better as it warms up.

Clear copper pour with a thin off white head. Aroma is dark fruit, toffee and alcohol. Full bodied. Flavor is grainy, bready, alcoholic, and fruity. Hot finish.

22 oz. bomber at a friend’s house in Boston; he got it at Downtown Liquor in Somerville. Shared; good thing, because I couldn’t have done this myself. Pours a rich color that falls somewhere between amber and copper with very little head or visible carbonation. Aroma was like a sweet fruity wine, with notes of apples, pears, cherries, grapes, honey, caramel malts, and booze. Flavor was also sweet, fruity, and boozy, with some balancing malts and hop bitterness. Full-bodied, with a chewy mouthfeel and a lot of warming alcohol. Interesting beer- don’t drink it alone.

Pours clear copper color with thin khaki head. Aromas of wheat, fruit, molasses and some alcohol. Flavor is moderately sweet fruit, caramel, toffee and bubble gum. There is a slight amount of heat from the alcohol. Medium to full body with very little carbonation and a syrupy mouthfeel.