Bells Wheat Love Ale

I should like this but I don’t. I just hate wiezens and although this beer is said to be a barleywine it is more like a barleywiezen with the same cloudy orange body and white head. Artificial bannana flavors along with wheat. If the bannan mellows with age I will be able to stand it but right now it’s not up my alley.

Perhaps my favorite of the Wheat Series. Bottle poured a beautiful cloudy orange at first, with a good head, and good lacing. After the yeast settled, it went to a less beautiful clear orange. Aroma was strong yeast, very spicey, with a little mysterious fragrance in the background. Flavour was very strong, perhaps a little disorganized. Yeast (pungence, some fruit, clove, banana, wheat (spiceyness, a little grainyness, some grassyness), deep maltiness (carmel, dark fruit), all fighting for attention. Feels substantial in the mouth, even though it’s not really thick at all, but also slightly astringent. This bottle was aged probably 2 months, I get the feeling some of the more harsh flavours would have mellowed out if I went to around 6 months. Still, this was quite enjoyable.

One of the most beautiful pours I’ve ever seen. Started relatively clear with a nice head -- deep, almost pinkish yellow -- but when the yeast was poured in, a fabulous show was put on of patterns and clouds and masses of murkiness (sorry, I’m a visual artist and I *love* stuff like this).
Onto the beer. Aroma was nice dunkelweizen style, wheaty and very spicy, lots of yeast (when it made it in), and perhaps some jasmine. Flavor was strong in the wheat department but unfortunately was quite oxidized and blocked off latter flavors. Very, very late in the finish you get a touch of funky hops. Still, even with the oxidation, a very interesting beer.

Pours cloudy golden with a huge off white head and lots of carbonation. Lots of sourness coming from the aroma reminescent of a Berliner Weisse. Very spicey flavor up front that slaps your tongue around. It has that Belgian horsehair flavor with some refreshing clovey, peppery wheat. Very unique beer. This was a pretty cool project by Bell’s. I’d like to see them try it with a stout.

12 oz bottle, via Styles. Tied with Wheat 2 for the lightest in color, a clear gold with minimal to no head and moderate visible carbonation. Fruity and spicy aroma with some hay and alcohol. Flavor is dominated by very hot and warming alcohol. Beyond that, it’s very fruity and lightly bitter on the finish. Quite different from the caramel and toffee of a true Barley Wine. Full bodied and sticky on the palate, carbonation is fine but rater lively preventing a sickeningly cloying mouthfeel. Overall, I think the alcohol in this is a bit overpowering. I’ll chime in with the movement to classify Wheat Wines as a unique style while I’m at it also.

2/16/06: Bottle.
Creamy wheat nose with a touch of clove. Cloudy apricot body with a thin white head. Some lace. Full wheat flavor which is smooth and creamy. Notes of citrus, clove, pepper and spice. Finish is hoppy; bitter and a touch of sweet.

(bottle - 12 oz) Hazy orange pour with a thin white head and lots of sediment. Aroma is full of spices, yeast, coriander, citrus and wheat. Taste is very malty yet full of wheat flavor mixed with lots of coriander and orange peel. Kind of like a high octane hefeweizen. Medium bodied with a pleasantly sweet and warming finish.

Poured a very hazy dark yellow color. Nice aroma. Yeasty and fruity with peach, lemon and some spice. Flavor is sweet and fruity that includes the above fruits as well as some banana. Medium body is lightly syrupy.