Livery Wheat Trippelbock

Brewed by The Livery
Style: Weizen Bock
Benton Harbor, Michigan USA

Thanks to Cougar (I think) for sharing this flip top. Poured a murky brown color with a thin tan head. Oily legs run up the sides of the glass. The aroma is citrusy and wheaty. Notes of dark fruits like raisins and plums as well as some lemon. Lightly roasted with a touch of chocolate. 13% but the alcohol nose is fairly light. Roasted malt flavor. Present was chocolate and some wheaty notes. Medium to full bodied. The mouthfeel was silky and almost creamy. Nice warming sensation in the chest.

Good grief! What a rockin’ beer. Poured into a New Belgium Worthy glass, the is black and brown in the center, with red, yellow, and oranges on the edges where the light manages to get through. No sign of carbonation. The aroma is Raisinettes with a touch of Kikkoman. Very alluring, but I was expecting more weizen character. Wait, there it is. Each drink reminds me of chocolate covered bananas. Rich and full bodied, but not filling. Substantial, but easily enjoyed. At 13% abv, you really wouldn’t know it until you got up from the table. BBB63 is too generous.

Hand bottled sample from the illustrious BigBadBear himself, shared with OldGrowth on 3/14/06 in a tulip at slightly below room temp
The beer is immensely dark, with a soy sauce-like appearance, quite viscous and with very low carbonation, not enough to form a head, but gives a small, deep tan ring of bubbles, and thick legs/residue on the glass. A small head can be coaxed, however, upon swirling. Unfiltered and nearly opaque.
The nose opens up with strong, warming, sweet and rich molasses, soy, port and the signature weizen yeast fruit (bananas, apples) and of course some bubblegum, though it’s more a cotton candy sweetness, adding a feathery-light, lively note to the otherwise seriously intense sipper. Maple, toffee, and just huge, sweet prunes and rich, amplified caramel. Very strong, and one that you can sit and sniff for hours. If there are flaws in the beer, I find none in the aroma. Even a touch of dry, yeast notes and crusty brown bread. I get a light hint of alcohol at one point, but it is fully passing, and even looking for it, I’m not able to find it again.
The flavor, perhaps, is not quite the sum of the aroma, being a bit too soy-like, almost peanut-pecan-like but otherwise full of rich chocolate, gritty, unfiltered wheat and roasted notes adding a balancing element, with bananas foster, caramelized sugars and tons of raisin, prune and light plum astringency. Extremely low carbonation, but it works perfectly, giving a sweet sherry like mouthfeel, very soothing and nearly-syrupy. The wheat works wonders on the palate, as always, in concert with the chocolate and caramel and even being balanced by light hints of earthy roast. No alcohol whatsoever, in the flavor, even after fully warming and breathing.

Very lightly carbonated, which suits the beer well. Pale molasses hue. Feathery hops. Barleywinesque with less esters and straightforward malt profile...complex somehow though. Buttery creaminess without diacetyl. Very lush in all senses of the word. A ton of dark, dried fruit in the finish. Its been awhile since I’ve had SA Triplebock but I imagine that this is the beer they wish they had made. Stunning and I’d drive to get it.

On tap MI brewer’s guild winter fest. Plum and toffee, with lots of deep malt in the nose, accompanied with rum and swartchweisse christmas ciookies. Deep mahogony body with foamy mocha head. Sweet rum with rooted fig/plum flavours, on par with the malts and slight hops. Smooth and silky. Phil is right when he says best tent of the day. Nice one!

First beer of the day at the MI Brewer’s Guild Winter Festival. The Livery does not let one down. Smooth, impressively crafted, brown sugar, molasses, hay, toffee, banana bread. Seemless. Amazing craftsmanship. I was surprised at how sweet this was. I don’t remember the bourbon barrel version being that way. Nice work, Steve, and the gang at Livery. The all-around best tent of the day.

On tap: Huge caramel aroma moderate banana and light yeast. Dark cloudy brown with a small than head. Sweet with lots of caramel, toffee, banana, and light raisin. Finishes with a touch of acidity and light alcohol.

Growler->hand bottle thanks to Mike. Hazy dark brown body. Molasses, grape and wheat-influenced chocolate in the sweet and inviting aroma. Brown sugar starts out the rich, sweet flavor. Beyond that there’s light cocoa powder and cherry tartness. Last-lasting finish - sticky caramel, brown sugar . Thanks Matt and Mike!