Smuttynose Wheat Wine

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

THOUGHTS: It sure smelled like a barley wine, but it didn’t tast like one. It didn’t hide the alcohol all that well. Not as sweet as I would have thought from the aroma. Way too much metallic aftertaste. Not a bad beer, but not a great barley wine or wheat beer. Not a good combo of styles. Instead of the two styles complimenting each other, they kind of robbed the eachother of their best parts. It kinda reminds me of how those darn killer bees were created. Instead of getting hard-working, docile bees; they got lazy, violent ones. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a flat, clear, medium orange-red-brown with a small, off-white head that mostly diminished. The aroma was moderate caramel malt, moderate citrus hops, a little vanilla and alcohol. The initial flavor was light sweetness, while the finish was heavy sweetness and light bitterness with a long duration. The body was medium to full and somewhat dry even though it was syrupy with soft carbonation and a metallic finish.

2006 Bomber via trade with adriann910ss. Thanks. Pours ruby orange with a thin off white head. Nose is big with alcohol, dried fruit, and sweetness. Sweet and mellow with a nice rounded edge that gets bigger towards the back of the throat a bit bigger in the ned than I had anticipated. I like this brew good characteristics for a BW, not too strong not weak. With warming this really starts to open up and taste great, carmel comes out and just a great vinious quality.

(22 oz. bottle (2006) from <A HREF=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/massachusetts/w target=blank>Julio’s Liquors) A nice barleywine...Pours lightly hazy orange with some light reddish tint. About 1/4" of off-white head. Floral hop aroma is quite pronounced with some candy-like malt sweetness beneath. Mouthfeel rather soft, lightly prickly, a touch sticky in finish. Thin webby rings of lacing. Flavor is light rock candy sweetness overlain by pine-like hop taste and medium bitterness. Alcohol quite well-hidden. Some vanilla flavor as it becomes warm. Pine and medium bitter through finish. Pretty well-balanced. I was anxious to try this to compare it to what I assume is its very close cousin - Portsmouth Wheat Wine. I liked both and they are very similar in appearance, aroma and probably palate but this one is less sharp, less sweet and definitely less hot. Had sort of a softer quality that reminded me of Big A IPA.

Big alcohol smell on the pour. This beer pours a dark amber clear color with a smallish white head that really stick around a looooong time after you take a few sips. I smelled a mix of wheat, hops, malt, and fruit on the nose...with some hefty alcohol. This beer has a tremendous mouthfeel and really sticks on your tongue. I really liked the taste of this beer, just fruity enough, with a great balance and a tremendous finish. This is every bit a BIG BEER from Smutty.

Bottle (650ml). Cloudy/hazy orange with a solid tight creamy off-white head. Alcohol and oily grain is prominent in the aroma, funky yeast and a bit of apricot - very soft, like a barleywine but way more grain. Taste follows right on, more tart fruit and an almost kerosene character to the booze that strengthens in the grainy finish. Thick and chewy, mild carbonation, a bitter linger - really nice! I’d love to age a few.

Pours a copper color with a little head. Aroma of caramel, earthy hops spice and fruit notes. Flavor was sweet toffee and some mild spice with a smooth ending that is very easy to drink

22oz bomber; this wheat-barley wine is an interesting concept, so I’m intrigued to try it. It pours a bronze-orange color with just a thin fuzzy top and moderate carbonation. The aroma is definitely barley-winish with a big syrupy sweetness to it, but there’s also an interesting orange twist to it. The first taste is perplexing ot me ... it’s overtly tangy, almost like a dry blood orange, that makes you shiver and squint. The strong alcoholic burn intermingles with this very earthy, dry citric bite in an odd way. I don’t think I’m diggin’ the combination. The more I sip at it and it warms, the flavor combinations start to give it a medicinal bite. (#2756, 3/18/2007)

caramel, nuts, toast, roasty, dough, smoke, woody, red, cloudy, medium sweetness, lightly bitter, lightly sour, medium body, slick feel, flat,