Smuttynose Wheat Wine

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

Hazy orangeish, solid cream-toned head. Nice looking. Aroma, sweet, rosy, lightly spicy, cherries and melons, a bit perfumey. Interesting texture here, a littlesour, a little spice, clovey, fruity...very odd. Nothing wrong...just weird...nothing wrong with weird. Medium bodied, tannic finish, a bit tangy. But the flavor bottom out too quickly, there’s nothing for the tongue to play with after a while, and it all drifts off faster than it ought to.... Fruit + wheat + booze, is the simple formula. While an interesting experiment, a novel take on a new style, I feel it misses the mark just a touch. 11%? Hoo, boy...it’s creeping up on me...

On tap at the Extreme Beer Fest at the Lazy Boy Saloon in White Plains, NY. Aroma was faint, highlighting slight american hops, beets, radish, and a touch of sweetness. There is a lot of vegetably sweetness in the flavor, with corn, wheat, late hop bitterness and balance. It was hard to pin down much in the way of style or ingredients in this beer. It seemed all over the board. It was toasty and sweet, thick and filling, though could have been attenuated through a bit more. I’d like to see more wheat wines, and the couple I’ve had are quite unique and interesting.

Bomber: Pours an orangy amber color, copper with a thick fluffy head that quickly dissapates. Some flowery hops on the nose are prevelant as well as a little brown sugary sweetness, yeast, wheat, bread and alcohol. The flavor is indeed a wheaty version of a barleywine. Not quite as sweet as your typical barleywine with some yeasty, bread doughy wheat flavor more so than the sweet malt characteristics usually so obvious in a standard barleywine, although as it warms its sugary sweet flavors become a little bit more obvious.

Poured an amber orange color with only the thinnest of initial heads and very little lacing. The aroma was of citrus, light floral aspects, alcohol, and sticky sweetness. Flavor was much of the same, thick mouthfeel and carbonated. The wheat character of this beer was so overwhelmed by the hops and alcohol, it was hard to find this any different than a regular old barleywine.

Pours with an orange-amber body topped by a medium thick head with little lacing. It’s slightly sweet and malty yet hoppy with a nice citrus note. Medium bodied, smooth and warming.

tasted at heavyweight open house 6/3/06. cloudy orange with a off white head. Aroma: sweet, apple, some spice, hops. Taste: Fruits and malt with a well balanced bitter finish.

Dark amber body, tine head that vanishes fast. Sweet smell, alcohol, and intense bready nose ... made me think of Hop Rod Rye. A bit sweet, but unlike most barley wines this was very spicey, again reminding me of Hop Rod Rye. Alcohol and bubble gum hidden ... unlike most barley wines ... must be the wheat, since this is not very strongly hopped. Nice balance. Can I find banana or honeydew or pear, any of the fruit that I usually find in a wheat beer? Maybe a bit of banana and hoenydew, hidden under the spice. I do like this.

Aroma is dominated by the Barleywine "sweet" smell, then some fruity aroma’s kick in with hints of Wheat. Medium body, thin head that disipates quickly. The Hops and Wheat are subtle but evident. Nice hybrid, NOT for the "light beer" drinkers out there!