Smuttynose Wheat Wine

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

Dark orange body with a diminishing head around the sides of the snifter. A fully-hopped nose that is also slightly sweet and fruity. Very barleywine-like, as expected from the CD. The finish lingers and is quite bitter and even a little too astringent. Well-blanced flavor with plenty of honey, hops and a bit of wheat, but nothing strikingly wheaty here.

Pours a nice clear reddish brown with a thin white head. Aroma of caramel, fruit and light hops. Flavor is mostly caramel with a range of fruit. White grape, apple, pear and lots of strawberry. Not extremely sweet, due to the drying effect of the wheat. Some natural wheat flavor as well. Decent hop presence, with bitterness and some juicy hop flavor. Nice medium body, but the flavor waches out at times. Reminds me of a lighter flavored version of Bigfoot.

Burnt orange in color - smells almost bock-ish, with caramel the most present - some smells of oak, white grapes, raisins, very apparent alcohol - quite herbal and grainy - some tangy orange - alcohol burn is evident, almost to the point of being too much - finishes fairly dry and grassy - interesting, but not quite complex enough.

22 oz bottle, 2005, from Stateline Liquors in Elkton, MD (April 2006), served at cellar temperature in a Corsendonk Christmas Ale glass. Translucent amber-liquid copper complexion, with fine yeast particulates throughout and an immobile small meringue topping....lightly alcoholic, fairly dry nose offers moderate-strength C-hop notes, wood, very dry rainsins and a modicum of sourdough....sweet, syrupy, rather medicinal body that becomes somewhat harsh and dryly bitter at the very finish, while offering up lightly sour and lactic bready traits, thick peach/apricot juice, and a trace of golden raisins....finishes thick, dried out enough to keep from being sticky/cloying, but still somewhat difficult to drink. A mixed bag, there just isn’t enough interest in the mouth....it sure do look purty, though.

22 oz. bottle, from slob - thanks Bert! Pours a slightly hazed, deep orange with little to no head. Sweet and orangey-citrus fruity malts, sweet, yeasty bread, floral hops, alcohol, getnle spice, clove and allspice, with a hoppy finish. Sweet, tart, lemon tea, bitter and astringent spices, sourdough bread, orange syrup anda bit of vanilla. Medium to full body, smooth mouth feel and nice carbonation.

Gigantic thanks for DirtyMike and Volgon for sending me a bottle of this! Nice dark coppery color with the fruity/wheat twang in the aroma. While there was some taste of alcohol, it was more on the mellow side, like it had aged a bit.

Bottle from Super Saver, Somerville, NJ. The pour was dark coppery rubyish, with a 2-finger off-white head. Nice aroma of dark fruit, hops, wheaty malt, port, and some cabernet. The palate was hefty, with well hidden alcohol, and a great fruity hoppy presence. This is a beer that I would actively seek out again, which is a rarity for me these days.

This beer has it all a beautiful color, lightly carbonated, a crisp taste with a sweet finish. Just a delicious full bodied ale.