Smuttynose Wheat Wine

This was the third of the "Big Beer" series that we’ve tested. It pours a medium amber color with a creamy, light-brown head. Hazy body. Aroma is lightly hoppy, with notes of flowers, perfume, and grapefruit. Also, hints of peach and alcohol were noted. Initial flavor was lightly sweet, with a moderately bitter finish. It left our mouths dry with a moderate alcohol feel. We found this particular bottle much more drinkable than the S’muttonator or the Barleywine.

05 bottle. sweet smelling aroma, very bold taste, not strong alcohol taste to it, complex fruity taste with a bitterness that is well refined, light malt mmnnn sexy i like this joint. 4 buck didnt go wrong the first or second time too bad i bought the last one i woulda like to have saved one a while

Nearly 2 dozen 22oz bottles. The beer pours a translucent honey amber reminiscent of dark tea. The highly complex and subtle nose incorporates tropical orange and lemon verbena, crème brulée, dark sorghum syrup, armagnac, hemlock, muscat, whole grain bread, and the very best St. Emilion Cabernet Franc. The mouthfeel is prickly though subdued in such a way as to allow each flavor to standout in its own attenuated glory. Hints of the aforementioned odours give way to the lightest touch of honey, classically herbaceous hops, spiced cider, pine nuts, pancakes and a gentle tannic bitterness and warmth of English Breakfast tea. I was at once impressed with this beer and have since plowed through many a bottle. I’m down to just two in my collection and I will be sure to hold them nearly and dearly. I adore this brew.

Transparent and lucid orange with a head that evaporated as quickly as it was all in the snifter. Hoppy aroma, for sure. Cherries, amarillo and simcoe seem most prevalent. Puce barleywine traits, glazed over with maple undercurrents and brazen dates. Flavor takes less guest work, and follows a predictable pattern. Very hot and very young. Some amaretto cherry traits melding with oily almond butter. Prominently hoppy. Granted, it’s a Smutty, so there’s going to be substantial spicy hops, but it definitely exhibits less control over the wheat prominence, and more similarities with a simple, hoppy and young barleywine. Some dactylic alcohol imparts a separatist feeling, and seems counter productive to ripe red skinned fruits. This one’s youngen, and will get better a year or more down the road. Thanks for sending this one my way, Clark!

An unusual beer with the wheat dominating, but also with some fruitty elements. Chewy caramel and toffee notes with some cognac qualities. Finishes sweet and caramelly.

I’m not a huge fan of barley wine to begin with, so for me this wasn’t such a great beer. But I know a barley wine person who thinks its awesome... This beer is pretty sweet, easy to drink. It tastes like a strong beer to me despite what other may say. Has a hoppy, bitter sweet aftertaste. Kind of a funky, dirty-bar smell.

Vibrant amber colour with plenty of haze. Sweet, heavy nuttiness and light fruit notes (pear, peach) make up the malty aroma. The flavour is more of the same, with a bit more nuttiness and a fairly chewy texture. I was hoping for something more earth-shattering, given my love of all things Smutty.

Yes, I’m being very generous with my rating of this beer, mainly because I can’t get it anymore. I’ve lived all over the world, and I think the most important thing is the freshness of the beer—this is my local brew now. This stuff was hard to get a hold of around here in ’05 due to it’s Quality and Kick, but I grabbed as much as I could when I could. As good or better than any Barley Wine I’ve had, can’t wait for next year. As always, beutiful artwork on the Big Beer label.