Smuttynose Wheat Wine

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

GBBF, Trade Day, 2008 Gravity cask. Cloudy orange amber. Some dog poo in the aroma - the dried white sort. Vague mouthfeel finishes in a yeasty bitterness. Not impressed. Wheat is not a good cereal for beer - though it can add a level of interest if used well. This use lacks understanding, and is a bit crude.

Cask (gravity) @ Great British Beer Festival, GBBF 2008, Earls Court, London, England SW5.
Unclear medium amber orange (copper) color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, caramel, toffee, wheat, grapefruit, moderate yeasty, cheese. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and bitter with a average to long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. (050808)

Appearance: Pours a hazy, deep, yet bright amber body with a thin ring of white bubbles. Smell: Wonderfully aromatic nose smelling deeply of toasted caramel with a distant tangy note of wheat. Some peaches and pears, as well as some citrus. Taste: Malty caramel, lightly toasty, and with a full, though not unrestrained sweetness. Definitely a nice wheat component present. Chewy fruitiness. Spicy, lightly citrusy hops with a medium-high bitterness, but it blends very well to counter and balance all of the sweetness. Hint of pepper. Finishes bittersweet with a lingering taste of creme caramel. Upon warming, a taste of Grand Marnier begins to emerge. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium-low carbonation. Suspiciously creamy mouthfeel. Drinkability: Very good, very nice, and I wish I had some extra bottles of it on-hand. Heavenly and delectable! I certainly recommend it.

Cask at GBBF08. Weak caramel aroma. Clear dark chestnut colour. Very small tan head. Quite sweet. Caramelly hop flavour, a little hop bite, probably mostly alcohol. Quite nice, but I do not taste any wheat.

Courtesy of tpd975 hooking our weekly tasting group up with a yummy barleywine. You know what I like!! Pours hazy copper with thin gold edges and thin tan head. The aroma is plums, prunes, crystal malts, sweet malts, pine hops and some alcohol heat. The taste is sweet sticky sugar malts mixing seamlessly with some caramel candy. Those rich tasty notes are followed by prunes, dried cherries, figs, pears and raisins. The wheated malt note isn’t all that noticeable or less than I was expecting anyway. I can get a sense of the wheat just behind the rich malt and caramel goodness. Yeah, I can get used to drinking a bomber of this. Thanks again Greg.

Powerful stuff with smell of alcohol and malts. Bittersweet taste with spicy wheat, vanilla and hints of hop resin. Alcoholic notes all the way. Thin, off-white head over a copper coloured body. Full bodied. Well worth drinking in a small glass (third pint at GBBF, 06.08.2008).

A Mes rate: gravicask at GBBF.
A superb rich amber colour. Stunning wheat and barley sugar. Thick, luscious, chewy, slight cheese, loads of wheat and a lovely boozy hit. Full bodied malt base holds it all up really well. A huge warm blanket of a beer and I really liked it.

Cask conditioned - gravity dispense - GBBF 2008. An amber coloured beer which is full bodied both in the nose and the mouh. Great alcohol notes and a full malty taste. No obvious wheat notes.