AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
adamjackson (192) – Canaan, USA – MAR 31, 2012
A – Poured a 3-Finger head with a healthy mix of big and tight bubbles. Very nice head retention along the edges of the glass as it dissipated. Dissipation took 5 minutes to achieve 1-finger head.The beer is a smooth and hazy golden orange. You’d think it was a light red ale but, against the light, this is a very orange drink with a lean toward VERY golden look.
S – Right on the nose is an explosion of wheat followed by that great wild / farmhouse yeast that you would expect from a beer like this. It’s classified as a Barley Wine on RateBeer but I’m getting wild / saison style. Great bits of orange peel and mild spices with a hint of cherries.
T – My nose deceives me. I’m getting more barley wine characteristics that I was not expecting. There’s a huge caramel matliness that hits immediately. This is followed by an intense bitterness that’s almost sour like as if the back of the tongue is a Lambic Geuze There’s a mild spice to this beer that I can’t pinpoint. Wheat beer is the last thing I’d think of in a blind taste test. It’s a beer with an identity crisis for sure.
M – Solid explosion of carbonation on a single mouth-swish about 90% of the beer turns to big bubbles. It’s light to medium bodied and the caramel malts and fleeting hops stick around long after swallowing I’d say for about a minute.
O – I’m not sure what to think of this beer. It’s good but not great. Wheat turns to caramel turns to very malty notes which leads to very bitter middle of the tongue experience with a lingering caramel taste but the nose is nothing like the taste. Hard to rate…I’m giving it a B+
