Unique caramelized wheat wine aged in Larceny Wheated bourbon barrels while conditioned on brown-sugared cinnamon and apple picks up mild toffee sweetness. Subtle bourbon warmth receives apple pie, candied apple, gingerbread and tart cherry snips while downplaying 14.6% ABV heft.
Dry light-bodied wheat ale (with purplish red grape hue) brings tannic Petite Sirah/Verdot grape flutter to delicate black-peppered plum and cherry snips as well as tidily floral rosé nuance over earthen raw wheat spine in tepid manner. Tenuous Sirah grape tartness, bitterness and acidity.
On tap at Ambulance, gloriously fruitful wheat wine competes well against finest sherry. Veritable fruit cocktail gathers tangy peach, cantaloupe, nectarine, honeydew, cherry, peach and fig sweetness above caramelized Maris Otter pale wheat malting. In the midst, creamy toffee spicing contrasts mild hop astringency to seal the deal.
On tap at Ambulance, sweet golden-cleared barleywine (aged in white wine and rum barrels) loads spiced rum sugaring onto botanical-wafted tropical fruiting. Sweet orange, pineapple, mango, peach and nectarine illusions pick up light ethanol astringency from well-hidden 11% ABV.
On tap at Ambulance, “aggressively hopped English-styled blonde barleywine” retains affluent candi-sugared tropical fruiting above lilting caramel malting and wispy 12% alcohol burn. Sweet Sangria wining affects IPA-like orange-grapefruit-pineapple-lemon fruiting as well as sly cantaloupe, honeydew, melon, nectarine and tangerine undertones of fine 2015 vintage.
Charismatic wheat wine aged in Woodford Reserve bourbon barrels (12% ABV) loads chewy butterscotch-candied caramel malt creaming and sugary dried fruiting atop honeyed wheat spine. Woodford bourbon deepens oaken vanilla, maple molasses, spiced rum and sticky anise overtones. Rich fruity center gathers bruised cherry, pureed raisin, stewed prune and sugared fig sweetness while tertiary pineapple, peach, navel orange, nectarine, cantaloupe, red grape and banana licks penetrate the surface afterwards.
Moderate wheat hybrid brewed with Chardonnay grape juice loses vineyard essence to cloy corn-sugared malt liquor syruping. Pomace-bound grappa brandy dapple, dry champagne sparkle, vinous green grape tartness and musty Scotch lick never blend effectively, leaving inefficient Chardonnay wining to fade near the bland wheat cracker bottom.
On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead and aged in French oak barrels, fruity wheat-malted moderation brings sour saison-like yellow fruiting to sweeter tropical fruiting, leaving peripheral champagne-fizzed Sauvignon Blanc wining at pepper-spiced sweet ‘n sour finish. Lemon and orange rot ensure sour end while pineapple, pear, apple and peach illusions pick up sugary crystal malt creaming. Well disguised 9.5% ABV allows vermouth and vodka hints to emerge.
Walking a tightrope getting all the different adjuncts to adhere correctly makes this affluent wheat wine a durable recreational hybrid (with hidden 10% abv). “Brewed with spices,” its toasted black cardamom seasoning and black peppercorn snip provide a rice-wined sake affect before settling into oaken vanilla midst. Herbal Sauvignon tropicalia and creamy Chardonnay buttering tease the palate before honeyed nectar sweetens its dainty hibiscus-lotus-dandelion florality. Subtle smoked wheat tangent underscores dry alfalfa, whey and sorghum graining as well as grouty hop gunk.
Strong limited edition (2012) wheat wine brings citric splendor to weedy green-hopped black peppering and musty earthen leathering. Lemon-peeled grapefruit rind bittering seeps into mild orange zest as well as tertiary white peach, mango, pineapple and pear illusions. Gin-soaked juniper bite soaks dry wooded midst to wheat-breaded backbone.
Complex bourbon-barreled wheat wine delivers an interesting twist on an oak aged elixir. Lustrous bourbon theme soothes into caramelized butterscotch sweetness, where lovely Almondine-wined praline, pecan and macadamia nuttiness contrasts heady rum-spiced alcohol solvency. Oaken French coffee creaming, pina colada-like coconut milking and frozen banana daiquiri nip join the busy fray, outlasting fleeting brown-sugared cinnamon-gingerbread spicing. Chardonnay, cognac and brandy illusions deepen liquor-stained backend.
On tap at Barcade, enjoyable 14th anniversary wheat wine (aged two years) retains milder sedation than richer barleywine styling, but may lack subtle complexities. Caramelized butterscotch-honeyed wheat malting tapers off as serene grape-wined seduction makes presence felt. Candied apple, banana bubblegum, orange marmalade, red cherry, pineapple, mango and grapefruit illusions flutter across acutely astringent alcohol burn.