So I grabbed a single of this at my local tonight. I've needed to try this one and have anticipated it's release. It's a bourbon barrel aged wheat wine, weighing in at 12% abv. Very cool label artwork as always from Founders, so let's get this one cracked and explore!
A- Pours a gorgous, deep golden amber. Almost like thick, moderately dark honey. Very hazy, love the haze. Small bubbles float inside the glass, and it looks like a rare gem in my wine glass. No head has formed at all, but the color makes up for that!
S- Wow, bourbon right off the first whiff. I'm getting a lot of barelywine scents mixed in there. I can faintly smell what resembles the nose of a Dirty Bastard! The second swirl pulls out the ethel alcohol and wow, I realize how bad this dogs bite is going to be! Oh Schnapp's, here we go! Dried fruits in the nose? Mmmmmm
T- My first sip reveal a lot, but the beer is still quite chilled. It's very complex, and the alcohol warms as it goes down. I get a very malty base coming in, just like a barelywine but more pronounced. I taste dried fruits...apricot? Man, the twang on the alcohol really comes through everything. There is hop presence...I'm really digging to detect it through the ethel alcohol barage. A little less alcohol on the pallet and the hops would be delicious. I've never had a wheat wine before, and there are some differences I notice between it and a barelywine, although I can't put my finger on them. Is it a texture thing? Okay, third sip now.
Oookay, there's the bourbon! Mmmm, Knob Creek...Wild Turkey! I get it now, I'll be slowly sipping for a while.
M- Mouthfeel is rather dry, yet viscous. There is a resinous mesh that covers the pallet like any super ipa or barleywine. The hops remain on your pallet even long after your swallow, like an ipa. The alcohol does too, same as sipping a fine, neat bourbon or scotch.
D- Umm, this beer is for those who really have a pallet to enjoy it. The resources and efforts put into this creation would be wasted by someone who would simply spit out the first sip and commence drainpour. It is quite intense, hence the sip and savor. One will do you all night long.
Overall, I am rather impressed! I need to let it warm a little to pull out all the nuances, but they've done a good job balancing this one! Cheers to Founders!
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