Chardonnay Barrel Aged Wheatwine
Empyrean Brewing Company in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States 🇺🇸
Barley Wine - Wheat Regular|
Score
7.09
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8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Got in a trade with The-Adjunct-Hippie. 12 ounce bottle into snifter, best before 8/2017. Pours slighly hazy/cloudy golden/amber color with a 1 finger fairly dense and fluffy white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a good amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big lemon, apricot, golden raisin, pear, apple, white wine, vanilla, toasted oak, honey, wheat, and bread; with light pepper, buttery toffee, coconut, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/earthy yeast, wine barrel, and moderate pale malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big lemon, apricot, golden raisin, pear, apple, white wine, vanilla, toasted oak, honey, wheat, bread, light pepper/toffee/coconut, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light herbal bitterness and tannic wine/oak spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of lemon, apricot, golden raisin, pear, apple, white wine, vanilla, toasted oak, honey, wheat, bread, pepper, light toffee/coconut, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/earthy yeast, wine barrel, and moderate pale malt flavors; with a great malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and zero cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Fairly crisp/drying from carbonation, but not overly prickly/foamy. Medium-high carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/grainy/bready, and lightly sticky/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 11%. Overall this is a great barrel aged wheatwine style! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/earthy yeast, wine barrel, and moderate pale malt flavors; very smooth, crisp, and easy to drink for the big ABV. The balanced between white wine and wheatwine flavors was pretty much perfect. Very bright/fruity, but well balanced with the malt and oak character. Very unique, but really well done for the brewers intent on this style. A very enjoyable offering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Mar 2017
at 19:30
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle. A- Soft citrus, apples, grapes, white wine, roses, soft caramel. A- Golden orange color, clear liquid, minimal fizzy head. T- Subtle white grape, buttered rum, toffee, subtle oak, slight sweetness. P- Medium body, average texture, average carbonation, balanced finish. O- This is the kind of beer Empyrean needs to constantly brew to put them on the map. Between these Barrel Aged beers and the Carpe Brewem stuff they’ve show they can do good things. This had a lot of flavors and aromas going on, a lot of which I can’t wait figure out, but they’re delightful. That typical barleywine aroma is an example. Very good and a lot of subtle flavors. Can’t tell this is 11%. Overall, a solid offering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Jul 2016
at 22:41