5 Seasons Abbey Winter Wheat

Brewed by 5 Seasons Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Atlanta, Georgia USA

Pours a dark warm amber brown with a fairly persistent tan head. Aroma is strong and wheaty with an undertone of banana and a touch of spice. Rich wheaty flavor has a banana tone and hints of cloves. Texture is smooth and creamy, a little tingly. Excellent.

Appearance: Seemingly opaque, dark amber-brown body (the subdued late night lighting is throwing of my appearance check) with a thin, off-white head. Smell: Toasted wheat malt with sweet-scented notes of caramel and brown sugar. Pinch of spices. Wafting fruit scent along with a sniff of good, clean alcohol. Taste: Flavor of toasted wheat with an overall dark breadiness to it. Tastes of bananas brushed with caramel and brown sugar and spiced with clove and nutmeg. Mild, earthy bitterness. Fruity notes of green raisins and, though lightly, some apricot. Drying finish with a lingering toasted wheat taste. Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium carbonation. Smooth mouthfeel. Drinkability: Abbey Winter is a good beer, just as abbywinters is a good website. Full of flavor but still very drinkable, which leaves me wondering on the ABV% of this one.

Date: December 26, 2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub
Appearance: dark brown, lasting tan head, streaks of lace
Aroma: sweet banana and chocolate aroma with a touch of fruity esters
Body: creamy body
Flavor: sweet chocolate flavor, lots of banana and fruity esters, light earthyness with a hint of spicyness
Overall: the fruity sweetness does a great job pulling out the chocolate character to make a rich and full flavored beer
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.9/5.0
Drinkability: 10/10
Score: **4

dark purple brown under a small beige head. smooth velvety palate. full bodied. aroma of banana and chocolate with similar flavors. much like a weizenbock.

This was absolutely fantastic. One of my new favorites from 5 Seasons. Great spicy esthers. Upon blind tasting I would have called this a Weizenbock, but this is a fabulous hybrid. The yeasty texture already present melds nicely with flavors of raisins and dark fruits, with a lingering cereal malt graininess that gives great texture and mouthfeel. Nicely hidden alcohol, leaves this one to sneak up on you.

On tap Labor Day weekend. Poured dark brown with a beige head. Aroma of wheat, sweet malt, dark fruit, sugar. Taste is a little more like a wheat, with some ester flavors and spice, still plenty of sweet malt notes and dark fruit. Pretty interesting. Mouth is pretty full and smooth. Warming finish. Overall, one of the most unique wheat beers I’ve ever had.

The beer reflects its heritage. The wheat is present as well as the clovey spice of the Belgian dubbel, although if I had had to guess without knowing the name or ingredients I would probably just assume it was a dubbel. A little on the thin side but very tasty.

Clove, brown sugar on the nose. Lightly hazed copper with a hint of orange. Brown sugar, light clove, and a tad of sour. A wee bit thin with good carbonation. Complex to the point of unusual.