Fitgers 1100 Wheat Wine

Brewed by Fitgers Brewhouse
Style: Barley Wine
Duluth, Minnesota USA

Sampled draught at the Autumn Brew Review in Minneapolis, October 7 2006. The pour: dirty opaque brown with little head though what there is sticks around, very thick....the nose: sweet caramel, doughy bread; sort of like a Portuguese sweet bread with berries and dots of caramelized sugar...the flavor: very sweet, lots of caramel malts, faint bitter/burnt notes that creep in slowly but mushroom towards the finish, touches of molasses....very thick, something like cake batter in consistency with very little carbonation....raisiny hints grow with warmth. Quite nice though it gets to be a bit much and the small sample was certainly enough for one sitting.

On draught during the Winterfest 2008 as Bellsnickle Wheat Wine in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. Pours a semi-hazy orange-ish brown brew with a creamy off-white head that slowly disappears to a fine film and white ring. Aroma of light multi-grain malt, some raisins, mincemeat pie filling and a touch of yeast. Taste is medium bodied, plenty of alcohol character with flavors of white bread malt, raisins, some grassy hop character and a touch of yeast. Finish has a high alcohol character with aftertaste of sweet yeast, a touch of banana and some raisin. I still prefer the barley wines, but this one was interesting.

Bottled under the table by robertsreality. Pours a dark burgundy color with no head. Very dusty and dry aroma with bits of wheat and malt. The taste was very hard to pin down, but it seems to be kind of a plum/raisin/date/grape flavor. Another dash of wheat and a medium hit of alcohol. I’m sure it’s better on tap, but still tasty a day removed from the lines.

ABR 2006. This was good but I didn’t like it as much as everyone else. I thought it was a barleywine while drinking it. The beer is well hopped in the aroma and flavor. There is some sugar, but dry, herbal, grassy flavors dominate.

Rich Brown Coloring with Good White Lasting Head. Heavy Malt and Bread Dough, Prunes/Raisin Aroma. Starts Heavy But Gets Thinner Towards the End. Grape Notes. Lightly Bitter. Hoppy and Dry Ending/Aftertaste. Small Yeast Notes. Crisp. Overall a Pretty Good Balance...but Something is Missing to Make This an Outstanding Brew. Very Good.

Winterfest 20008. Strong what aroma with sweet spices. Wheat flavor in the caramel and spicy body.

Beautiful. Murky tea colored, not much head. Nose mild and sweet, bready, dusty, then butterscotch and toffee. Great flavor, loads of bright butterscotch, bouncy cherries and grapes, then balanced out with a light chocolate/cocoa dustiness. Slightly nutty, some sourness. The finish has lots of vanilla and fresh cream. Alcohol completely masked, very drinkable. Simply an excellent, excellent beer.

Murky auburn pour,with off-white sustaining head. Strong caramel and rose aroma. Ultra-buttery with strong butterscotch and hazlenut flavor. Fades on palate quickyl, but leaves a nice sweet kiss on the tounge. Alcohol very strongly noted. Hops? Tasted again more recently, with added notes of musky indian spice, like cardamon and coriander. Fresh blasts of pineapple, fresh cherries and some coconut. Finishes with a good round of mellowed hops...