Two Brothers Bare Tree Weiss Wine 2001

Formerly brewed at Two Brothers Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Warrenville, Illinois USA

An unclear orange beer with an orange head. The aroma is sweet with strong wood notes - slightly towards port wine. The flavor is sweet with notes of prunes, wood, and alcohol. I miss more complexity.

Bottled, thanks hopsrus! Cloudy reddish amber. Aroma of wood, vanilla and rhubarb. Sweet and mature. Rich and softly malty with lovely malt structure. Some toffee and vanilla, lightly salty. Elegant and very complex. Excellent.

Name: Bare Tree
Date: 03/19/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Vintage: 2001

hazy orange, light sweet aroma with some good earthy hops, sweet creamy body, nice sweet fruit, nice apricot, light apple, very low bitterness

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

1 year old: Crackling orange colour, hazy. Aroma shows alcohol, peach, vanilla, oak, pepper - the spiciness seems to have disappeared. Smooth, sweet. Marzipan, devon cream, light maple syrup, wheat crackers. Long, beautiful. Appearance 4, Aroma 10, Flavour 9, Palate 5, Overall 19 = 4.7

Dark tan; nose of pepper, wheat, cumin, garam masala. Palate is stiff, with pepper, vanilla, oak and caramel malts. Earthy hoppiness - vibrant, complex and creative. This seemed quite different from the previous years, though the recipes are very similar (this one's a little stronger), which just goes to show how much a beer can change with a year in the cellar.

Somehow paler than the 2000 as a dirty river muddy amber. Lots of large yeast chunks float around. Very light head despite gushing upon opening. This vintage also boasts a very bready, dough like maple sourness matched with apples and pears flavors. Very sweet, yet elegantly peaty. Light oxidation note hits the palate. Has this one not held up as well as the 2000? I may believe so. It remains highly carbonated, foamy even in its liqurous texture comprising a good alcohol dash at the end. Lightly acidic, very yeasty, almost in a musty way. Less flavor integration than the 2000 really, it’s every bit as fruity in a pear skin fashion, but this heavy dryness is too much, cement like. Still a gracious offering though. Gracias CaptainCougar.

This beer rocks! Murky deep golden apricot in color. Very small and frothy ivory head. Quickly, but not fully diminishing. Small swirls of head remain aloft and a ring encompasses the surface of the beer on the inner circumference of the glass. Interesting, sparse lacing. The aroma is wonderful and complex. Very fruity with notes of overripe banana, apricot, prune, apple and guava. Also notes of cologne, orange blossoms, light sourgham molasses and pralines. Very well-blanced for a barley wine! The high ABV is not evident for even a moment. Blasts of rich caramel, citrus and fuzzy fruits up front. A pungent and lightly bitter hop presence on the backside make this an excellently balanced and refreshing, yes I said refreshing, barley wine. There are also flavors of black pepper and more orange blossoms and apple on the backside. Full-bodied with a lightly creamy mouthfeel and fizzy carbonation. A lengthy, tart, crisp and clean finish... unusual and definitely welcomed from a barley wine. Excellent Brew! World Class!! Thanks to jskendzel for this wonderful brew!!!

Heavy wheat malt aroma and bready yeat profile. Looks like a normal wheat beer, but tastes far beyond that. Extremely complex flavor palate is lightly fruity with apricots, honey, and Hallertauer hops all balanced with a mellow sweetness. The mouthfeel is thick and syrupy, but not overwhelming. It's like they made a barleywine using wheat malt and German hops. To top it off, the alcohol is masterfully hidden. This is truly a unique brew and a must try if you can get your hands on a bottle.

One bottle:
Quiet, meditative, cantaloup-carrying cranes create smooth and swooping arcs in a bemused, creamy firmament...They migrate through the fluffiest whipped cream cloudscapes to unctuous heavens of sweetness where peach mousse nests will warm their melony young ones and nourishing milk flows never ending on cliffs of rich orange and chocolate muffins...Beware though, because if you are not attentive, you will miss these subtle nomads when they pass by...7/5/9/5 17/20

Another bottle:
This one didn’t hold up. Intense gushing upon opening, lots of sweet and tart apples rampaging the thinner and alcoholic body. Not unpleasantly diseased, but leagues away from what it can be. 5/2/4/3 11/20