Two Brothers Bare Tree Weiss Wine (2002 and later)

Brewed by Two Brothers Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Warrenville, Illinois USA

I get more barleywine from this than I do hefeweisse, and the label seems to lay claim to both styles. While the mouthfeel and aftertaste definitely seem weisse-like (smooth like it was secondary-fermented, with some wheat stickiness and tartness in the mouthfeel), there are definitely some off-notes present here as well that I have a difficult time getting past them: I get some sour milk sourness and some artificial chemical-ness (I can’t place). I also get some some clove and some citrusness which does work. Flavor is pretty boozy balanced with some nice maltiness. I’m not sure if this is clear from this review, but I’m a little conflicted on this beer. I wouldn’t say this is the best barley wine I’ve had; nor the worst. It is not incredibly novel, yet it is somewhat different. So I’m left with an opinion that this beer is an OK barley-wine, which is somewhat novel and unique. For what that’s worth...

Shared a 750ml bottle at KP’s

Aroma: Banana, vanilla, honey dew melon. Wheat malt aroma. Low hop aroma

Apperance: Golden amber color. Slightly cloudy

Flavor: Banana. caramel, fruit, melon, vanilla, clove and oak notes. Very complex. Hoppy flavors in the finish

Palate: Medium body. Silky mouthfeel. Alcohol warming. Moderate carbonation.

Overall: A big, complex barleywine marries a heavy weissen bock and this is their offspring! Very interesting!

Bottle. Banana. bubblegum, melon and apricot aromas - nicely complex. Cloudy orange amber with small head. Sweet apricot-orange flavor with mild alcohol and hops flavor. A pure palate pleaser - I guess I love it for its Weizen characteristics - tastes like a Weizenbock.

Pours out a deep amber colo Aroma is of clove, alcohol, banana and some caramel malt. Taste is much the same. Pretty much a bsrleywine with weizen characteristics. Excellent.

Pours bright amber into a snifter. Head quickly recedes to skim rim. Bubblegum, caramel, vanilla and alcohol aromas. Burning sweet melon with a lasting bittterness. Sweetness is distracting, overwhelming and unpleasant.

2006 vintage. Sampled at a gathering of TN Ratebeerians a couple months ago. Oily and slick looking. Sudsy sliding bubbles on the side of the glass aren’t really lace. Smells like banana and bubble gum at first; reminds me of Duvel a bit; aroma also invokes overripe fruit. Has the body of a barley wine. Soft. You can taste the banana with golden raisins (barley wine reminiscent) and dark grains. The finish is alcoholic and dry, with some spiciness that I thought might be ginger and cloves. The dark grain character is somewhat reminiscent of Aventinus, which I guess would be the wheat. At this point, I think it’s too sweet. A little bit of time in the bottle would tone that down and integrate it a bit, bringing out some of the vanilla I tasted hiding behind the sugar.

2006. 750ml bottle. Sedimented with an amber hue. Spotty bone white head. Floral yeasty aromas. Touch of apples and bright fruit aromas. Medium bodied with a sticky malt flavor. Sugary with a nice burn. Floral flavors and cola notes. Spicy peppery hop flavors. Cocoa malty with a rather effervescent mild burn. Alcohol is well integrated. The bitterness shines as it warms. Sticky and long. Interesting and layered. Nice complexity.

2006 vintage. Pours reddish orange. Malty on the nose with notes of malt and oak. Creamy on the palate with notes of malt, dried fruits and oak. Finishes malty and sweet. Not too bad.