Two Brothers Bare Tree Weiss Wine (2002 and later)

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

2003. Hazy bronze/copper. Off-white head bubbling and oozing like its alive. Aroma is somewhere between a weiss and a lambic, complex and difficult to describe. Strong wild yeast and wheat flavors, sour with a bit of malt character, some subtle flavors of wood and banana, very complex. Full, creamy body perfectly carbonated. Truly unique, truly excellent. Severely underrated at 3.6.

2005 Vintage, Black label served in a riedel snifter shared with my girlfriend Cyn. This has been sitting in the cellar long enough that I have no clue who sent it, so to you I thank you. For some reason I thought this was older than it is, but I’ll live with it. Pour orange with a sediment filled body and a tan head. Nose is sweet with hints of all kinds of intriguing fruits. Taste is full of citrus and all kinds of really crazy interesting flavors. I really like this, its sweet, robust and hard to pin down. My girlfriend made a good observation that I confirmed and after drinking this I found the same thing, there is a really nice sourness here that makes me up my rating. Its yummy sour and full of alch but well hidden.

2003 - Poured a hazy bright orange color with a nice medium sized white head that really lasted and left nice lacing. Aroma of citrus fruits, banana, some vanilla, and yeast. Spicy citrus, banana taste, slightly tart, some alcohol in the finish. I have finally tasted a barleywine that will be refreshing in the summertime!

I'm back from beer heaven (Mike's American Ale house, 1/24/2003). The only keg (only 5 gallons) of this year's vintage was tapped at 7:35 pm...I had been in the bar for only a short time, and the place was already packed. Occupancy: 47, real life...???. Everyone knew me, it seemed, because they had heard that I called earlier in the week to make sure the keg was on. I'm glad I did! I talked to both brothers about the recipe...it is *exactly* the same (as the same as can be, given different yields that vary a bit from batch to batch), with the exception that instead of being aged with oak chips, half of this year's vintage is stored in whiskey barrels and the other half in wine barrels. The resulting products are mixed before bottling. The beer is 11% ABV. I had two 8-oz portions; the first was the second pull from the keg and the second was near the last. They were identical. The first thing that you notice is that there is almost no sedimentary yeast presence at all, and the entire liquid is clearer, cleaner, and thinner than last year. Still, one can find all the vanilla and hefe flavors found in the other version, but there is a tad less sugar and a more winey flavor. The Scottish earthiness is nearly gone (you can still get it when the beer is colder, but when it warms the vanilla and banana and alcohol shine). A delightful beer, absolutely wonderful, imbibed with a bar full of the most knowledgeable beer people I have met outside of RateBeer.

2006 edition. Pours amber with slightly more carbonation than the 2000. Smells of lots of citrus and wildflowers as well as some bananas and clove like character. Tastes citrussy and more sharp than the 2000. Finish yields some minor but present bitterness. Great and unique beer!

750 ml corked and caged bottle pours a cloudy glowing orange with a small off-white that leaves some lacing in my glass. Fruity and spicy aromas of bananas, cloves and vanilla. Wheat flavor with pear, vanilla and bubblegum. Full bodied with a full and thick mouthfeel, soft carbonation, finishes sweet and mildly sour, alcohol well hidden, very nice.

Hope you're digging my photo of this beer (upper left). This beer's a winner, in my book. Orangey color with a tufty white head. Aroma of oranges and Belgian yeast - terrific. The flavor is a tad sweet with some tang, citrus, a touch of pepper and other spices. The woodiness is muted, but present from the year of oak aging - it adds depth. Sourness is lightly present, but the whole flavor package comes together well in a complex, drinkable way that makes for an enjoyable brew! This doesn't betray its 11% abv at all - remarkable. Not so much a barley wine as it's perhaps closer to an eisbock. Very well executed.

Bomber poured into a tulip glass. TBBTWW(2005) pours cloudy and orange with a nice large head that leaves a solid lacing on the sides. It has a wonderful smell of apricots and is missing the typical acidic aroma of barelywines that gives me heartburn. I also detect citrus, clove and bananas. Hmmm. This is a unique beer that will take some time to rate. It has a Belgian strong ale character but is smoother. The advertised melon comes through in an interesting way. At other times a peppery merlot flavor raises its head. This is one of the more complex beers I’ve had. The barrel aging is evident in a slight woody flavor. The finish is thick and lingering, dominated by that gelatinous feeling of honeydew mellon. If the finish was a tad more aggressive I’d score this beer a 4.5+ rating.