Small Batch #05: Peaches & Cream Wheatwine
Goose Island Beer Co.

 

Sampling a 500 ml bottle at cellar temp and pouring into my snifter. Date stamp says to drink before March 6 2024. Looks like mission accomplished by me.
The beer came to me via a trade from @Fbarber. Thank you!
The beer pours a very dark mahogany color and rests in the glass even darker coffee brown. no light passes through my glass. There are a few small chunks of sediment at the bottle of my glass. I did leave the last 1.5 oz or so in the bottle when I noticed some sediment in the pour.
Aroma on this one is toffee and brown sugar heavy with a little bourbon mixed in for good measure. I dont get much peach or vanilla on the nose. Certainly no hop notes here and the ABV is pretty well hidden with no spicy or fusol notes.
First sip reveals a medium body with pretty smooth texture and fine prickly carbonation. The carbonation is actually noisy with bubbling while the beer sits in my mouth. Only minimal stickyness on my lips with each sip. Overall less of a sipper on physical traits than I expected.
Flavor is sweet and malty, with toffee and brown sugar dominant. Again some bourbon comes through and on the finish I do get some peach notes, but these are subdued compared to the other flavors. Not much vanilla to my palate and never hops. Booze gives a little bit of warming after the swallow as the beer hits my gut.
Im enjoying this beer and wonder what it would have been like fresh with the peaches coming through more strongly.

 

Poured at fridge temp. Pours a very dark brown with minimal head. The nose is fantastic. Tons of toffee, subtle peaches, vanilla, figs, raisins, and a bit of brown sugar. Just lovely on the nose.

The taste is super interesting. Here the peaches really come out. They are complimented by oak, toffee, slight maple, vanilla, plums, pie, and graham crackers. Lovely! There is a touch of boozy bourbon taste there as well. Sweet, but not overly so.

First off, the booze is NOT shy, but in such a good way. This reminds me a lot of the peach infused bourbon I do sometimes. It's impossible to separate the peach and whiskey flavors, they join to become something totally different and dangerously drinkable. If this is all there was I'd like this beer plenty. Under that though are really nice notes of toffee, vanilla, and a woody cinnamon that make this taste like an R-rated peach cobbler that better be kept away from open flames. This should come with a flaky, buttery crust. I had high hopes for this that were exceeded. They have all the elements at work here in perfect proportion.

 

Goose Island has been keeping up with spontaneous special releases. This one brings a new wheatwine that is fortified with peaches. Brown sugar and funk are at the forefront. Peaches and peach skins are on the finish. It is a very tangy experience. The beer leans towards the wine realm while offering an incredibly fresh fruit juice, even though it has been aged for 2 years.

Pours a dark mahogany brown color. Completely opaque. Two to three finger sudsy off-white head. head dissipates pretty quickly leaving just a thin ring of foam along the outside of the top of the beer.

Aroma has notes of brown sugar, oak, rich malts, caramel, candied sugars, bourbon, vanilla and peach. A bit muddled on the nose.

Taste has notes of candied sugars, brown sugar, caramel, peaches, and vanilla, some warm bourbon notes, graham cracker and oak. The combination gives it this peach cobbler like flavor. Rich and decadent, with the bourbon warming making it come across like a fresh baked peach cobbler.

Feel is full bodied, thick and sticky. Mild carbonation. Semi-sweet finish.

Overall this is a really nice wheatwine. The peaches and vanilla are well integrated and contribute to the overall profile. It is really a delicious beer and well worth trying.

"Drink by 5/5/24"; drank 4/5/22 @ the Yarchives.

Opaque muddy brown appearance.

An even pour yielded a small, noisy tan head which quickly dissipated; almost no lace.

Oak, caramel, peach & mild bourbon notes in the nose.

Thick, sticky mouthfeel.

Peach, caramel, bourbon, oak & faint cream flavors.

This is...a lot. It's interesting, but a bit muddled. Worth trying, for sure, but not transcendent.