Shiner Brewer's Pride Wine Barrel Summer Ale
Spoetzl Brewery

 

Not my thing, I'm not into fruity beer. That being said it's actually pretty interesting and would be good for those who are interested in that type.

 

12 oz bottle, poured into a Teku glass. Color is amber, slightly darker than expected for a blonde, probably due to the wine barrel aging. Head is about a finger, and did not hang around for long, leaving little trace of its existence. Aroma is bright and fruity, with malt and red wine backed by notes of oak and berry. The golden malt comes through prominently in the taste, with red wine and berry giving it a hint of tartness with the red wine really coming through in the finish, giving it a bit of dryness. Mouthfeel is smooth and crisp, the higher carbonation lending itself well to the bright, summery flavor profile, and the higher abv gives it just enough warmth. While the wine dryness is a bit unwelcome, the overall character of the beer is enjoyable - a solid entry from Spoetzl.

12 oz single bottle into Goose Island nonic pint.
No legible date.

Pours a copper color with some odd pinkish hues in there. The head is loosely knit and is 1 finger, stable.

Aroma is light and is of golden malts, slight wet earth, and faint perfumey wine or alcoholic berries.

Flavor brings a really nice malty flavor, bordering on bread, following up with fruity yeast and esters, some raspberry, other frozen berries, and a finish of corn and barley.

Feel is slick and carbonated, with some alcohol heat and carbonation burn. Drying finish towards the end.

Overall, not a great beer, but I'll probably finish it. It's like a mixture of wine cooler and baked bread. Takes me back to the days when 6% beers were significant in alcohol, probably because in this beer the alcohol is so prominent in the flavor and feel.

Price paid : $2.29 / bottle
Would buy again : nah

 

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a brownish-red color with a one finger head of fluffy white foam. The head fades rather fast leaving but a trace of lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is rather strong of a red wine smell mixed with aromas of some light harvest fruits of pear and apple as well as some nice oak smells. Along with these smells comes a touch of a berry aroma as well as some hay and a bit of grass.
Taste – The taste begins with a cracker malt flavor that is mixed with a red wine like tastes. There is a bit of sweeter berry upfront, which gets a bit stronger as the taste advances. All the while, some other flavors of oak as well as some of the grass and hay that were detected in the nose come to the tongue. The oak and hay, like the berry flavors, get stronger as well, and with a touch of harvest fruit and yeast that come at the end, one is left with a hybrid flavor of a crisp cracker malt blond with a red wine taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is light and crisp with a carbonation level that is on the higher side. For the blond nature of the beer, mixed with the red wine and oak, the feel is awesome and makes for a crisp and clean sipper.
Overall – A very nice flavorful and robust drinker with nice flavors of red wine that don’t overpower the blond brews base. A nice one to try if you have the opportunity.

 

Look: Dark gold with a reddish hue. Slightly hazy. Medium white head.
Smell: Not great. Stale red wine. A dorm room on Sunday morning.
Taste: Better than the smell by a stretch. Red wine is very prominent, it totally overpowers the beer. Slightly sour, I detect some malt in the background, there’s zero hop presence. Still, I find it drinkable, the abv is much like the warmth you get from a glass of wine. Interesting.
Overall: It’s definitely different, not something I’d want all the time. I doubt I’d get it again but I do appreciate the effort that went into this brew.