Winter Wheat
Franconia Brewing Company

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From:
Franconia Brewing Company
 
Texas, United States
Style:
American Dark Wheat Beer
ABV:
Not listed
Score:
82
Avg:
3.45 | pDev: 15.36%
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
17
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 06, 2016
Added:
Dec 16, 2008
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  3
No description / notes.
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Ratings by vertigelt1:
Photo of vertigelt1
Reviewed by vertigelt1 from Texas

3.42/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
I was looking for a good winter warmer while at the Saucer In Addison. I'd missed it twice in recent weeks and was pleased to finally taste some, served on tap onto a 22 ounce pilsner glass.

It came darker than I expected. This is a dunkelweizen that smells and tastes like a hefeweizen. The apearance is a very dark caramel, cloudy, with thin head with a nose that is malty, yeasty, and very heavy on sweetness. Tha amyl acetate "banana" is strong on the nose, hinting at a spicy flavour.

The taste itself is almost overpowering in banana with a hint of cloves. This is seems to me to be the strongest, darkest Hefe I've ever tasted. Whatever spices might be there are masked by the banana. There's a slight tang to the end of the taste, but it's barely an afterthought. A pint is enough; 22 oz is just too much. Mouthfeel is substancial enough to be considered liquid bread. Liquid banana bread...

This is a very flavourful beer. Very few foods can compete with the strength of the flavour, and perhaps it's just the moment but it's hard to imagine enjoying this beer as anything more than a novelty. I am quite a fan of Franconia and their adherence to the German purity laws. But, honestly, this bee is a bit much. A little to much of summer in my winter.
Dec 04, 2009
More User Ratings:
Photo of ranger7
Rated by ranger7 from Texas

3.5/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
On tap at Franconia's brewery. Pretty nice winter alternative to the typical Old Ale or Winter Warmer styles.
Feb 06, 2016
 
Rated: 3.12 by qlubman from Texas

Jan 15, 2016
 
Rated: 3.62 by kylehay2004 from Illinois

Mar 18, 2015
 
Rated: 4.25 by deadliest from Texas

Oct 28, 2014
 
Rated: 3.84 by jbryt from Texas

Oct 15, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by BJasny from Texas

Mar 28, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by greenspointexas from Texas

Dec 14, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by tubeyes from Texas

Jan 07, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by Danobold from Texas

Feb 26, 2012
Photo of elcatan
Reviewed by elcatan from Texas

2.63/5  rDev -23.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
On tap at the Austin G-man.

Beautiful dark copper appearance; not much head, only a thin, off-white film. Aroma dominated by sweet maltiness, with some alcohol fumes. There are hefe esters, but they are overpowered by sweetness.

The taste is a shock, a pungency like cough medicine I was unprepared for. Mouthful was similarly syrupy. Immediately cloying. To compensate for the dissonance of my expectations, I swallowed a few more sips, hoping my palate would re-adjust and the beer would grow on me, but it never did. It tasted more like an unfinished Belgian than a wheat beer, or a fountain Coke with the syrup ratio way off. After a half-dozen small sips, I gave it back to the bartender, drank a glass of water, and ordered something else.

To be fair, I'll try this again, with a cheese plate, though it probably won't be this winter. I enjoy Franconia's other offerings, just not this one.
Feb 19, 2012
Photo of GeneralZod
Reviewed by GeneralZod from California

2.91/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
While at the Franconia Brewery Tour, we were lucky enough to have a taste of their just finish batch of Winter Wheat...

APPEARANCE
It looked great pouring out. Dark color and great head retention.

SMELL
It smells of wheat and malt, a hint of sweetness.

TASTE
Unfortunately, for me it tastes a bit off. I could quite put my pallete on it, but i think it is a bit bitter for a sweet scent to the beer. Maybe because it was straight out of the tank and didn't have time to chill.

MOUTHFEEL
Slightly grainy and coarse.

OVERALL
This was my least favorite at this brewery.
Jan 04, 2012
Photo of Randyweizen
Reviewed by Randyweizen from Texas

2.65/5  rDev -23.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
The beer looks great--a nice, deep brown with a fine head. The aroma screams Dunkelweizen; the banana, clove, and sweet malt notes are all at the fore.

A sip of this beer, however, reveals some big problems. The main one is the level of sweetness. To be sure, German wheat beers typically have a sweet, fruity element to them. But Franconia Winter Wheat has a heavy, overwhelming sweetness that sets into the tongue and obscures its other facets. It isn't that the beer isn't "to style"--I don't really care about that--but rather that it has none of the balance and craftsmanship that I detect in Franconia's three flagship brews. The modest hop bitterness--which, in a well-made beer, would suffice--here collapse under the unwieldy syrupy-sweet mess. Those last four ounces were tough to finish.

I want to be a fan of every beer from this brewery; my heart is open, so to speak. That's probably why I was so disappointed. Franconia can do better than this, and in a year's time, I'll revisit this beer to see if any improvements were made.
Dec 16, 2010
Photo of Mora2000
Reviewed by Mora2000 from Texas

3.88/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
* This beer is a weizenbock, not a dark wheat ale.

On tap at the Plano Gingerman. 2010 vintage.

The beer pours a hazy brown color with a cream-colored head. The aroma is heavy on the wheat, toffee and banana. The flavor is similar, with a few added notes. I get a lot of wheat, toffee, caramel and banana, but I also get some cinnamon and cloves. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. One of the better Franconia beers.
Dec 15, 2010
Photo of allengarvin
Reviewed by allengarvin from Texas

3.88/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Picked this up at the Gingerman in Dallas. It is a slightly hazy beer, dark brown, with a tall off-white head. The nose is a bit lacking, with some hints of fruitiness. Good dunkleweizen flavor--fruity, a touch of cloves, but also a solid bready, lightly sweet malt. Well-carbonationed body, but light.

Good beer.
Mar 08, 2009
Photo of Bagman007
Reviewed by Bagman007 from Texas

2.53/5  rDev -26.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Served on tap in a pint glass.

A- Very dark brown in appearance. Pretty much no head at all.

S- Has a very wheat like scent to it. Somewhat sweet scent as well.

T- Very wheat like taste. Also tasted very sour, kind of overpowering. Somewhat sweet.

M- Very sour beer, not smooth.

D- Too sour to be a session beer.

Overall this was kind of a sour beer. Too much of a wheat like taste for me as well.
Jan 10, 2009
Photo of MrHungryMonkey
Reviewed by MrHungryMonkey from Texas

3.69/5  rDev +7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
On tap at the Saucer Addison.

Nose is sweet, malty, wheaty, mildly spicy. European-like wheat and hop. Mildly chocolate. Smells good.

Pours a dark chocolate brown. Very murky with mild head. Looks okay.

Creamy sweet bananas rich malt soft nice mildly sour/tart mild bitterness moderate nutty mouthcoating mild chocolate mild alcohol mildly medicinal. Tastes pretty good. Feels pretty good.

Nice light winter spiciness that might be from spice addition, hops, or wheat. I like that it's not over-the-top like many wintery ales. Nice wheat flavor. Nice smooth creaminess. Pretty good drinkability.
Dec 16, 2008
Winter Wheat from Franconia Brewing Company
Beer rating: 82 out of 100 with 17 ratings