Trail Magic #6: Rye Wine
Nantahala Brewing Company

Bottle #676 from October 2013. Purchased in June 2015 at the brewery. Pours a medium brown, dense color with golden highlights shining through the bottom of the glass. Big tan white head with very good retention and thick evenly spaced bands of lacing on the pint glass. The aroma and taste are like a good English Barleywine with plenty of caramelized and biscuity malt and some toffee. The sour rye is a major component of the aroma and flavor too. The flavor is rich and inviting. Mouthfeel is rich and smooth and there is very little alcohol presence for a beer of this strength. A little wheat bitterness in the finish keeps this beer from being too sweet. I bought 9 beers at the brewery and the ones I have tried have been very good. This is a fine wheat wine.

Bottle number# 351 from October of 2013.Pours into a stemmed glass a deep rich amber with a thick billowing light tan colored head spews and spits its way slowly into a frothy mass.Light rye sharpness and alcohol dipped dark fruit in the nose,slightly cakey.Big and chewy in the mouth wich is what I was hoping for.Not nearly as sweet and/or hot as I was thinking it might be,prunes,light brown sugar, with hints of orange,again quite dry with some earth a mild rye sharpness in the finish but not much sourness at all.Damn I love this beer,in my top five for 2015 and top of of NC made beers,awesome.

 

Bottle #581, October 2013. Poured into a snifter, the beer is an extremely dark, almost black in the depths, blood-ruby red coloring with a frothy, foamy, off-white head. Aromas of rich molasses sweetness, heavy grain bitterness and roast, rich old world fruit characteristics, booze, and some rich caramel and toffee notes. The nose on this is extremely layered and rich. Flavors are very rich old world fruit forward, with a steady base of dates, plums, and raisins. On top of this, there is a solid booze highlight, as well as deep rye grain roast and bitterness, some richly sweet toffee notes, and woody/earthy highlights. The body is smooth and robust. This is a beast of a beer. The aftertaste is more of the richly sweet and boozy. There's no getting around it. It's a damn tasty beer, but you are going to work for it. The finish is big, bold, and has a lingering sweetness, with some roast and bitter notes kicking around a while, too. This beer really opens up as you let it warm in the glass. I'm impressed.