Heart Of Gold
Perennial Artisan Ales

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bottled 9/2013

Pours a clear deep red with minimal head. Smell of slight sherry/oxidation, vanilla, caramelized sugar, cherries, clover honey, raisins. Tastes very yeast/wheat forward. Mid ester profile with significant booze present, flaked wheat, caramel, honey, vanilla to match. Mouthfeel is thick, low carbonation with a slight astringency. Overall, this is a solid strong ale. There's some solid complexity in smell and taste, but some slightly harsh booze/oxidation tones (potentially from the age) take it down a notch from being great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

750 ml bottle from 9/2013. 10% abv.

L: pours dark honey to amber color. head fades fast but lots of lace.

S: booze, raisin, caramel, honey, wheat.

T: vanilla, toffee, wheat. sweetness dissipates nicely, touch of white grape near the close.

M: thick and creamy, light carbonation, very smooth and drinkable.

my first try with this style, but can't help to think that this benefited from some aging time as i found it far from boring or simple as some did.

 

 

 

 

 

Had a great mouthfeel and aroma. The head. Great but I rated this higher that I probably would have in a blind taste test just because I am not a fan of barleywine and this wheatwine opened my eyes to the fact that I shouldn't write off the style categorically. This was strong without being boozy, like some barleyines that I have had and their were fruit tones and sweetness that made it really excellent for the style.

 

Look: Aggressive pour into the snifter yielded a finger of white head, body is amber/orange hued.

Smell: Apricot with some citrus, no discernible malt.

Taste: Apricots, oranges, and cherries (if that makes sense), plus a bit of toffee malt which is really nice.

Feel: Well carbonated, very dry.

Overall: only my 2nd wheat wine that I'm aware of, I'm glad I found this in the beverage fridge after 2+ years. It held up extraordinarily well. Rating = 4.00

 

 

January 15, 2015

Draft, snifter

A – Deep amber. Slightly hazy. Some off-white lacing but little real head here. Low retention.

S – Sweet caramel malt, a lot of residual sweetness, with some warm, smooth booze. A bit of cherries. No hops are discernible.

T – Caramel and apricot, with a strong impression of crème brulee. Some booze and oak, vanilla. Hops are spicy and provide some balancing bitterness.

M – Carbonation is moderate and palate-cleansing. Residual sweetness is balanced by the hop bitterness. A slight carbonic bite. Booze is warm and inviting.

O – So many great things going on for this beer, a ton of complexity, warm and inviting. Hard to pack all this in and keep it in balance, but it’s well done here.