Laissez-Faire Wheat Wine
Monday Night Brewing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rich, lavish, complex and difficult- the brerwery says it best, "It's a beer for the 1%ers".

Laissez-Faire shows off its wine influence as its golden, burnt orange hues share a light pinkish hue, remiss of rosé wine. Its creamy and luscious froth expels a host of candied aromatics ranging from shortbread to lighter stone fruit ahead a twinge of red wine and oak to round out the nose. Hearty and bready-sweet to the initial palate, honey and caramel wrap the tongue with an angel food-like texture and taste.

As the sweetness and breadiness are reluctant to fade, the sweetness is accompanied by sultans, apricot, mango, pineapple and melon- all seeming in the condensed, dehydrated kind of way. Balance to the fruit and sweetness comes by way of tart red wine and the oaken spiciness of the barrel's tannins. Rounding out the taste, hints of marzipan, coconut and vanilla play out late on the palate.

Full, bready and decadently sweet, the big and creamy ale has a marshmallow consistence that trails into finish with subtle lemongrass bitterness and a hint of cumin. Still, its candied finish leaves the palate with memories of circus peanut candy.

 

Appearance: A rather appealing bubble show produces an inch of ecru foam bedding down on top of the copper, almost auburn colored liquid; decent retention and a few clumps of lace hang around

Smell: Tiramisu, toasted bread, fruitcake, oak, vanilla and red wine tones

Taste: Red-wine soaked fruitcake with caramel, hazelnut, vanilla and wine tannins building; bready, oaky and boozy, through the middle, with increasing honeyed sweetness, as well as some earthy bitterness, in the finish

Mouthfeel: Full bodied and rather sticky on the tongue, moderate carbonation

Overall: A very interesting and complex brew; like the impact of the red wine barrels here but the sweetness is a bit too much for my palate

 

 

Appearance: Dispensed a clear, light reddish-hued body with a brief, off-white head that settles into a very, very thin ring.

Smell: A crisp cooked honey topping over toasted wheat loaves with the tannic, jammy red wine notes hinting at strawberry and pomegranate. Some lightly spicy elements within.

Taste: Knee-deep in a sweet honey/toffee character, though not overly so. Toasted wheat maltiness. An initial flirtatious fruitiness that melds into spicy elements from the tannins to the peppery alcohol to a little hint of coriander. For the nose and the flavor, occasionally the varied tastes line up to present a taste of a sweet alcohol-soaked fruitcake, at other times a hint of cough drop. Fruity, sweet finish with lingering alcohol warmth.

Mouthfeel: Fullish body. Medium carbonation.

Overall: Not bad! It grants my two (in my mind) modest requests of a wheatwine, which are: don't be obnoxiously sweet, don't be painfully gloopy.

Snagged a 22oz bottle of this today Total Wine in Kennesaw. Placed in my fridge for around an hour and then poured it into a snifter.

This pours a really pretty amber color with a small head that dissipates quickly.

Very inviting smell. My nose was first hit with dark fruit then followed up quickly with hints of the Cabernet barrels.

Really love the taste of this beer. Not too sweet and just the right amount of Cabernet comes through. Slight hints of oak and toffee linger on the tongue.

Can't wait to see what Monday Night continues to crank out. Each year they seem to become more innovative and produce higher quality beers that I will continue to buy.

Pretty smooth at the beginning. Slight bitter aftertaste. Overall nice beer to have on hand.

 

32oz growler from Craft Beer Factory (Marietta, GA). 12.00. Served in a Monday Night snifter.

Pours an attractive deep orange gold with about one finger beige head. The bubbles recede to a modest collar, only leaving a few small trails of lace.

Smells of red wine, wet oak and caramel. It opens up a bit as it nears room temperature but remains just a tad restrained.

Tastes of Cabernet, caramel, toffee, oak, wheat, subtle vanilla, cereal grain, a faint vegetal bitterness, vague notes of strawberry and a solid punch of booze. The base wheatwine flavor is there in spades, augmented by the oaky wine from the barrel. Quite tasty.

Rich, full, creamy feel with a pleasant, supple carbonation. Finishes with grainy wheat, wine, caramel and a little oak.

Monday Night has been making me pretty happy recently with their release of some heartier offerings. Laissez-Faire is by far my favorite beer from them to date. It is a well made wheatwine to begin with and the barrel aging rounds it out quite nicely. I'm looking forward to grabbing several bottles once they hit shelves in the near future.