Weizcracker Weizenbock
West Sixth Brewing Company

 

Who said that America has cornered the market on "extreme" beer? Bavarians would certainly take exception and the West Sixth brewers celebrate the highly complex, spicy strength and curious culmination of ingredient and technique- wheat, toasted grain, bock savory strength, and lager-like smoothness are all on the table.

Ruddy red and with a hazy rust hue, the depths of burgundy and garnet provide a stern translucent glow. Its scent of cinnamon, spice and red wine waft above the fluid ecru froth while the taste underneath is malty-sweet with hard candy, toasted spice cake and a rummy, figgy, prune-like earthen sweetness for an intense sugar and cake early palate.

The middle palate shows slow transition, retaining its sweet, tart, bready, fruity, earthy medley with hints of banana bread, clove, vanilla and faint bubblegum. Spice cake, fruitcake and blackberry cobbler can all be found in the complexity along with a finish of black pepper, plum and the robust vinous twang of red wine.

Full, sweet and bready, the beer's creaminess overcomes the carbonation and slathers the palate with its doughy weight. Lingering with dark dried fruit and light syrup, its texture remains firm yet rounded. Drying with those red wine spices, hints of tobacco and oak round out the spicy rum-like finish.