All Worked Up
Crux Fermentation Project

500ml bottle at share. Amber pour, cloudy, small bubbly head. Malty aroma, toffee. Taste is warm and malty, bread dough, minor boozy notes. Very smooth.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a slightly hazy, medium orange with a thin, off-white head that retains as a thin film with light lacing. Aroma of candi malt, overripe stone fruit, raisins and vanilla. Flavor is candi and lightly caramel malt, apple and pear juice, mild light stone fruit, gaining a green apple tartness into a finish that is cidery and slightly tart with a woody character. Medium bodied with light creaminess. This was apparently aged in Chardonnay bottles and has a white vinous element that tasted a bit more like cider to me. Overall the character was much like a classic wheatwine with a light but sturdy malt and light fruit flavors. A little oaky, slightly astringent barrel character in the finish. A bit drier and fruitier than others I've tried, it somewhat reminded me of a dry Belgian strong pale ale, but with no notable Belgian yeast notes. This was a pleasant treat for a cool evening heading into late Fall.

More on the tart side than the dark fruit and bourbon side. Still really good.

Aged in Chardonnay barrels, an intriguing choice for a wheatwine. I often find this style, Bourbon barrel versions in particular, to be overly sweet. The base beer does seem plenty sweet with toffee, caramel, vanilla, and a pleasing, figgy/raisin note. I'd like to try it sometime.

The Chardonnay barrels add some biting oak, green apple, and of course Chardonnay. The beer and the barrel are very good but not quite great together. Definitely worth seeking out, this is unique.

Appearance - The beer poured a copper color with a white head crowning the pour.

Smell - The beer had a nose that combined elements of booze and leather.

Taste - At the front, I detected caramel, bourbon, and sweet dark fruit. The profile was not as sweet as I anticipated. The were some light green apple notes which might suggest some deterioration. The bourbon provided balance in the finish.

Mouthfeel - The body had viscosity which allowed the sweetness to linger.

Overall - This was my first Crux brew. They made a very solid wheatwine.