Rye Whiskey Barrel-Aged Manhattan Ale
Hi-Wire Brewing

Picked up a 16 oz single from the Appalachian Vintner 12-7-22 for $5.22. Canned 10-4-22; consumed 6-13-23.

Beer poured reddish-brown with a very nice off-white head.

Nose is sweet fruit forward along with some barrel in the background.

Taste is a large malt base that initially comes across cherry forward. As the palate acclimates, it becomes more bitter as the orange comes out along with the roots used in the recipe. Finishes bittersweet with a faint trace of barrel in the background.

Mouthfeel is very nice, medium to full bodied and very smooth.

Overall this was worth taking a flyer on at the price point and has been fun to try but the flavors and ingredients are not pulling together for my palate.

Copper colored pour with an off white head.
The orange peel is definitely there. I’m not familiar with most of the other ingredients so I don’t know what I’m tasting.
Simi-sweet with a slight citrus aftertaste.
Not bad but not my style of beer.

One of the most balanced and great mouthfeels of all time...

I haver had a lot of beer - a lot - and mouthfeel like most other attributes is subjective and to the eye (or tongue) of the beholder. But this beer, with it's mouthfeel was the most balanced, and slightly silky I have ever had. It was obvious, pronounced, and undeniable from the get-go. It was truly a joy to drink.

The rest was about as good - the look was truly special to take in and the taste hid the 9.5% ABV exceptionally well - that takes some brewing expertise in my book. Hi-Wire hit it out of the park with this one.

Quite frankly, BEERchitect sums it up far better than I ever could. There's a lot going on, but none of it is mind blowing. All-in-all, a pretty good English Style Barleywine

16 oz can, no date. It’s a looker, a dense ruby red and brown, slight rim of lace. It smells like a Manhattan. And tastes like one. In depth analysis here. Some rye, but mostly led by the orange and cherry notes, and maybe the angelica root, which is one of my favorite roots. The feel is slightly thin, finishes dry, a medium high amount of carbonation. A tasty beer cocktail. Perhaps could have used a bit more heft.

Had on tap. Murky lighter brown pour with a tan head. Smell has huge boozy rye, root and barley, oxidation and cherry linger. Taste is awful, couldn't finish my pour, splintered wood, hot rye whiskey, oxidized cherry with bitter herbs, but all hot and messy. This is becuase the feel is hot and thins out quickly, barley and malt notes are overwhelmed. A frankestein of a beer gone wrong

16oz can stamped Batch 2347 10/04/22 (2 months ago) poured into a teku glass at just above fridge temp 9.5% ABV per can. The beer pours opaque medium brown with mahogany highlights and meager light brown head. The head recedes to a pencil thin ring and tiny island of tiny bubbles. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring herbal notes, then cherry, sweet malt, and rye barrel. The taste is bittersweet malt with more herbal liqueur notes followed by cherry, orange peel and rye whiskey. Mild bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. ABV is well hidden in the aroma and flavor with just a touch of heat on the finish. Overall, very good. The herbs and fruits really lead the way here with the malt and barrel being much less emphasized.

I tried a 10oz glass of this beer off the tapper at Dry Ground Brewing as a guest tap in Paducah, Kentucky. It poured a clear amber with thin white head that did not leave much lace. The scent had subtle bourbon and booze notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to sip. There was bourbon and orange peel spice presence. The mouthfeel was medium in body with good carbonation. Overall it is a solid beer.

 

16 oz can with an October 2022 canning date on the bottom from the Wall of Beer in Clemson SC ($4.69).

Appearance. This pours with a dark, clear reddish-brown body that has an unusually good (for a barleywine) beige head.

There are a lot of adjuncts in this, creating tremendous complexity in both the flavor and the aroma. These come together nicely in the flavor despite some lack of harmony in the aroma. Well hidden ABV, especially considering that this is so fresh.

Vinous and slightly sweet.

As the cocktail culture grows in prominence, it's only natural to see the influence of those boozy and tasty elixirs make their way into the flavor of beer. Hi-Wire looks lo the Manhattan and its rye whisky, cherry, orange and root spices for inspiration.

Rye Whiskey Barrel-Aged Manhattan Ale is a mouthful to say, but sips plump and full flavored with the character of that mixed drink, starting first with a deep mahogany pour, light haze and with a dainty swirl of off-white creme. As a scent of spice cake, cherry and whisky tease the nose with part beer and part cocktail, the initial taste is plump with cola, brown sugar, toffee and coffee cake sweetness.

As the sweetness stews on the middle palate, the ale slowly releases the fruit flavors of booze soaked maraschino cherries, candied orange peel and a hint of prune. Dense and concentrated with malt and fruity, the taste slowly shifts to a more earthy and rootish spice of root beer, hard candy and the earthen grit of peppery rye to close.

Full bodied, bold and yet with a higher sense of drinkability, the complex and boldly flavored ale drinks like a sweeter amber ale and with a peppery dryness and a warming after palate.