Quaff Bros What The Wheat?
Listermann Brewing Company

 

 

Poured from a bottle into a Bell's tulip. Pour is a nice clear pale amber color with two fingers of head that quickly dissipate. The nose is unusual and not at all unpleasant. It is slightly sweet mixture of bourbon and apple cider.

The beer has a medium body and a soft, silky feel. There is very little bitterness to this beer. The wheat is evident as the beer has some grainy cereal-like flavors. These are accented by flavors of apple cider, bourbon, and oak. However, it is a faint fruity acidity in the beer which meshes with the graininess to produce such an unusual flavor. It's good, but not the most drinkable beer I've had.

It's difficult to know how to rate this beer as it's the only wheat wine I've had. I enjoyed it, but probably wouldn't drink it again before trying a few other wheat wines (good thing, since they only made this one once). The graininess soft, smooth feel appeal to me, but the fruity acidity and bourbon notes seem rather strange to my (untrained) palate. It's too bad this beer probably won't be made again. I should have enjoyed it fresh and not sat on the bottle for so long.

 

 

 

 

Appearance - very clear looking for a wheatwine. Clear and amber in color, a light off-white head. Not much resiliance but holds a thin collar fairly well.

Aroma - after sampling the Cincinnatus, this has a lighter bourbon nose, although it is easily detected. Not much else coming through on this wheatwine, perhaps the intent is to showcase the barrel. Good depth there, some caramel, oak, and vanilla.

Taste - a light wheat profile, but I do pick up some sweet graininess at the opening. The bourbon and barreling are smooth and well-integrated.. This is the opposite of Pilgrim's Dole, a wheat wine with a bourbony edge. This is a bourbon beer with a wheaty edge. Lighter in flavor than the Cincinnatus that I had earlier, the lesser hand here allows for more development of the various flavors at play within the wood and whiskey. I get a little beery/grainy sweetness on the swallow, but the finish is warm and smooth. This has a bit of elegance to it as the flavors seem delicate but tasty and well-balanced, provided you dig a bourbon-forward bbww.

Mouthfeel - a touch heavy on the palate as I like a wheatwine to be. Just a slight crispness to the carbonation level, and the body has a good solid weight to it.

Drinkability - this one is delicious now and I could see it aging into something spectacular. I would guess the abv around 8 to 9 per cent, so it should cellar well. Dan, nice brew.