Shigfaced
Three Magnets Brewing

 

This is another great offering from my new fav brewery here in the NW. This brew pours a cloudy golden color with an amber hue. Upon pouring, a small, tight foam and an aroma of a boozy apple cider greet your senses. The booze is pleasant and present throughout each sip, warming and great for chilly autumn weather. The brandy wood brings out a candied flavor, but this brew isn’t overly sweet by any means, at least to my pallet. I get layers of malts, apple cider, wood, stone fruits, with just a touch spice. The sweet, bitter, and funk from the yeast all come together in a very smooth balance, zero off flavors for me. I’d love to have this one throughout the darker months, I think this was a one and done brew however. Tastes and feels like a pleasant American strong ale, a winner!

Pours an orangey amber with a slight haze and plenty of fine-grained white foam in the Stella Artois goblet. I can't say the initial aroma is very enticing, but the nose after sipping is fruity and definitely brandy.

Rather sweet and quite malty. The alcohol is in your face but not unpleasant. Flavor is apple pie with a bitter spice. Tangy, complex, and definitely one to sip. It's kind of peculiar with the funky fruit. As a Wheat Wine it's not so great, it's more like the dreaded "American Strong Ale." From the 16 oz can purchased at Central Market in Shoreline.

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very hazy caramel (looks like unfiltered apple cider, in fact) with a thin white head that dissipates to tiny patches with slight lacing. Aroma of grainy wheat, apples and a little brandy, exactrly as listed on the can. Flavor is semi-sweet bready wheat malt, apple, honey, a hint of caramel and brandy. Lingering apple, caramel and a little hops. Medium bodied with light creaminess and fine carbonation despite the still pour. Not like any wheatwine I've had before, but the profile smells and tastes pretty much like I'd expect from this style with apple juice and brandy influence. It actually works pretty nicely. There is a nostalgic fleeting taste of apple butter on toast due to the apple and wheat components. It's a little odd and a bit sweet, but I enjoyed this quite a bit. The finish has what tasted like a slight hop astringency, probably due to the light wheat base, but it's a minor quibble for an overall tasty wheatwine. The flavors are not complex, wheat, apple and brandy are the main elements, but it does taste full bodied. Not sure how this would hold up to aging, due to the apple juice, but it is great now.