13 Anniversary Wheatwine
Fillmore 13 Brewery

12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled in 3/2018. Pours slightly hazy medium orange/amber/light copper color with a 1 finger fairly dense and fluffy off white head with great retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big golden raisin, peach, plum, pear, fig, date, apricot, melon, red apple, honey, caramel, wheat, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, and white bread dough/crust; with lighter notes of banana, bubblegum, clove, wood, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Minimal booze in the aromas as it warms. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/spicy yeast, dark/bready malts, and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of huge golden raisin, peach, plum, pear, fig, date, apricot, melon, red apple, honey, caramel, wheat, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, and white bread dough/crust; with lighter notes of banana, bubblegum, clove, wood, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Light pine, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery hop bitterness; and yeast spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of golden raisin, peach, plum, pear, fig, date, apricot, melon, red apple, honey, caramel, wheat, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, white bread dough/crust, banana, bubblegum, clove, wood, leather, tobacco, herbal, floral, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, dark/bready malts, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with an awesome malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and no cloying sweetness after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitter/spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready/grainy, and lightly slick/sticky mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mildly increasing warmth of 13%, with no booze lingering after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic wheatwine! All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, dark/bready malts, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV, with the mildly bitter/spicy/drying finish. Perfectly balanced fruity/spicy German yeast and rich malts; with nice solid earthy hop presence/balance. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and amazingly spot on style example.