State of the Art - Wheat Wine
Industrial Arts Brewing Company - Beacon

 

Can art is white honey comb on silver cad schematic of a brewery.(?)
State of the Art Series Wheat Wine - "An array of Hi-Tech small-batch Experiments in Beer" says the can.
Package date: 12-12-19 - 10.7%abv.
The color is a deep amber-orange that produced a 3 inch head that rose above the rim like Dr,J.
Semi transparent with a hefe-like haze, the dense, tiny bubbled foam clung and dripped down the goblet with every sip. Good retention after the slump, a film and ring of foam was ever present to the last sip.
The first sniff is a heady blast of fruity malt and yeasty esters. The faint whiff of alcohol meshes seamlessly with the sort of tart and sweet, rising sour dough aroma. Notes of raw honey on Chex cereal and more alcohol in the background.
This is a sipper, full bodied but not "heavy" if you get that distinction.
The above aromas carry through to the mouth and tongue. Great, wheat character, tart flavors but rounded with rich, fruity malt and a firm hop balance that compliments the dominant grain flavor profile as a role player, not a front man. I'm tempted to give this a 5 for flavor but there is a fuzzy fizziness that detracts a bit,,,,so.... I'm being a dick.
This tastes amazing and 6 months old is fine. This is like a puppy - even at 6 months, it's still a puppy. Get this one and stash it for Christamas / New Years...... 2022 even.
This is a Keeper.

Tasted blind as part of the spring 2020 NBS BIF.

Pours a hazy cloudy orange color - but not in the way a NE style IPA would look - with that dull matte opacity - this is brighter, just completely opaque. Almost reminds me of a white stout? Thin fizzy white head dissipates pretty quickly leaving not much in the way of foam on the top of the beer other than a thin ring along the outside edges.

Aroma is interesting - smells kind of like a paleta. Its got some notes of cantaloupe, mango, peach, and pineapple but with a creamy sweetness to it - making it reminiscent of a paleta.

Taste is ... huh ... not what I expected going in blind. It does have those fruity notes - hints of pineapple, peach, mango, and cantaloup, but not fresh, more in a dulled almost cooked way. Like a cobbler? Some hoppy bitterness comes through but its not overwhelming. There is some definite creaminess to this with moderate sweetness to is. Again I am getting some of that paleta-type flavor here. Hints of vanilla do come through. The malts themselves provide a light background but the beer itself is pretty substantial. I am guessing this is a higher ABV and the effect, after aggressively drinking most of it, seems to confirm that.

Feel is medium to fuller bodied. Moderate, but prickly carbonation. The finish is rather short and abrupt without any lingering notes other than a slight warming alcohol sensation - yea, its gotta be higher ABV. At least 10%, but its not "hot" by any stretch.

Overall this is interesting, Im having some trouble placing what this is, but given what Ive noted, I am guessing an American barleywine hopped with some more modern (read fruity) hops? The only other thing that comes to mind is a Triple IPA, but it doesn't seem hoppy or sweet enough for that.

It turned out to be a wheatwine, which made sense once I knew what it was. For me, drinking this blind, that "tropicana twister fruit punch" aspect jumped out and kind of guided my tasting of the beer. I never really got the toffee side of things.

Canned on 12/12/2019. Poured into an Industrial Arts pint glass. It pours a hazy, honey color with a large, creamy, egg-white head and sheen of lacing. The smell is reminiscent of a Belgian ale: honey, banana, apple, caramel, toffee, and sweet bread. The aroma has a pastry quality. The taste opens with tart lemon but it quickly segues into sweeter flavors of sticky bun, honey, banana, and apple. The flavors are evident but soft. It has a creamy, fairly viscous mouth feel with moderate carbonation, and the 10.7% ABV gives it a lot of substance. Overall, this is a unique and very enjoyable beer. I credit Industrial Arts for taking on this rather obscure style and doing it justice.

 

 

 

From a can dated 12/12/19 .

I've never had a wheat wine, so have NO idea what to expect, nor what is "to style", so here goes ;) :

Pours hazy, orangey, light amber. Light, long-lasting , very fine, white head, that leaves a 1/4" ring , clinging slightly up the glass, with 1/2" of widely-streaked lacing. Five minutes after pour (you'll see why in "Smell" - take a lot of sniffing to get it sussed out.;) ) , there is still complete foam coverage , about 1/8" deep. Surprising for such high abv.

Smell is.....hmmm??? ....never encountered any beer quite like it - there are Belgian blonde-like aromas, but not exactly that - circus peanut/banana extract aromas, but sweeter, and flatter, and not as dominant. Somehow reminds me of a combination of pvc pipe primer (before the glue) counter top laminate(the underside, before installation) , and a dentist's office, but lighter, and more pleasant. Swirling it produces brief, slight hints of dry bubble gum (the kind (used to be?) in packs of baseball cards) and booze. Sounds weird, but the overall effect is pleasant . Light , but noticeable , though not overwhelming, or obvious.

Taste is .....hmmm?..... initially, what one might expect at the end of a holiday baking session (bear with me ;) ) : if a little leftover cranberry/orange bread batter (not enough for a full loaf ;) ) was mixed into the last of the banana bread batter, & that batch was short the last 1/2 banana. I.e, there is some of that estery banana element that is present in the aroma, but weaker , plus some undefined citrus (dried orange rind?), and the whole thing is a bit doughy. As it warms, there is a bit of an earthy + stale bread crust flavor. Somehow reminds me of finding mushrooms(Brick Caps?) in the fall, that are a tad too far past prime to risk harvesting. Tastes how that smells, if you were to risk eating them , raw.[Don't! ;)] *shrug* Some light pleasant bitterness throughout. A little noticeable alcohol as it warms, that manifests as a ... hemlock flavor (Tsuga canadensis - Family Pinaceae - not Poison Hemlock - Carrot family - one in the garden behind the house - gets in my face/mouth sometimes ;) ) - piney, but not quite pine.
All that^ said, the sum of it is very enjoyable! :)

Feel is smooth, lightly creamy, with a fine carbonation tingle, and a slight pleasant burn that kicks in late.

Overall, I really like this. It's only ten days old, and is top-notch. Just got a single, but if time permits, I'll go back & get the full pack (or 2) , to see how it ages. I expect that it'll only get better. Highly recommend!