Wheatwine - Under Appreciated or Terrible?

Great thread. I'm a huge wheatwine fan, & picked up another for my wants from the suggestions. I've made it a point to seek them out whenever I can...would love to see more on the market.

Might be hard to find now, but Weyerbacher 14 & 14 Special Dark were two of the best I've ever had.

Marin Star Triple Wheat was fantastic.

Founder Nemesis '09 was unreal, but has fallen off in the years since it was released.

Couple others I haven't seen mentioned are DuClaw Misery (very good) & Terrapin Gamma Ray (pretty good),

 

I really wanted to try Gamma Ray. And I bet Founders could make a good wheatwine alright, but I'm guessing Nemesis was more along the lines of a barleywine that happened to be over 50% wheat malts.

Need to keep an eye out for the Weyerbachers . . . they're hit or miss with their big beers sometimes, but when it's a hit it can be a BIG hit, it seems.

 

I have only tried a few wheatwines, but I have thoroughly enjoyed them all. It is about time to crack the Jackie O's Cherry Wood Ya...I think that will go in the fridge for this weeked

 

Back when you could post what your favorite style was on your profile page mine said "wheatwine".

Now granted, I'm not sure it really is my fav, but it's way up there. I think it's a very under appreciated style, some of my favs are Marin Star Brew, Bells Wheat Love (please bring it back!) and Big Time Old Sol.

 

I had a Terrapin Gamma Ray last summer.. Way too sweet for me.

 

I also don't see why it has to be one over the other, but if I had to choose it would be barleywines. Don't get me wrong, I love wheatwines. Boogoop, Old Sol, Ithica 13, White Chocolate, Nemesis 09...so many good ones!

Btw, if you want some Boogoop, let me know. I have done cellared and some that Mikkeller just released again.

 

Good news: I was at Brooklyn brewery on 1/16 for a tour and they were selling glasses of Companion for 2 chips a pop; glasses were about 1/2 the bottle, and chips run $4-5 each depending on whether you buy them in bulk. I was the only person willing to try it on a Monday with the tap room closing in the next 10 minutes, so the bartender walked away to let me grab the whole bottle. Expensive relative to the other offerings at the brewery and there were certainly consequences to this decision the following day, but totally worth it overall! Not sure if they still have it, but definitely worth a shot.

 

Drinking a Founders Nemesis 2009 right now.

I mean, it's not in the top half of favorite styles for me, but when they're boozy and sweet, they make great winter sippers. In moderation, folks. Just in moderation.

 

Here's the best (only?) wheatwine Canada has to offer and its a beauty eh

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4045/79262

I'd usually take it over barleywine because it has a lighter feel to it but still has an interesting/unique/pleasing taste profile

 

Oh damn . . . I was just looking up a couple of the wheatwines mentioned on here, and I am hardcore ISO Boulevard Harvest Dance and Short's Anniversary Ale, now. (I'm not into trading though, so Short's will probably have to wait.)

When is Anniversary Ale released, exactly? And what about Harvest Dance? Isn't that out now? Would the citra hops still be relatively pungent at this point?

 

Terrible. Some breweries have done a decent job using barrels and other treatments, but in general, terrible.

 

I think wheat wine is definitely under appreciated

 

Harvest Dance is still all over the place here (Oklahoma), it's even on draft at a few places still. I wouldn't say the citra is really "pungent", even when it's fresh the citra is just an accent in the overall flavor profile. It's definitely an excellent beer.

 

Harvest Dance is outstanding. That being said, it's the only wheatwine I've had the opportunity to try.

 

yeah harvest dance has been released fairly recently, in the past couple months.

got to try it back to back with the prior version and the new one is so much brighter. old one was still pretty good.

weyerbacher had a really nice wheat wine as well awhile back.

 

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/14078/75969
Demeters was the top Wheat Wine in the world before hads counted, and its Canadian

 

Any love for Shorts Anniversary Wheatwine? Brewed with blood oranges and green peppercorns. Best I've had to date for the style.

 

I have had a handful of them and I am a fan. This one is quite tasty and memorable:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/812/2838

 

I voted Barleywines only because I have more experience with drinking them because there are more of them on store shelves. And judging from many of the replies on this thread, that's exactly why this style is under-appreciated rather than being "horrible."

I've had only 5-6 wheatwines and I've enjoyed each one, just as I've enjoyed just about every barleywine that I've had. The wheatwines that are in the marketplace are typically a small batch release that appears on store shelves so briefly from whichever brewery makes it so that it does not get widespread consumption (and acceptance) due to the limited consumers who have the opportunity to purchase it.