Purchased: 12.7oz/375ml corked bought at Evolution Wine & Spirits in Chicago, Illinois; 2012
Style/ABV: American Barleywine/Wheatwine, 11.0%
Reported IBUs: ?
This one pours into a hazy orangeish color, with a pinky of off-white head that rapidly dissolves into a long-lasting cauldron effect. There's some head just chilling on the sides of the glass, and in bright light, you can see a TON of carbonation streaming upwards in towers made out of tiny bubbles. The head is white/orange-tinted in bright light, and the beer is murky like orange juice. There's some lacing, and the creamy, strong head duration really suggests a Belgian Ale or Hefeweizen. This one has some nice alcohol legs, and they betray the aroma, which doesn't necessarily suggest a huge beer.
The nose is kind of Belgian or German Hefeweizen-esque, with some hints of clove, big banana, bubblegum, and vanilla. When you focus on the vanilla, you pick up some oak, wood, and light woody vanilla. There's some fruity and boozy complexity on the nose as well, with suggestive alcohol aromas. There's maybe a dash of caramel or heavier malt as well. It's kind of a laid back and subtle nose, but what you can pick up on the aroma is suggestive of complexity lurking beneath.
WOW. This is ridiculously smooth and creamy, like drinking chocolate milk. There's subtle and light carbonation, but you mostly get blasted with chocolate milk mouthfeel, Wheat-malt-smoothness. This is insane...so creamy, so smooth. It's like a smoothed out Weizenbock/Doppelweizen.
I'm getting a ton of creamy banana, clove, caramel, vanilla ice cream, caramel on vanilla ice cream, pleasant wheat malt astringency, and wheat malt in this. A hint of citrus shows up, with light grass, apricot, and some mild peppery spice. There's a huge boozy complexity beneath the super smooth surface, and you get some oak, and hints of wood. There's some hints of grain with the malts as well, and a hint of grape/apple in this.
This one is full-bodied, and creamy as hell. Wow, what a mouthfeel. It's like Demeter the Goddess of Grain did the female equivalent to bricking a load of wheat in my mouth. Despite being a supped up wheat beer, you really want to sip this at its presumed 11.0% ABV. This one is boozy, and you can feel it. The booze adds to the complexity, and never hinders drinkability. If you love German Hefeweizens and Weizenbocks (I know I do!), you'll feel right at home drinking this. Palate depth is outstanding, and complexity is high. You get creamy banana, clove, vanilla, caramel, oak, wood, ice cream, and massive booze up front; this rolls into apples, fruity booze, peppery spice, tons of wheat, hints of grape; the back end trails of with complex booze, grapes, grain, apples, lingering clove...wowza.
Rating: Divine Brew
Strong Divine Brew on the 2012 version of this. I don't know what the fuck I was expecting but it certainly wasn't this. This is fantastic, and might be one of the better beers I've had from Two Brothers. Maybe the timing is just right. This is a 2012 bottle, and I'm not entirely sure how much age this has on it. Regardless, the apple/grape/grain booze complexity combined with the giant, creamy, wheat-forward mouthfeel wins this beer. This would go well with aggressive/strong cheeses (as does any solid Hefeweizen). You could also pair this with peppery meats, shrimp, rissoto, or a salad topped with cheese. You might even go the dessert route with banana pudding, yellow cake, or fruity baked goods. These were selling for like 7 or 8 bucks a bottle...grab two of these. I bet this ages well.
Random Thought: I think we fought off the last bout of winter in the Midwest. It's currently back up into the 50s and 60s, with rain and thunderstorms all week. Does that mean Spring is finally here?
Reported IBUs: ?
Tonight will mark the first time I've tried tried Two Brothers' Bare Tree series. This one comes in a fancy, mini-champagne bottle, with a cork, cage, and the works. The bottle suggests you can age this for 2-5 years. Let's see if this one is worth investing in to age. About Two Brothers:
Two Brothers are based out of Warrenville, Illinois, a town not far from Chicago. Two brothers was founded in 1996 by brother Jason and Jim Ebel. Their brewery and Tap House Restaurant are both located in Warrenville. Their distribution and production seems to be increasing with each year, and along with their beer you can buy home brewing equipment and supplies at the Tap House Restaurant.I'm having a heck of a time finding any info on this beer, aside from Ratebeer's brief description. According to Ratebeer, this is a Barley Wine-style beer made with 57% wheat, and 43% barley, and German hops. Apparently this beer starts fermentation using a Hefeweizen yeast, and is then finished with Scottish Ale yeast. This one is apparently oak aged for over one year before being released. Evidently the vintages do not differ in recipe, but do differ in barrel usage. The back of my bottle states: "Our magic 8 ball indicates this beer can be enjoyed now or cellared."
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| Two Brothers Bare Tree 2012 |
This one pours into a hazy orangeish color, with a pinky of off-white head that rapidly dissolves into a long-lasting cauldron effect. There's some head just chilling on the sides of the glass, and in bright light, you can see a TON of carbonation streaming upwards in towers made out of tiny bubbles. The head is white/orange-tinted in bright light, and the beer is murky like orange juice. There's some lacing, and the creamy, strong head duration really suggests a Belgian Ale or Hefeweizen. This one has some nice alcohol legs, and they betray the aroma, which doesn't necessarily suggest a huge beer.
The nose is kind of Belgian or German Hefeweizen-esque, with some hints of clove, big banana, bubblegum, and vanilla. When you focus on the vanilla, you pick up some oak, wood, and light woody vanilla. There's some fruity and boozy complexity on the nose as well, with suggestive alcohol aromas. There's maybe a dash of caramel or heavier malt as well. It's kind of a laid back and subtle nose, but what you can pick up on the aroma is suggestive of complexity lurking beneath.
WOW. This is ridiculously smooth and creamy, like drinking chocolate milk. There's subtle and light carbonation, but you mostly get blasted with chocolate milk mouthfeel, Wheat-malt-smoothness. This is insane...so creamy, so smooth. It's like a smoothed out Weizenbock/Doppelweizen.
I'm getting a ton of creamy banana, clove, caramel, vanilla ice cream, caramel on vanilla ice cream, pleasant wheat malt astringency, and wheat malt in this. A hint of citrus shows up, with light grass, apricot, and some mild peppery spice. There's a huge boozy complexity beneath the super smooth surface, and you get some oak, and hints of wood. There's some hints of grain with the malts as well, and a hint of grape/apple in this.
This one is full-bodied, and creamy as hell. Wow, what a mouthfeel. It's like Demeter the Goddess of Grain did the female equivalent to bricking a load of wheat in my mouth. Despite being a supped up wheat beer, you really want to sip this at its presumed 11.0% ABV. This one is boozy, and you can feel it. The booze adds to the complexity, and never hinders drinkability. If you love German Hefeweizens and Weizenbocks (I know I do!), you'll feel right at home drinking this. Palate depth is outstanding, and complexity is high. You get creamy banana, clove, vanilla, caramel, oak, wood, ice cream, and massive booze up front; this rolls into apples, fruity booze, peppery spice, tons of wheat, hints of grape; the back end trails of with complex booze, grapes, grain, apples, lingering clove...wowza.
Rating: Divine Brew
Strong Divine Brew on the 2012 version of this. I don't know what the fuck I was expecting but it certainly wasn't this. This is fantastic, and might be one of the better beers I've had from Two Brothers. Maybe the timing is just right. This is a 2012 bottle, and I'm not entirely sure how much age this has on it. Regardless, the apple/grape/grain booze complexity combined with the giant, creamy, wheat-forward mouthfeel wins this beer. This would go well with aggressive/strong cheeses (as does any solid Hefeweizen). You could also pair this with peppery meats, shrimp, rissoto, or a salad topped with cheese. You might even go the dessert route with banana pudding, yellow cake, or fruity baked goods. These were selling for like 7 or 8 bucks a bottle...grab two of these. I bet this ages well.
Random Thought: I think we fought off the last bout of winter in the Midwest. It's currently back up into the 50s and 60s, with rain and thunderstorms all week. Does that mean Spring is finally here?
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