Friday, August 16, 2013

Two Brothers Bare Tree 2012



Name:                   TwoBrothers Bare Tree 2012
Style:                    Wheatwine
Twist:                   None
Strength:               11%


Notes: 12.7oz corked bottle, served into a John’s goblet/snifter, the kind they don't make anymore  Bought in either January 2013 or March 2013.  The recipe for this changes every year, as does the artwork.


Let’s hope this is better than last year’s, which was very undercarbonated.  Pours a golden-copper with minimal white foam despite the carbonation, which was ample.  Bare Tree typically tastes like a hefeweizen; this is darker than your standard hefe but not by much.  




The aroma is appetizing.  Wheat cracker and wheat bread with some notable spicy esters and clove.  Mild on clove, but a bit stronger on spice.  The typical weizen flavor of banana is lighter this year than the two past years.  There is something that smells a bit like the aroma you get when cracking a peanut.  There is possibly a hint of corn husk, and a very very faint fusel alcohol note.

The wheat cracker continues.  Taste is very grainy…this is the most malt-forward, least yeast-driven of the three most recent batches.  I taste Ritz crackers (complete with salt, at least in my mind), some more spice, pears or light apples, a bit of hop bitterness on the finish.  Pale malt, slight honey, and peppery yeast.  The texture is thicker than the carbonation would imply, but at no time does it feel like an impediment to drinkability. 

This is quite tasty, and a noticeable improvement over the previous batch.  The 2011 was completely flat and just tasted like a run of the mill hefeweizen, which is not something I would pay $8 for.  It has been too long since I tasted the 2010 batch, so I can’t really say for sure if I like it more or less.  I would imagine this would place second in a side-by-side of two fresh batches, were such a thing possible.  It lacks the apricot flavors the 2010 year had.

I enjoyed this.



This was written on June 28, 2013.  It was typed on July 22, 2013.

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