Commentist Beer Barrel: Breakfast of Champions

You can probably use your fingers to count the genuinely distinctive beer styles invented here in the United States, even if you’re Jim Abbott. American brewers have shown a terrific facility for re-invention, for better (American IPAs!) and worse (the “great pilsner taste” of Miller Lite!). New ideas are fewer and farther between, probably because the rest of the western world had a head start of several centuries. There’s steam beer, or “California common” if your brewery doesn’t happen to be Anchor Brewing Company, holder of a trademark on the word “steam.” There’s cream ale. There may be one or two others I’m missing. Then there’s wheatwine.

I’ve heard people dismiss wheatwine as a mere subset of the English-born barleywine style, essentially just barleywines with a bit of wheat malt added. These people are not to be listened to; they’re insufferable snobs and killjoys, which wouldn’t even be so bad as beer enthusiasts go, except that they’ve made the choice to be insufferable snobs and killjoys despite having clearly defective tastebuds. A wheatwine tastes wildly, vibrantly different than a barleywine. It’s generally lighter, fruitier; it bursts on the palate in the way the relatively sedate English and American barleywines just don’t. There still aren’t a lot of breweries making these sort of beers, either, which is too bad because I really dig every one I get to try. Smuttynose appears to have brewed the first one. Boulevard makes a very good one in Harvest Dance, New Holland’s Pilgrim’s Dole is even better. And I’m pleased to report that the wheatwine I’m trying today, White Oak, from The Bruery, is an especially fine example.

The Bruery is a Southern California operation, probably most famous for its Black Tuesday imperial stout and variants thereof, including the So Happens It’s Tuesday that I just missed getting my mitts on this week. Oh well. The Bruery’s name incorporates the name of its founder, Patrick Rue, and is pronounced exactly like “the brewery,” which is a huge pain in the ass when you want someone to understand that you’re talking about The Bruery and not just some brewery. I can’t overstate how much this annoys me. It’s caused me near-physical discomfort more than once. But The Bruery also makes some really excellent beer, and their first week of distribution in Central Texas is another important milestone for the local beer scene.

White Oak is a hazy honey-gold in the glass. The fluffy white head dissipates with predictable speed given the wine-like ABV of 12.5%. Let this one warm up a bit before serving, for sure; you’ll want to be sure you get the full range of flavors. There’s tart apple and honeydew melon from the wheat malt, caramel from the barley, and the usual results of bourbon barrel aging at its best: vanilla, oak wood, graham cracker, and, well, bourbon. Hops aren’t a major factor here, with no significant contribution to the overall flavor, and just enough bittering to keep this from coming off as syrupy. As the weather down here continues to warm up, most are already gravitating to the lighter, more refreshing beers, but for me White Oak is the perfect slow sipper for a lazy Saturday afternoon.

lady snow has a bad cold this weekend and can’t taste beer: [sniffle]

tl;dr: Wheatwines, similarly to barleywines, are all labeled for sale in the U.S. as “wheatwine-style ale.” This started when Sierra Nevada tried to label their Bigfoot as a barleywine, and the Tax and Trade Bureau felt this would cause consumers to misidentify barleywine as regular wine. “Barleywine-style ale” was the compromise, and it’s become standard for both styles.

Grade: #MakeAmericaBeerAgain

make it snow is an alot of beer who’s really digging chile beers right now, probably due to his own ongoing upper respiratory discomfort. That Jim Abbot joke will serve as his first, last, and only written acknowledgement of baseball’s opening week. Cheers.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
makeitsnowondem
make it snow is an alot of beer. He is also a Broncos fan living in Denver.
Subscribe
Notify of
214 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

comment image

WCS

Anyone else to snort a mountain of blow listening to this?

Wakezilla

My cousin ( we’re not that close but she’s nice) is engaged or married (they may have recently eloped) to Allen Christensen of the Brisbane Lions. They’re both nice and we’re all facebook friends, so, by default should my favorite team be the Brisbane Lions? On the one hand, the first ever Grand Final I saw was Brisbane winning the title against Essendon, so, there’s a history there. Plus, they’re the Lions and I’m the fan of the BC Lions, which counts for something, MAYBE. And I still remember most of their fight song.

On the Other hand, Carlton Blues, Western Bulldogs and the Melbourne Kangas all have nice uniforms/logos.

Wakezilla

Here’s what I remember from the fight song. . .

We are the pride of Brisbane town
We wear maroon, blue and gold
We will always fight for victory
Like Fitzroy and Bears of old
All for one, and one for all
We will answer to the call
something something kick
Something something victory.

Not bad.

https://youtu.be/i2OnZG6VnJk

ballsofsteelandfury

No way! He used to be a Geelong Cat! Nice guy, but i think the reason he left is that he got a case of the grass is greener syndrome. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen to your cousin.

WCS

Western takes the lead..

Pretty good game here.

Wakezilla

I am disappointed that neither TSN or Sportsnet is showing the game.

Marc Trestmans Windowless Van

I left the search tab open. You get one more Ashlynn Brooke

http://xmfan.com/files/ashlynn_brooke_01_300.jpg

ballsofsteelandfury

I do get a kick out of these titles:

comment image

Marc Trestmans Windowless Van

I was checking in late again. Random song I enjoyed I had never heard before

https://youtu.be/UW1IqW6kNdU

And team dark booze. Specifically whiskey, but I love them all

ballsofsteelandfury

I wonder if the Commentists would refuse to watch this on principle:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aQvdVodtXAA/TCeQ-imNhKI/AAAAAAAAAXM/unyw-Qdv1gI/s1600/3vidbigbangdvd.jpg

Marc Trestmans Windowless Van

Her name is Ashlynn Brooke. Took 3 seconds to reverse google search, enjoy her in something else

http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/608365705340329988/cwVQitjS.jpg

ballsofsteelandfury

But what if you want to see Sheldon finally give it to Amy?!?
http://media.giphy.com/media/Ne7aenG4oM1Py/giphy.gif

Wakezilla

Straight would avoid watching that particular documentary.

WCS

Happening to watch Ghostbusters II on the TV, the weirdest part isn’t Peter MacNicol kidnapping the baby, but the Twin Towers behind him. How times change.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh
theeWeeBabySeamus

Yep, me too. I finally gaved up, watched Geelong, and ated moar chili.

ballsofsteelandfury

Did you guys know there is a Taxi porn parody? I just discovered this today…

http://s4.postimg.org/4s354gpkm/Taxi_A_Hardcore_Parody_XXX_PARODY.jpg

Of course Ron Jeremy plays Louie. Of course he does!

theeWeeBabySeamus

That’s just good casting.