New Glarus - Dancing Man Wheat

It is not often that these words come out of my mouth (er.. are typed) so listen carefully.  "I've never had this New Glarus beer before."  There I said it.  I am not proud, but there it is.  In case you're the type to glaze over article titles, today's review is for New Glarus' Dancing Man Wheat.  I am really hoping that it is made with more wheat and not with dancing men.  Let's pour!

Picture is my own.  Bottle art image used without permission for educational uses only.

Aroma 12/12
Smelling this, one does not want to drink it.  You either want to smell it all day or wear it as cologne.  It is fantastic and has it all: rich, ripe bananas, coriander, cloves, light caramel malt, and a hint of citrus.  Beautiful and a shining example of what a good wheat beer should taste like.

Appearance 3/3
A cloudy, golden honey color topped with an amazing, whipped head is a real smile-inducer to have in the glass. As if the head did not appear light and frothy enough to begin with, at times it even has merengue-like peaks.  The head size was generous, but could have received extra super bonus points for sticking around a little longer.

Picture is my own.

Flavor 17/20
The aroma has deceived me yet again.  Instead of mouthfuls of bananas, caramel, and spices, the beer fades almost immediately into a backbone of toasted grain, citrus, lesser caramel notes and more bitter than expected.  This is not the over-the-top sweet beer from the aroma!  The yeast flavors are being completely overpowered by a near perfect balance of the malt (caramel) and hops (citrus).  In fact, the more I drink it, the more I get over my disappointment  regarding the lack of sweet bananas and begin marveling at the balance this beer has.  Wow!  The longer it is held in the mouth, some of the Belgian yeast's spiciness is allowed to really rear its head, but without the fruity esters.  The finish is still a spicy, citrus bitter, but does show a hint of the caramel and banana to keep things from becoming too sharp.  The aftertaste is not clean.  The bitter stays on the back of the tongue and a odd dryness is left on the sides of the mouth.

Mouthfeel 4/5
Lots of carbonation here, maybe even a bit too much in the beginning.  Toward the end it is still a bit prickly, but not a detriment.  It has a very light body for a wheat beer and no creaminess of which to speak.  The warmth is completely hidden and I was surprised to learn that this beer has a 7.2% ABV.  A sixer of this could make for a very short evening!

Overall Impression 9/10
A superbly balanced beer that takes on all comers of the style.  Not too sweet, high alcohol content, complexity, and a refreshing drinkability are only some of the many strengths of this beer.  Many wheat beers that are sweet often become too heavy and cloying at the expense of wanting to drink more than one.  This beer avoids that pitfall completely.

Total 45/50
If you live in and/or near Wisconsin and have not had this beer, shame on you.  May your children have extra fingers and your cats go bald.  This is an outstanding example of the style!  It improves on several areas of some of my favorite wheat beers, with the only apparent concession being the lack of a robust banana flavor. It has a higher ABV, lighter body, more balance, and a subtle sweetness which allows the drinker to have several without feeling like they are going to have a diabetic seizure.  This is a very nuanced beer sure to satisfy the new or experienced craft beer drinker and another reason that New Glarus enjoys the shiny reputation that it does.  Prost!

Picture is my own.  Bottle art image used without permission for educational uses only.

New Holland - Pilgrim's Dole Wheatwine

It was what I like to call "New Beer Friday" at the local wine/spirits store.  Every Friday, they get a shipment from their distributor and usually some new bottles will be lining the cooler.  I happened to see this bottle and could not help myself.  It is called Pilgrim's Dole Wheatwine from the New Holland Brewing Co and sells itself as a "barleywine style ale made with wheat."  As I have tirelessly documented in these reviews, I am a bit of a fan of hefes and witbiers as well as beers with high ABVs.  I also enjoy the occasional barleywine, so to combine the two should be an exciting pairing.  Let's pour!

Picture is my own.  Bottle art image used without permission for educational uses only

Aroma 6/12

Fresh from the pour, the wheat used in this beer immediately becomes apparent as a bready scent rises with the head.  However, its reign is short-lived.  As soon as the head settles a bit, a strong dark citrus aroma arrives and he has brought his friend alcohol.  The combination is nearly that of an orange liquor, but with how dominating it is, that may not entirely be a good thing.

Appearance 3/3

The beer pours with no noticeable body traits, but shows a beautiful array of orange, copper, scarlet and amber shades.  The orange packaging is more of a hint than one would suspect.  The pale orange head  (think Easter pastels) is moderate and the remains for a bit, and the collar even longer, but does not last to the end of the pint.  Very nice lacing.  Cannot stress enough the fantastic colors in this pint!

Picture is my own.

Flavor 13/20

There are some good things happening here, but I'm afraid one has to fight through the alcohol to get there.  With only the briefest of introductions of malt and vanilla sweetness one is plunged into strong alcohol warmth.   Walking behind it, not beside, are caramelized orange peel and when held in the mouth a butterscotch essence.  The finish is creamy, not only in body, but in flavor.  It is nearly milky at one point.  The aftertaste is almost entirely alcohol.

Mouthfeel 2/5

The intense creaminess in this beer makes a bold impression on the first sip.  The warmth of this beer threatens to overwhelm the entire brew.  Yes, barleywines should have a higher alcohol content in them, but we can all agree that they should also have more.  Much more.  Also, if this is to be an American style barleywine, then the hop presence is entirely lacking unless there are citrus-flavored hops entirely hidden by the other flavors.  This brew also leaves the mouth very slick.  Long story short?  Creamy, heavy, hot,  and slick.

Overall Impression 5/10

Some they got right, some they got wrong.  Overall, not a complex nuanced beer.  This is a beer that knows what it wants to do and that is to bull rush you.  It is too hot, too slick, and needs refinement.  The creaminess and color were amazing!  It is too bad it stopped there.  Flavor is dominated by warmth and caramelized orange.

Total  28/50

Sure we all enjoy a strong beer with high alcohol, but obviously there is more to it.  I want a beer that is going to essentially give my tongue a massage not twist it with pliers.  Strength is only good when controlled and applied properly and this beer makes that case.  The orange liquor flavor dominates with some sideshow flavors thrown in for good measure, but they are far from developing the overall flavor or theme of the beer.  Again, if this is an American barleywine, there is (at best) camouflaged hop flavor and absolutely no hop bitter.

I had too look it up, but I did find the info I sought.  This beer has "Diacetyl," or what the BJCP likes to define as "artificial butter, butterscotch, or toffee aroma and flavor.  Sometimes perceived as a slickness on the tongue."  I could not have described it better.

Maybe this beer is not what I expect because they used WHEAT in a BARLEYwine?  Not sure.  Doesn't matter.  I would definitely pass on this one.  There are some damn good barleywines out there and this one just does not come to compete.