New Belgium / Indeed Come Together Honey Wheat Wine & Strawberry Fields Kettle Sour

A few months ago, the folks at Indeed and the crew at New Belgium came together and ....ah, man, I gave it away already. Well, anyway, they meet in Fort Collins, Colorado and cooked up this number. It came as no surprise that it would be a honey beer, since Josh Bischoff uses three different kinds of honey in three of Indeed's seasonal brews (Shenanigans, Mexican Honey Lager, and Old Friend). Also not a surprise is that they chose a phrase well known as a Beatles song title to commemorate their collaboration, following after Day Tripper Pale Ale (and with their next collaboration, done in Minneapolis, using yet another title).

Well, I never saw a bottle, but I got my hands on a keg, and took some notes before it ran out.

Come Together Honey Wheat-wine. 9% ABV. New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, CO. in collaboration with Indeed Brewing.

Clouded, pale golden hue, lacey ivory head.

Sweetness jumps out of the nose, honey & wheat, with a little floral & spice notes.

In the mouth: bright, sweet, strong. Low to no hops. Nothin' but honey & wheat. Smooth, but big. A tasty treat, but really a one-and-done-er. A bit too big and too sweet to be more than that. What I wish is that I could keep a bottle for the winter, but I don't think they did bottle this. (A search on BeerAdvocate shows one rating. What? And one on rate beer.com, too. Whoa, how rare was this? And 171 check-ins on Untappd.)

Hey, guess what? I was going to add the Minneapolis-brewed New Belgium/ Indeed collaboration as a separate entry, but I can't find the notes anywhere. I know I wrote them, but I also know they were very brief. The beer was on tap for a very short time, and the keg was easier to get than Come Together. For Strawberry Fields, I asked Indeed for one and they said, sure, of course, you bet. To get a 1/6 barrel of Come Together from the distributor, I also had to buy a keg of New Belgium Citradelic.

Strawberry Fields was a 5.4 % ABV kettle sour / tart ale, using strawberry puree, honey, and brettanomyces. It tasted just like you'd want it to: a little sweet, a little tart, plenty of fruit and flat-out delicious. Plump, jammy, and refreshing. Pity it went away so quickly, but that it is the nature of the limited release brew.

Barley John's Brewing Company Armagedgnome Wheat Wine

I had a sample can given to me by the Head Gnome Himself, Mr. John Moore of Barley John's. It said WW on it, for Wheat Wine. I looked all over for "Barley John's Brewing Company Wheat Wine" and found nothing. Oh, that's because it's actually called..

Armagedgnome. Wheat Wine. 8.3% ABV.

Deep crimson coloring, slim, short-lived head on it.

Aroma is bold and fruity, big and malty.

In the mouth: more sweet, but well-balanced, malty, fruity, and pretty damned yum. Bright, strong, very barley-wine-like, but smooth and tasty. Not bad, not bad at all. Tasty, tasty stuff.with a little bit of an alcoholic burn, but nice and pleasant. Well done, all around.

Lagunitas Scarce City #4: Imperial Wheat Wine

Lagunitas Scarce City #4: Imperial Wheat Wine. 9.7% ABV. On tap at Acadia Cafe.

Appearance: hazed, golden hued, slim white head.

Aroma: grapefruit, tangerine, and more. Fruitier than I expected. Pithy citric aromatics. Loving it.

Taste: That big citrus returns in the mouth. Smooth, wheaty body meets big, fat alcohol. I love wheat-wines. And this one is delicious. Hangs heavy in the mouth, but you have to know that going in. Not for the faint of heart, but easier-going than a regular barley-wine. big, boozy, grapefruity wheat-wine. I'm digging it.

Perhaps not the optimum brew for this hot summer day, but there's not turning back now.

One question: do you have to call it "Imperial" when the style is already big and strong?

Alesmith Decadence 2014- Wheat Wine

Alesmith Brewing Company Decadence 2014 Anniversary Ale Wheat Wine. 10% Alc. by Vol.

Appearance: Hazed, bold orange hue, slim white head.

Aroma: bright, brash orange-y hop nose, some lemon and lime and other citrus, with alcoholic fire burning beneath.

Taste: Smooth and strong. Bright and beautiful. All these things and more. Goes down easy, but packs a punch, with plenty of hop flavor. That's the San Diego way, as we know. Mmm,mm,mmm, mm. Yeah.

Notes ended there. It was late, and it was beer #6, and I had said enough.

Now for the Gobbledygook: Alesmith Decadence Anniversary Ale was originally brewed in 2005 to celebrate our first de ade in business. Our brewers had such a great time creating it that they decided to brew a new style each year to commemorate our anniversary. Now, nineteen years after we started, we're proud to present another great addition to this ongoing series, Alesmith Decadence 2014 is our interpretation of a wheat wine-style ale. The generous amounts of wheat used in this beer impart a heady aroma with hints of honey, ripe fruit, and a spicy graininess. In the finish, a pleasant and malty sweetness from the wheat is balanced by the addition of German and American hops. Enjoy this special brew now or…blah, blah, blah….

I checked BeerAdvocate to see if I've had any Decadence previously, and there was a checkmark by the 2010 edition, about which I wrote this:


Chestnut-hued, under tight, tan top.

Earthy, nutty aroma, caramel flavor, mixed with spice and fruit esters. A heady, burgundy-esque blend. Noice.

Delectable and deep at once, a bold entry on the palate, hanging full with weighty flavors. Sticks long on the tastebuds, rolls around with imperious aplomb, a brilliant mix of delicious malt, and just enough hops. Lip-smacking delight.

11%? I can feel it coming on...this is a fine, fine barleywine that will put an excellent close to the day. Half the bottle left...means I'm gonna feel twice as good when it's time to hit the hay.

When did I write that? April, 2006. Something's fishy there, or did I dabble in time travel somehow?

Straight to Ale Vern's Wheat Wine

Straight to Ale Vern's Wheat Wine, right to Brew Series, 11% ABV. Huntsville, Alabama.

Deep crimson shade, slim white head.

Aroma: very loud, big, booming, malt-alicious. Enormous fruit, berries, and cherries and apples galore, with alcohol spilling out just a bit.

Taste: Mmmm. Rich, thick, smooth and massive. Pleasing and potent. Full-bodied, fully flavored, but surprisingly easy on the palate. Long presence on the tongue. Bountiful mouthfeel. Immense, but utterly manageable.

I like this a ton. Yummity yum, yum, yum.

Two Brothers Bare Tree Weiss

I haven't had this one in a while. The wheat wine from Two Brothers that rings in at high alcohol volumes. Used to be in big bombers, but this year I noticed in 12 ouncers for the first time. And there it sat in the beer fridge, when I had no "drinking beers" left, and I was spent on reviewing. Doing five in one day will do that, sometimes.
But, wait, didn't I write about this one earlier? So, here you go, notes from a bottle, way back in 2001!

And then, a later assessment, from 2004:

2001...been saving this for 3 months, hope it's worth it... 

Hazy, orange color, slight white head. 

Fresh nose, citric, orangey, but a bit flat and metallic. Doesn't jump up much. 

Mmmm, tangy, slightly tart taste, very fruit-forward, orange all over, with a banana touch coming through, a bit of pepper, a whisper of apricot, and, yes, a hush of vanilla, too. An interesting approach, but I still am unconvinced of how they can call this a barleywine..there seems to be nothing in common with any bw I've ever had before. Maybe because none of them were wheat beers? 
Wonderful texture, though, practically floods the palate, with the bright, full fruit, thick, and tasty texture. Yum, and yum, and yum. Good, goody, McGumdrops! 
I'm going to enjoy this big ol' bottle all the way to the end! 

2002 "vintage", enjoyed 10-31-04....golden hued, huge bollowy head, a lovely thing, sublime aroma, atmospherically uplifting, magnificent taste, utterly gorgeous, ...I do believe I shall edit my assessment of the previous year's effort, ...doing a bare-bones review, though, and am not attempting on this tasting to dissect every aspect of the brew, but just let it slide down, and it's good for that...wow, I likety-like it.