Old Sol Wheatwine Ale - Big Time Brewery & Alehouse

brentk56

North Carolina

4.03/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: With a hard pour I was able to rouse a film over the apricot nectar-colored liquid; what it lacks in lacing it makes up in providing a sticky coating on the side of the chalice

Smell: Whole wheat toast, herbal-lemon bitterness, undertones of caramel

Taste: Herbal-lemon bitterness with caramel undertones, up front, the wheat flavors add a tangy element that builds through mid-palate; the sweetness builds, after the swallow, with a Bit-O-Honey character, though the herbal-lemon flavors persist into the finish

Mouthfeel: Although the beer lacks much carbonation, it is silky-smooth and creamy; very full bodied

Overall: A different take on the Wheatwine style and one that I appreciate more and more as the beer warms; the herbal-lemon character from the hops really makes this beer; based on the negative reviews of an older bottle by the three BAs who shared a tasting, this is one to drink fresh

Thanks, glkaiser (from the other site), for the opportunity

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2012 21:36:05 | More by brentk56

LiquidAmber

Washington

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Review from 11/2010 notes. Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours an attractive clear medium orange amber. Very light carbonation and only a slight head, but it left light lacing as it dissipated. Sweet citrus caramel malt aroma. Malty with a distinct, unusual orange citrus flavor. The fruit flavor persists strongly in the finish. Unusual and tasty. Medium bodied, almost syrupy. A very nice wheatwine.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2012 23:38:04 | More by LiquidAmber

Rutager

British Columbia (Canada)

4.43/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to DaftCaskBC for hookin' me up.

Appearance. Clear, glowing amber-gold with a half finger of off white head. Looks thick and rich.

Smell. Big oranges and hops, a little lime and sweet light grains.

Taste. Oranges, lemon, spicy hops, some light grain. Only a little booze. Fairly sweet.

Mouthfeel. Full body with pretty low carbonation and a little warmth.

Overall. Really nice wheatwine. I need to try more from these guys.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2011 04:10:20 | More by Rutager

drabmuh

Maryland

2.17/5  rDev -46.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

At the time I drank this, it was the #1 wheatwine but now that a couple of dudes I drank this with reviewed it, it is now the #4 wheatwine, bottle shared by Thorpe as part of the #1 series of beers. Unfortunatley, this beer did not deserve such an honor.

Beer is amber and hazy with no head, large bubbles, moderate to low carbonation.

Aroma is sweet and vegetal, harsh, oxidized.

Wet paper and grossness is what follows. Is it possible to be boozy and oxidized? yes, yes it is. And here it is. Strong and gross throughout. Drainpour.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2011 04:46:37 | More by drabmuh

Thorpe429

Illinois

2.45/5  rDev -40%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Thanks to pranaferox for sending this bottle of the 2009 edition out my way. Served in a Val-Dieu chalice.

Pours a light-medium copper with a thin off-white head and fairly-good retention before falling into a collar. The nose carried a bit of bread crust and malt plus slight oxidation. The flavor was a bit of oxidation with mild sweetness and a bit of a generic malted barley character. Faint toffee and moderately-heavy alcohol. Medium body and light carbonation, plus some dry grain tannins. Fairly boozy. Not a big fan.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2011 10:40:35 | More by Thorpe429

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

3.48/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle shared by Thorpe429. Thanks Mike.

The beer is light orange colored, and appears transparent. The head is small, fades quickly, and leaves sparse lacing on the glass. The aroma offers malt, butterscotch, caramel, alcohol. The flavor is of butterscotch candies soaked in alcohol. I happen to enjoy the flavor of butterscotch, albeit infrequently and in small quantities, so I did not find this beer as unsatisfactory as the other guys who shared this bottle. The feel is thick and syrupy, with moderately low carbonation and present alcohol. Overall, an ok brew, but I don't think this is the number one wheatwine.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2011 01:37:14 | More by Huhzubendah

DaftCaskBC

British Columbia (Canada)

4.63/5  rDev +13.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: 3/8" cream coloured head that left a nice lacing over orange-amber liquid with good clarity.

S: Faint smell of malt and some yeast.

T: The taste is sweet, with the presence of caramel and yeast. Beautiful.

M: Thick viscosity with a medium level of fine carbonation.

O: A definite sipper, this wheatwine is the best creation I have had to date from Big Time.

Serving type: on-tap

09-06-2011 06:09:28 | More by DaftCaskBC

dirtylou

Washington

4.35/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

on-tap at the brewery

appearance: served in a snifter, glowing orange body, hazy and pulpy, creamy off-white head

smell: alcohol soaked blood orange, fresh citrus hops, tangerine

taste: pretty epic wheatwine - sugary blood orange, tangerine, honey, lemon, wheat. I didnt even think to acquire about a bottle to-go but the draft version is quite nice

mouthfeel: sweet and sugary

overall: impressive - my first beer from big time

Serving type: on-tap

08-01-2011 00:59:51 | More by dirtylou

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.03/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

quick and clean pour with your standard golden amber with a nice light head of whitle. aroma is lots of fruit here, figs, grapes, touches of pears as well. Sweet with an almost candy like aroma at times that comes across nice at first but gets to be a little much after a while, still though decent and well recieved. First sip is slick, with an almost syrup like feel, just not carbonated enough for me, but thats the style, what can you do. Bready notes mix with loads of fruit and touches of earthy hop notes. Lots of bread and figs, pears especially in the finish are also very prevelant. Light boozy notes is covered quite well and one thing I can say is this did not drink like 11 percent.

Overall a very nice, solid beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-10-2011 13:38:36 | More by mikesgroove

BigMcLargeHuge

Arizona

4.15/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Courtesy of bvc over on ratebeer. Thanks again Brandon. Pours crystal clear copper with full tan head. The aroma is spicy hops mixing with red apple, plum, dates, a mild level of ripe cherry, a thin layer of malts and caramel. The taste is yum with smooth ripe plums, sugar simmered diced cherries, skinned red apple wedges, some dates and slick sweet malts. I'm missing the wheat part of this but it's so good I don't really care. Well done.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2011 21:00:44 | More by BigMcLargeHuge

flagmantho

Washington

4.28/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Had on-tap at the Big Time. Serving was in a small six-to-eight ounce or so snifter.

Appearance: rich amber hue with one finger of super creamy ivory foam. Body is extremely hazy; a good looking beer.

Smell: citrusy hop aroma with hint of something like sweet spices. A little sweet malt aroma is there but it is far in the background.

Taste: sweet and mega citrusy; especially at the end. Malt struts its stuff toward the beginning of the flavor and is not complex but is deep and rich. The citrus hops pack a huge wallop and take over halfway through each sip. I really enjoyed this beer.

Mouthfeel: super smooth and creamy, despite what seems to me to be low carbonation. Really quite wonderful; though, what should I expect from a dense beer loaded up with wheat?

Drinkability: quite good; this has all the elements of a very drinkable beer. For me, though, it is a bit strong to keep quaffing all night. I was quite happy with my half-pint serving size.

Serving type: on-tap

08-05-2010 02:03:21 | More by flagmantho

woemad

Washington

3.88/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

2010 vintage Bomber purchased at Big Time's brewpub (the only place it is available) for $13.50. I thought the sign over the bar said $3.50, so I was a little dismayed when I got my bill!

Poured a very hazy apricot shade. No head whatsoever, despite a vigorous pour. Allowed to sit, a very slight white ring of foam came to be visible in my St.Bernardus chalice. Would have liked to see more foam, but this is essentially a barleywine of the hefeweizen world, so I have to cut it some slack, considering it's abv.

Earthy grains and a big, sweet tropical fruit scent were immediately discernable. Initially it was all about the fruit smell, like some sort of boozy panty-peeler made with pineapple juice. Fortunately, as it warmed up, the wheat malt began to provide some well-needed balance.

Starts off with a big, fruity sweet taste, with earthy grain playing second banana. There's a big booziness hanging over things like a fogbank. This is definitely one you need to let warm up, as it was very one-dimensional at first, but became more interesting (and balanced) as it warmed up. At that point, the wheat malt was far more noticeable and matched up much better to the boozy fruit flavor.

Full-bodied, with a sticky mouthfeel.

Way too fruity and sweet at first, but once it warmed up, I could see it as a kind of dessert beer or nightcap. Definitely not something to drink in quantity, however. One bomber is definitely enough! It's high price and lack of local availability makes it unlikely I'll have another one anytime soon, and while a novel drinking experience, it's not one I'll pine for, but I'm glad to have tried it.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2010 04:21:59 | More by woemad

paco1029384756

Illinois

3.88/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a deep orange color with a very small white head and a thin ring of lacing.

Scent of rich sweet fruit, caramel, and sugars. Heavy sweetness is balanced with a nice malt backbone.

Taste of lemon, strong wheat, fruit, and caramel. Finishes with flavors of wheat and caramel malts. Some alcohol is noticeable, but does not take much away from this tasty beer.

Mouthfeel is medium heavy bodied and smooth with low carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2009 00:34:36 | More by paco1029384756

flexabull

California

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2007 bottle courtesy of ascertain, (ratebeer.com) thanks again!

This is one I've been looking forward to for some time now...

Pours a bright and clear copper color with a nice white head.

Aromas are spicy, yeasty, of tropical fruits, and hard candies.

Taste is really boozy! Man, this beer is a powerhouse. Crisp and full feeling, with a nice underlying creamy sweetness from the malts. Beer then settles into some spicy yeast and wheat flavors, along with bright and crisp tropical fruits. Finish is warm, with a hot bite from the alcohol that helps really balance out the sweet flavors. This is a really complex and flavorful brew.

Mouthfeel is great, very full, thick, and with a long finish.

Drinkability is very good. Man... I am Wheat Wine fan, and this is probably the #1 beer of the style in my book. Just super complex and very tasty. My only complaint? That I don't have another one of these too sit on. This beer easily could have aged for quite a while longer.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2008 04:49:21 | More by flexabull

TheBungyo

Washington

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Orange body with touches of amber and scarlet. Almost no head, aside from a smattering of patchy foam. Nose is like boozey orange, with the alcohol shooting through the nostrils. I can taste oranges covered with carmel, and extremely pleasant alcohol that I find heavenly. There's a certain graininess to the finish. The light carbonation gives this a full mouth feeling that I enjoy. I could see myself buying a lot of this were it readily available (and cheaper too ... my bottle cost me almost $10). Easily the best Wheatwine I've ever had. It's hard to believe Bill Jenkins made this beer even better than it ever was, but he did. Cheers to you Bill!

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2006 01:38:24 | More by TheBungyo

Crosling

Colorado

4.28/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Orange.

Sticky, winey nose of white grapes and red grapes along with dry wheat, tinged syrup and caramel.

Tastes lovely. Notes of ripe apples, lemon, brown sugar, grapes, plums and banana. Big buttery grain body. Well hidden alcohol. One I would love to revisit someday.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2004 19:56:58 | More by Crosling

garthwaite

Virginia

4.43/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Sampled from a 22 oz bomber. A million thanks to skyhand for sharing this one with me. Pours a deep golden almost orange. It's a little hazy and has a tiny and quickly dissipating head. Sugary sweet aroma of candied citrus fruit. Lemon and orange citrusy sweetness atop toffee-ish base with notes of white grapes & sugar-coated raisins. Hoppy bitterness and burning alcohol are an absolute delight. Full-bodied and then some. A delectable, sweet sipping treat.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2004 19:46:08 | More by garthwaite

drewbage

California

4.22/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Sampled from a growler presented to the SoCal Brew Crew at O'Briens at the July gathering. (Thanks to Mr. Tom Nickel!)

Beer pours Deep orange and hazy from the yeast with no head.

Aroma is sweet wheat and large orangey hops and a orange peel aroma.

Flavor is initally sweet witha continuing bite of a ton of hops and a blow through of alcohol before the final hop burn.

Serving type: on-tap

09-03-2004 06:49:11 | More by drewbage

RoyalT

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance – This just looks alcoholic. There’s almost no head to speak of, and the body is bright but thick orange. It’s so orange you can’t even see through it. This is listed as a Barley Wine but is sold as a “Wheat Wine”.

Smell – Oh, Lord, is this raunchy. This is not a big PacNW hoppy version of a Barley Wine. This is a rank, very winey (wheaty), knarly BW. I mean, this thing just reeks of old wine, wood, sherry, and booze.

Taste – Aagh! This is an ass-kicker. Just one drop will curl your toes and make you want to slap your mama. My taste buds weren’t prepared for this one.

This is like white wine concentrate laden with yeast. It is very grapey sweet. The woody flavors are a bit buttered and full of booze. There’s some black pepper spicing and even some sharp green peppers. I can almost taste a jalapeno in there (without the heat).

Mouthfeel – This is fuller than full in the body and will take your cheeks and taste buds to the limit. The alcohol is also very prominent; probably too much for all but the most seasoned drinker.

Drinkability – This is one of the few BWs that I would recommend drinking cold. It shares a lot of characteristics with big white wines. This is hard core folks – you have to LOVE Barley Wines to even think about drinking this one.

Update – The 2005 batch was much hoppier than last year’s. It was almost like a dry-hopped IPA at the nose and even at the taste showed a strong PacNW hop balance. The white wine was there yet a bit more subdued. It still had “da funk” from ’04 and is still an incredible beer.

As a side note, it looked so much more better. There was a huge, retentive, lacing head on this vintage that made it quite awesome to look at. I also enjoyed the nose a bit more so raised both ratings by half points.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2004 02:37:46 | More by RoyalT

tschmidlin

Washington

4.88/5  rDev +19.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

This is not a barley wine but rather they call it a 'wheat wine' due to the amount of wheat in the grist (although I'm not sure of the percentages).

Beer pours remarkably clear – far clearer than I remember from my tastes at the brewery and a bottle I had a few months ago. Virtually no head, low carbonation, and a medium amber color. Aroma is raisiny and citrusy, with the citrus dominating. There’s a faint sweetness in the aroma as well. First taste is citrus (lemon) followed by sweetness, fruitiness, an alcohol warmth and a surprising (but not unpleasant) bitterness in the finish that helps balance the beer. Mouthfeel is full, and well carbonated despite the lack of a head, but that lack may be due more to a cautious pour to avoid disturbing the sediment than a lack of proteins to support it.

My scores my be a bit inflated since this beer is unique - there's just nothing to compare it to!

This is a one of a kind beer - the only wheat wine I’ve ever had (or even heard of), and I have to say it is wonderful. Unfortunately the brewer (Kevin) is off to Spain in January, but I have faith that Bill the Brewer (from Hales) can live up to the standards when he takes over.

It’s a bit pricey at $9.90 a 22 oz bottle, and only available in limited quantites at the brewery as far as I know. It’s well worth the price for a couple of bottles, but too expensive to get enough to last.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2003 05:30:32 | More by tschmidlin