Manly Men Beer Club El Hefe
Atlantic Brewing Company - Town Hill / Mainely Meat BBQ

Manly Men Beer Club El HefeManly Men Beer Club El Hefe
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From:
Atlantic Brewing Company - Town Hill / Mainely Meat BBQ
 
Maine, United States
Style:
Wheatwine
ABV:
10%
Score:
80
Avg:
3.42 | pDev: 16.96%
Reviews:
21
Ratings:
40
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Nov 04, 2017
Added:
Jun 23, 2010
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  2
Our head brewer James Taylor* was given the club’s challenge: brew a high gravity Hefeweizen while tempering the typical clove and banana notes. He began with a healthy amount of Bohemian Saaz hops, and a grain bill of equal parts malted barley & wheat berries. Then he swapped the German Wizen yeast in favor of an English Ale yeast, better suited for a barley-wine. The result is a complex yet delicate beer with a soft mouthfeel which warms yet doesn’t overpower. We like to think of this beer as sort of a cross trainer between the classic unfiltered wheat style and a barley-wine ale.
*(Yes he does play acoustic guitar)
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of Lone_Freighter
Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont

3.61/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Poured into a snifter with barely any head. I'm guessing this is an old bottle despite no date anywhere on the bottle. No lace was there either.
The aroma had a nice sweet boozy blend of raisins, vanilla, sweet wheat, caramel tones, fruity estery pomme-like substance and some earthy notes at the end.
The flavor was a full rich sweet boozy raisin to vanilla to caramel and apple character. Sticky sweet apple to caramel brisk aftertaste.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a nice sipping quality about it. ABV does hold it's own on this one. Though I believe this is an aged bottle, it's definitely not a beer to gulp. Some cloying features stick to my tongue.
Overall, pretty good for what it is, but I haven't had many wheatwines in my life to compare so well. Still, I'd give this another shot if given.
Nov 04, 2017
Photo of Zach136
Reviewed by Zach136 from Georgia

4.25/5  rDev +24.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Bottle Keith_R picked up Summer 2012 - and I don't think it was fresh then.

Pours a hazy deep gold with a thin head. Caramel and light fruit notes on the nose and palate. Full bodied with light carbonation.
Sep 10, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by Keith_R from Georgia

Sep 07, 2015
 
Rated: 3.24 by Wowcoolman from California

Nov 01, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by drewone from California

Nov 01, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Mini4x from Massachusetts

Aug 14, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Latarnik from New Jersey

May 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Belittle from New Jersey

Apr 29, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Beermaine from Maine

Oct 03, 2013
 
Rated: 2.75 by garrisonp from Massachusetts

Oct 02, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by JMS1512 from New Jersey

Oct 02, 2013
Photo of GarthDanielson
Reviewed by GarthDanielson from Virginia

3.3/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Poured from a bottle into a snifter, the beer is a bright, vibrant, ruby-copper coloring with no head whatsoever. Aromas of tangy sweet caramel, honey, mango and other tropical fruits, a hint of roast, and booze characteristics. The nose is a bit muddled and cloying. Flavors of roast and rich sweetness, with a toffee backbone, and overlays of banana, booze, and mango. Very sweet, but balanced and smooth. Very robust and creamy body to support all the rich flavorings. The aftertaste is roasted, sweet, and a bit on the cloying side, with a sugary feel to it. The finish is smooth, with a cloyingly sweet linger.
Sep 03, 2013
Photo of dacrza1
Reviewed by dacrza1 from New Jersey

2.76/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.75
Date tasted: July 19, 2013 ... Glassware: Duvel oversized snifter... Occasion: having endured the hottest week in a Jersey decade, kicking back and hoping for refreshment with a complex hefe....Appearance: pours out a spectacle of rushing head formation; having settled, the beer becomes opaquely light brown, almost muddy, with a thin, pencil-thin off-white head; when held to the light, microscopic bubbles slowly hover upward ... Aroma: some pilsner fragrance collides with a malty stiffness that doesn't make for a happy wedding in the nostrils... Palate: powerful, furnace-like impact on the throat--the 9% ABV is overly exposed and makes the tasting a bit of a chore...Taste: mostly barley, as wheat and Saaz are relegated to a supporting role; a bit of iced tea to the flavor (?) with the tongue wondering where the "softening" qualities of the wheat/malt/hop combination indicative of the style are to be found... Overall: having bought this bomber with a gift card, I felt little danger in trying a beer made by "manly men," and still I had hope this beer would be a powerful 9% wheat beer that would wed well with the summer heat; instead, this self-proclaimed "sort of a cross trainer" really doesn't profile well enough to merit a second taste or a friendly recommendation...but I can say it does deliver the alcohol well enough to persuade my critical eye to overlook its stranger genre-bending qualities....
Jul 20, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by jwps214 from Massachusetts

Jun 24, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Kelp from New Hampshire

Jun 21, 2013
 
Rated: 2.5 by flyingmick from Texas

Feb 17, 2013
Photo of Smakawhat
Reviewed by Smakawhat from Maryland

3.05/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Poured from the bottle into a wine glass.

An orange dark apricot/peach body, a bit cloudy with a little cola carbonation, but some slow crawling bubbles mostly. Barely a finger of tan head is made with practically no staying power. Pencil thin collar is left with not much else.

A light malt and sense of strong powdered sugar. Mild chewy sense with a faint canned fruit smell. A little bit of spice and heat boozy quality.

Palate brings a good amount of sweetness. Chewy body with a good depth and coating but just a little wet. Spicy finish, almost kind of peppery hot. Sweetness and heat really don't play off each other very nicely, more of a competing flavor contrast than complimenting. Quite hot and boozy tasting. A good amount of carbonation on this also.

Overall though, kind of an odd palate and not that memorable. I'd have something else.
Dec 25, 2012
Photo of donkeyrunner
Reviewed by donkeyrunner from Massachusetts

2.92/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Barleywine sit-in beer #2.

Dark orange colored, cloudy with floaties. I forced a thin head with a heard pour but it was a shy maiden and fled quickly. Foamless not long thereafter.

Smells mildly of clove and sweet, sweet orange rind.

Tastes like a mix between orange Gatorade and mildly clovey apricot. The creamy body is nice at least.
Nov 01, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by ububru from Pennsylvania

Jul 23, 2012
Photo of tigg924
Reviewed by tigg924 from Massachusetts

3.92/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Appearance: minimal head, orange brown in color, hazy, high carbonation

Smell: big caramel and light wheat

Taste: big caramel, light wheat, bread, sugar, and alcohol burn at the end

Mouthfeel: moderate-high carbonation, medium-heavy bodied, very sweet with a touch of bitterness in the back

Overall: A good solid and sweet barleywine. Not my favorite in the Manly Men series, but solid. I would get this again and am curious to see how this ages.
Jun 25, 2012
Manly Men Beer Club El Hefe from Atlantic Brewing Company - Town Hill / Mainely Meat BBQ
Beer rating: 80 out of 100 with 40 ratings