Archive for the 'Two Brothers' category
Two Brothers Bare Tree Barleywine-style Weiss Beer
It’s new! Well, at least new to me. I’ve never heard a thing about Two Brothers Brewing Company, and I’d be interested to hear anything about them from you folks in the crowd. For me, the first time I ever saw the name was during a perusal of the beer section at Liquor Land in the South End of Boston. While the name isn’t flattering, Liquor Land has a fairly respectable selection, and I couldn’t resist picking up this adventurous style from a brewery I am unfamiliar with. It was apparently brewed in 2006, and has been sitting in my fridge for a few weeks. Tonight, I uncorked ‘er.
The pour of this beer is a medium ruby color with mild debris. The aroma is quite pleasant – heavy with banana and caramel, it smells almost desert-like – similar to a banana split with warm caramel drizzled over it. In the mouth, this is an explosion of flavors. Initially, I sense an apricot sweetness on the front of the tongue. This then blends into the melange of banana and caramel by the middle of the mouth. On through the mouth, we get hints of pepper and spice, along with some licorice hints that carry this on to the back of the mouth. In the aftertaste, I get a slight tinge that is mildly unpleasant, but not enough to ruin the beer. The flavor is mildly oak-like, but doesn’t seem entirely balanced, and I honestly think this flavor would mellow out with age to make this an absolutely fabulous brew. Even with the odd finish, I would consider this beer a wild success. The only other experience I’ve had with a weiss/barleywine hybrid is in Smuttynose’s Wheat Wine, which I wasn’t entirely impressed with. However, the guys at Two Brothers have done a fabulous job here, and I bet this beer will mellow out to be a real knockout within a year or two. Well done, and I’m looking forward to any opportunity to try something else from Two Brothers.
