Iron Hill Winter Wheat Wine-Oh!
This is a review of a promotional sample received from the brewery.
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant out of Wilmington, Delaware is one of those breweries that I keep hearing about when it comes to award winning beer. They just seem to have that constant buzz about themselves and their products. Luckily for me, I got the opportunity to sample one of their beers.
Winter Wheat Wine-Oh! (10% ABV) was been brewed with 40% malted wheat and 60% malted barley and released in a corked and caged 750ml bottle. There wasn’t much more information than that in the press release or the label (with design work by local artist Jeff Schaller), but I can tell you that this is one of the best wheat wines I’ve had.
Wine-Oh! isn’t a beer of extremes (barrel aged or anything else), but one that has a more traditional (simplified, perhaps) approach to the overall palate that results in a smooth drinking, refined beer. It was a treat for post Thanksgiving Day festivities.
Iron Hill Winter Wheat Wine-Oh! in the basement
Appearance
The wheat ale pours a dark amber in color with a quickly fading light tan head. When swirled gently in the glass it revealed decent legs along the sides of the glass.
Aroma
A surprising bit of a hop presence accompanies wheat bread, caramel and a touch of alcohol on the nose. The hop presence is light and spicy, lending a subtle citrus character to the wheat aroma.
Taste
Let’s start off with the obvious. This is a tasty, tasty brew. Light, citrusy hops mingle nicely with wheat, caramel, a good bit of sweetness and a light hint of booze. The hops continue in the lingering finish with a light bitterness that balances out the sticky sweetness quite well, but never becomes too biting. The brew is medium bodied with a smooth mouthfeel. At 10% ABV, I would have expected more of an alcohol presence in this wheat wine, but it’s well hidden, making the beer deceptively drinkable.
Overall
For my first experience with Iron Hill, this wheat wine couldn’t have been more seasonally appropriate. It’s a smooth sipping beer that’s well balanced, refined and clean. The presentation was spot on and the beer down right tasty.
Rating: 4.5/5