2017 Advent Beer 17: Big Sky Brewing Co.'s Power Wagon Wheat Wine

A lot of brewers are making big ABV beers today, but not all doublestrength brews are created equal, by any measure. There is a wide range of styles for the lovers of big beer to choose from, from crisp and bitter double IPAs to rich malty Imperial stouts, but one of the oldest in the infamous barleywine, which gets name dropped by no less a worthy than Xenophon himself in his tale Anabasis. (Why, yes - the same work that inspired Walter Hill's street gang classic, The Warriors - go to the front of the class!)

Power Wagon is different though, making up more than half its grain bill through three different varieties of wheat. Wheat ales make for some of the smoothest drinking, but sometimes at the expense of a robust flavour, which is why you so often see them augmented with citrus flavour or spices like coriander. I imagine there is a risk of having a high-test wheat beer turn out to have a mediciney flavour. Can Power Wagon dodge this bullet? We'll see...

It pours a pale, cloudy golden yellow with a hint of orange in there, and fruit and pine in the nose. 

The first sip brings the anticipated wheaty smoothness, and the grainy taste of wheat prevalent. There is a following sweetness, not unlike honey, and tinges of fruit. Even the fruit leans towards the sweet side - think oranges and maybe...mangoes? as opposed to grapefruit or lemon. But then the hops arrive to calm things down, reducing the sweetness and introducing a mildly piney bitterness that doesn't make your face want to cave in. Smoother and a bit sweeter than most barleywines. Some of the complexity undoubtedly comes from this special edition being barrel aged.

As the beer warms, both the sweetness and hoppiness appear to intensify, but perhaps that is just the 9.7% ABV talking.

All in all, Power Wagon is a wonderful departure from many other winter warmers, adopting a sweeter, breadier stance than many of its fellows. If this was an experiment, I would certainly consider it a success, and also a bit of a privilege - normally Power Wagon is only available as draft. I'm pretty sure I will be keeping a weather eye open for this one on tap at my local growler bars.