Marin Star Brew Triple Wheat Ale

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Sherry-like only if sherry has hops. Good balance though between the wheat, other mAlts and hops. Lightly bitter and sweet, not showing a lot of alcohol.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

22oz bottle. pours a hazy amber/copper color. medium/thick head. aroma is malty sweet. taste is caramel, light citrus hoppy, earthy. body is full. mouthfeel is full. finishes smooth with a touch of alcohol. aftertaste is sweet.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Given this for free from a friend. I have no idea what a triple wheat ale is, and I have had very few wheatwines....so I am going to have some difficulty dealing with this in terms of style. This fizzy head, which disappears almost instantly. IPA golden orange color. Light/faint carbonation, which kills the mouthfeel a bit. The body is thick, nevertheless. I can smell a bit of wheat, yeast, hay, and a distant ring of pine/grassy hops. The flavors are pretty much the same....a blast of hop rsin, which then slowly fades into a sweeter malty finish. I don't detect any of this 9.2% business anywhere. A nice beverage to sip whilst taking in some Wynton Marsalis play Haydn.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

An initially three-finger thick, dirty, tan colored head sits atop a somewhat hazy, copper colored brew. The head leaves lots of frothy lacing on the surface of my tulip glass as it slowly recedes. This is definitely a bit thick as the carbonation bubbles are noticeably slowed as they work they way up through the body of the beer. Dusty grain notes greet my nose at first, but then a distinct tropical fruit note of kiwis and juicy-fruit is noticed. This last, unfortunately, fades pretty quickly and I am left with notes of caramelized malt, chewy bread aromas and biscuit like aromas. The aroma is fairly simplistic, focusing most on clean grain notes.

Sweet tasting up front, and quite a bit hoppier than the aroma suggested. A substantial bitterness (noticeable from beginning to end) as well as a nice herbal hop flavor and a touch of menthol. The flavor is actually dominated by the hop character, but there is still a significant malt (both wheat & barley) presence here; flavors of honey, stale bread crust, toffee, some lemon like notes from the wheat (though the hop notes likely influence this as well). The finish is a mix of dusty malt / toasty grain notes and a malt sweetness that doesn’t quite beat back the lingering, slightly astringent bitterness.

The aroma of this brew was pretty drab and I wish that the ample hop character from the flavor had shown up some in the nose. An enjoyable brew; I want to say that this is overly simplistic, but that is what a wheat-wine is; clean wheat and malt flavors with a varying level of hop character. Still this is definitely lacking something; it needs a bit more character before I could really, really enjoy it.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

The body is a hazy yellow with a very small head. The aroma is heavy wheat and malt with a bit of lemon syrup in grass. The body is thick and the flavor definitely sweet. An interesting barlewine.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

2002 vintage. Light orange color, large head. Full bodied triple wit style ale. Sherry-like character. Malts are bold and somewhat sweet. Not very hoppy. Interesting flavor, some banana and clove, citrus and orange. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and very smooth. Aftertaste is malty and sweet. Some alcohol bite in aftertaste despite a 9.2% alcohol content. Etched beer bottle.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 9

~ Initial Review, 01-10-2003, 2002 Batch:
Damn if this isn't a very nice surprise! Picked this up at Hi Times a week ago, only because I always make it a point to pick up anything new/different from the combined Moylan's/Marin Brewing Brewing bottling line -- especially something as intriguing as a "Triple Wheat Ale" (I've never had or heard of a "Triple Wheat Ale", or even a "Double Wheat Ale", but of course that's besides the point...!).

I expected "Star Brew 2280 Triple Wheat Ale" to come across rather heavy and turgid -- kinda like a jacked-up Dunkelweizen, to be honest. But not only am I so happy that this is not heavy and dull, but I can see buying this all the time. For while the yellow silk-screened "label" may go on about this being a sherry-like wheatwine (O.G. an impressive 1.094, at that), this reminds me so much more of the many fine Double/Imperial IPA's out there these days.

This beer has a huge malt bill (consisting of mostly wheat, I presume), with the addition of enough ballsy hops to give it a real nice kick. All that ABV, and it's still extremely nice on the palate, and yet very easy to drink. With something this potent, I'm not sure I would want to try two bottles in a row, but still, it might be interesting!

~ Re-Review, 11-30-2003 (2002 Batch):
This must be a beer that *needs* to be sampled fresh. Got two bottles last weekend at Hi-Times, and ended up with at least one sample that really could use some help, to be honest. Next-to-no carbonation, killing the mouthfeel and apprearence scores from my previous review. Still a great beer, but apparently one that doesn't allow for semi-extended stays in the beer cooler.... Scores adjusted accordingly.

~ Re-Review, 01-17-2005 (2004 Batch):
Another year, another winner -- even if the carbonation is a bit on the lacking side of things this time around. Approprite for a Wheatwine (which what this beer really is, IMHO), but even still, a bit more zip passing my lips wouldn't be unwelcome.

Nicely warming, and yet quaffable. Nicely bitter, and not cloying in the least.

Have had lousy luck with aging this one, but if I can track down another bottle in the next few months, I'll definately be returning to this tasty beer, that's for sure. Recommended.

Scores a composite of the various samplings.
//TB

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

This brew pours with a golden body topped by a thick, lasting head wtih lots of lacing. It’s slightly sweet and fruity wtih a note of honey and an underlying bitterness. Medium bodied and smooth.