Judge’s Review: 89 Rating – Wilbur Wright’s Weizenbock by FlyteCo Brewing

Weizenbock | Seasonal | United States

By David Sapsis

Judges Rating: 89
Aroma: 21
Appearance: 6
Flavor: 37
Mouthfeel: 9
Overall Impression: 16

Wilbur Wright’s Weizenbock by FlyteCo Brewing was judged as a 2021 BJCP style 10C, Weizenbock.
The beer is served in an Aventinus glass at 46 degrees, showing a mahogany-brown muddy color, appreciable haze and a light beige foam cap that  lasts a couple minutes but then fades away.
The nose presents a light clove spiciness and an overall dry tone with only hints of caramel and cocoa. Fruity ester character is very limited — only a light plum note and some nuttiness. Overall, I expected a more assertive aroma, but still the beer smells inviting if a bit subtle and dry. 
The flavor dispels the subtle character early. It is rich and grainy-malty, with a strong clove component and soft bitterness in the mid-palate; flavors of melanoidin/toast, light malt sweetness and spice dance with a light roasty character that almost comes off as leathery cocoa. The late flavor profile is long on the spice and resurgent Munich/kilned malt tones ending in a dry balance. Mouthfeel is medium, with a hint of astringency. Conditioning is medium-low, and could use a higher level of dissolved CO2. 
Overall, the beer is a nice attempt at a strong weizen of the darker color variant, and even carries with it some roasted/cocoa angles. The phenol profile takes up the slack of low hop bitterness drying out the balance. There is a bit of muddied flavor character because the malt structure presents a lot of components (base malt, kiln malt, caramel and maybe some carafa/black) without a clear unifying wheatiness to it. As it warms some of that grainy structure does come out, but the roast ramps up as well (as does some banana). However, it is a big beer, and this is America, and we seem to like big beers with strong and rough-hewn character, and this fits that bill. I’ll take a half-liter with a plate of sourbraten, bitte!