A little gnome found himself at a crossroad. In one direction was fame, fortune, money and success. The other way pointed to really cool waterslides. A critical decision was at hand.
It’s a true story. Well, sort of. It was a graphic on a T-shirt Grant Pauly owned. It represented a real-world decision he had to make: stick with the reliable concrete business or follow his dream—start a brewery. The world had enough concrete. Thankfully, he chose beer.
Now three-plus years into the thick of it, Grant Pauly’s 3 Sheeps Brewing Company in Sheboygan is growing comfortable in its wool and taking calculated risks that are paying dividends for palates throughout Wisconsin and Illinois. When the brewery began distributing packaged beer, it led with six-packs of IPA, wit, black wheat and amber ale. Gradually, 3 Sheeps has turned the tables. Like a reverse petting farm, 3 Sheeps now has beer geeks eating out of its hands with a steady release of sours, gingers and coffee stouts, and imperial IPAs with honey and ghost peppers, to name a few.
The latest release—Volume 6 in the Nimble Lips Noble Tongue Series—is an imperial version of its black wheat ale brewed with cocoa nibs, coffee, vanilla and maple wood spires. It clocks in a 10% ABV and could quite possibly be the brewery’s best cloven hoof forward.
Tasting notes:
It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing, unleashing an aromatic onslaught at first sniff, daring you to isolate any sole contributor. Here goes: vanilla beans, maple syrup pancakes, coffee beans, hazelnut coffee with Irish cream and milk chocolate to the tune of melted 3 Musketeers (perhaps they’re stunt doubles for the Sheeps?).
The flavor is even more massive. White chocolate fudge erupts in the mouth, spreading bourbon vanilla bean shrapnel to all four corners. Stalks of wheat get dipped in vats of milk chocolate and then coated in a wet, sticky maple syrup sealant, slowly releasing big, balanced flavors in methodical movements. The cocoa nibs add grist and bitterness so the sweetness doesn’t get overbearing and the 10% heat is masked. The ample amount of wheat gives extra heft to the body. The finish flourishes with chocolate nougat, maple oak vessels, wet vanilla beans and Nutella.
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