Heavyweight Ste-ve

Formerly brewed at Heavyweight Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Ale
Ocean Township, New Jersey USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Incredibly well carbonated, the beer actually totally foams up and overflows as I pour it into my glass. The head starts out over six-fingers in height and is a light tan color. As the head falls back into the beer it leaves well defined layers of lace on the sides of the glass. The beer is an interesting color in that it is a copper color that seems to have had a splash of cranberry juice added to it. The aroma is quite fruity, with notes of berries, sweet plums, a touch of watermelon, some notes of pear and even something like prickly pear fruit. There is definitely a touch of funk here in the nose that subtly makes me think there might be some Brettanomyces here in this beer. A touch of dried leather, and a damp cellar like note. Towards the end I even get some malt derived aromatic notes; toasted grain, and some light caramel notes.

The taste is lightly tart up front and moves to a lightly funky note that is again reminiscent of Brettanomyces. In fact this has a full on Brett signature; notes of sharp, almost urea-like, acidity, a sort of cotton-mouth cobweb like note and a touch of typical mustiness. There is a nice peppery note here in the finish that almost takes on a vegetable like sharp acidity. This beer has a nice mouthfeel / palate to it; it is light, both because of the carbonation and actual body, but still has a palate coating quality to it and heft that allows it to stick around on the tongue, all the while leaving lingering notes of caramel, biting spice notes and even some bitterness lingering on in the taste memory.

Unlike the first pour, which was brilliantly clear, the second one is quite hazy and dark and takes on a dark amber color that takes on a hint of purple. There is a nice fruitiness to the flavor here; it definitely leans towards a mix of plums (both tart & sweet), some notes of pear and even a touch of some type of earthy fruit. Perhaps that would be an earthy tamarind note, the light acidity also accentuates this note.

As the beer loses its carbonation it softens up a bit, the acidity definitely softens up and the malt character picks up a bit with notes of caramel, a touch of toffee, and an ever so slight hint of toasted grain in the finish. The spice notes are quite interesting in this beer, at times it takes on notes of clove, cinnamon and allspice in addition to the peppery ginger spice notes that are more noticeable, especially in the finish. I love experiencing a beer like this; not knowing a thing about it, and the beer ending up being a mix of spicy funkiness, that is unexpected, but truly enjoyable. In the end this beer serves as a poignant reminder of what a great brewery we have lost in Heavyweight; hopefully it is only a loss of the brewery and not the creative mind behind the beers. This third and last glass of this wonderful beer is raised to Tom in hopes of his immanent resurfacing.

Thanks riversideAK! Sharp CO2 nose, some settled cherry. Hazy tarnished grapefruit. Fierce dry bretty body, cottony and dry. Some orange peel. Real talk. Earthy into the finish, dry and woodsy.

Funky hay airy light belfian ale nose. Lemon touch of brett. Hazy golden no head or lace. Hay dust funky brett light Belgian yeast. Very carbonated. Airy. Rare and old. Yes taste it anssmell it.

750, capped. Thanks ak! Pours hazy pinkish burgundy. Musty cardboard and port nose. Creamy medium body with soft carb. Toffee, caramel, cardboard, and port mid palate, maybe a bit basementy. Mild carbonic finish.

This poured a cloudy dark yellow color with a white head. Aroma was light funk, fruit and yeast and spices. Flavor was a good bit of belgian yeast and spice with medium sour and funk. Decent but a bit oxidized and one dimensional.

Pouring at the grand tasting at RBSG in Philly. Pours a light hazed amber gold with a medium sized white head. Fuzzy, toast, light yeast. Musky, light sweetness, not too bad, slightly floral and sweet. Malt and toast.

Thanks Jon! Tepid amber, large bubbled white ring. Nose of light berry, acetic, bit of root and oxidation. Flavor is short, light cherry, grain, heavy cereal through finish. Decent finish, nice carbonation, but parts missing.

Bottle at RBSG. Pours orange. White head. Nose/taste of blood orange, yeast, dark fruits and light acidity. Medium body.

Bottle at the Funky 6. Pours cloudy amber with an off-white head. Aroma holds citrus, spices, malts and some Belgian funk. Interesting flavor, lightly sweet with some tartness of funk and brett, some fruitiness. Medium in body with good carbonation. Finishes dry, quite musty, with some citric bitterness and understated malt sweetness. Good brew.

Courtesy of Pailhead. Hazy amberish, nice off-white head, full of tiny carb bubbles. Pineapple and dark/black cherries up front, not much for malt. Flavor, nice pils malt up front, bread/toast, slight sourness comes through as it warms, takes over in the finish. Well done. Easy drink.

Bottle: Poured an amber orange with a white head. The aroma was funk, citrus, and flowers. The flavor was orange, pear, brett, some faint hops, and just a touch of sour. This beer, being 4 years old is still quite delicious.