Weyerbacher Heresy

Brewed by Weyerbacher Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial Stout
Easton, Pennsylvania USA

I thought this Imperial Stout had a lot of vanilla and bourbon character in addition to some nice chocolate notes. However, it also had a quite a watery mouthfeel which was remiscent to me of Yoohoo, which I did not greatly appreciate. This beer poured black as tar with abundant tan head. Aroma was chocolate and alcohol. Flavor was more chocolate, vanilla, and bourbon, but watered down. Mouthfeel was watery. I’d recommend this beer, but in a crowded world full of Imperial Stouts, I thought this one was pretty average. I bought this bottle at the Whole Foods near Fair Lakes, VA.

Bomber coutresy of yobdoog, pours black with thin tan head. Aroma is fruit, alcohol and chocolate. Taste is some bourbon, raisins and alcohol. Finish is chocolate and bourbon, but not overpowering. Pretty good.

Dark as night on the pour with a huge, huge head. A great looking beer. I get a little raisin, a lot of chocolate and some other fruits buried in there. I get a very tart feeling on the palate - not sure if that is the whiskey or not. A good beer. One big one and you are set.

The pour is deep and rich as it should be for this style. The nose is well balanced incorporating chocolate, oak, coffee, caramel with subtle hints of a smokey essence. The flavor is smokey, followed by dark chocolate, caramel and coffee undertones. A winner with a balanced complexity and fine quality, not to mention a fairly respectable 8.2 ABV.

Bomber. Pours deep black, opaque, and thick with a medium-sized dark brown head that fades slowly. Aroma is of chocolate, coffee, toffee, caramel, and an ever-so-slight alcoholic whiff. Flavor is smoky dark chocolate up front, with a thick and creamy feeling around the mouth. Tart and bitter in the middle, fading to vanilla and oak. I half expected the bourbon flavor to be overpowering, but it is actually quite subtle. Overall, extremely easy to drink and very good.

An upper tier beer...pours dark with a compact head reminiscent of Guinness draught - smells smoky and sour. Full mouth feel with an appropriate amount of carbonation. An after taste of cherry tobacco is present, but subtle enough to be a plus instead of a distraction. If I was served this in a blind tasting, I would have said it was either a rich stout or a heavy Scotch ale. I always thought ’imperial’ referred to a heavier abv%, but this one comes in at a respectable 8% - definitely not shooting for the barley wine percentages and it shows as there is no ’hot’ taste associated with this brew. I don’t taste the vanilla advertised, and I’m thinking the ’sour’ note I detect is the oak? Regardless, a tasty brew and one worth revisiting....

4/5/08 notes: bomber bottle. Pours a deep black with a small tan head and lacing. Aroma is of coffee with dark chocolate, hops and alcohol. Softly carbonated, this beer features a medium-thick mouthfeel with smooth and complex dark flavor. I tasted espresso, dark roasted malts, brown sugar, hops, maybe a bit of bourbon-whisky, intense dark chocolate, and alcohol. The oak barrel really comes through at the end, with great effect: there is a sweet, roasty, vanilla-soft finish that mellows all the dark flavors together. Perhaps a bit too much alcohol present for a beer that has already been matured – I noticed this more the second time I had this brew on 5/9/08. This is still great beer, and at $5.50 a bomber, I would buy this again in a second

Pours a black color with a brown head. Aroma is raisins, vanilla, oak, caramel, molasses, chocolate, and some alcohol. Flavor is malty, oak, molasses, roast, brown sugar, and some alcohol.