Weyerbacher Heresy

Thanks to DocLock for this. Pours black with a faint head. Initial aroma was of bourbon and a hint of chocolate. The flavor has a mix of coffee, bourbon and coca. None of it is overpowering. Pretty good.

Another beer that I fell is just a bit over hipped, sure it is nice, good oak smell and some nice coffee action going on, but that is about it. The mouth feel is nothing special, the overall gravity is fine, no negative after tastes, but nothing to go crazy about.. Lets get a little more honest in the review proposes brothers. If you are going to give every stout that comes your way a 4 or better what is the point of revering in the first place?

Bottle courtesy of Surffisher. Tonight is officially the first night of the season with freezing temperatures, it’s 31 degrees right now at 12:45 am. I’m excited because the winters have been so damned mild for the past few years. So, it is most certainly a fitting occassion for an imperial stout. I pour a cellar temp bottle of Heresy into a goblet and head outside for a while to enjoy nature and to reflect on the fact that beer is good and how times such as these prove it to be so. The brew itself is solid black for all intents and purposes, though a stray brown or red color can be seen. The even, dark tan head fades after a minute or two. Ah, barrel aging is most certainly evident in the nose. Perhaps not an improvement in this case. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy bourbon, but perhaps not as much as I enjoy regular Old Heathen (which Weyerbacher should’ve named their barley wine in my opinion, but that’s completely unrelated). Much of the complexity of the espresso and mocha notes are lost to the scents of bourbon. Still, hints of coffee work quite well with the vanilla and oak boquet in the nose. The body is medium thick, not terribly viscous, with mild carbonation. Vanilla and oak are right up front in the mouth as well, but it’s not awfully overdone like a few other bourbon-barrel beers I’ve had. The finish is the key evidence of imperial stout identity. The two sides meld well. So, this is a fine sipping brew, but it doesn’t pack the intense warming qualities that I was hoping to find on this cold night. This was just the beginning, I’ve got a few more impies stowed away for the cold weather yet to come.

A good but not great example of a wood aged Russian Imperial stout. Overall the patent was a bit overwhelming giving the beer a bit of a medicinal character. Nice alcohol notes and aroma, definetely not overpowering. I was hoping for more wood character in the beer but it is very understated. It may just be this beer is very green and needs to age for about 6 months from the bottle date before the character really shines.

Bottled. Pours black with a medium sized head. Round and cremy. Roasted and notes of coffee and chocolate. SLightly dry.

(Bottle 65 cl) Completely black and opaque with a light brown head. Vinous aroma with lots of oak. Medium body with sweetish, malty accents. Lots of vanilla and bourbon notes. Almost no bitterness. Very soft and pleasant. Courtesy of xproudfoot. 061006

(22 oz bottle via trade with OhioDad, thanks Scott!) This one was a little boozy with lots of bourbon flavor but pretty good...Pours very dark brown, virtually black with about 1 finger of brown head that recedes to a thin head that stays. Aroma pretty strongly bourbon, along with molasses, chocolate and coffee. Mouthfeel pretty smooth, a touch thin, kind of creamy. Nice thin, webby lacing. Flavor of bourbon, sweet coffee and chocolate. Oak taste emerges as it warms. Alcohol pretty well-hidden.

Bomber. Black with a big light brown head. Big bitter chocolate nose, some wood. Nice, thick lace. Body is a bit watery. Bourbon is up front in the flavor, bitter coffee and mild, dark chocolate. Bitter chocolate finish. The best Weyerbacher thus far,IMO.