Weyerbacher Heresy

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

Deep black with a short brown head. Nose of aged rum and merlot with a roasted malt backbone. A very rich thick beer with plenty of coffee and toasted malt that is very pleasant to drink.

650 ml. Opaque with a small and lasting head. Aroma of chocolate, caramel, oat, coffee, and slight whiskey. Flavors of vanilla, whiskey, chocolate, caramel, oats and some light dried wood that seems more like hickory. Medium-heavy body is silky smooth and has some alcohol warming.

Bottle...pitch black pour with a rocky tan head. Very dry, oaky nose on this with the usual suspects of dark fruits, dark malts and dark chocolate. What separates this is the woodsiness that imparts itself so wonderfully though. Full body, sticky and oily. Dark chocolate, black cherries and some vanilla bean noted in the flavor...finishes dry and woodsy.

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....

Pours an inpenetrable black with a moderate, microbeble brown head that fades to a solid cap. The aroma has lightly sour and heavily alcoholic overtones above notes of star anise, roasted malts (less then average for style), sweet mocha, very subtle dark fruit and has an eggnog-like buttery quality. The flavour is bittersweet cocoa, smoke, oak/vanilla, bourbon, licorice and a roasted malt and hop bitter finish. There is nice balance of hop citrus and chocolate/coffee malts. Again, alcohol is very prevalent in the taste. The palate creamy and full-bodied with a long sticky finish. There is way too much booze for such a modest abv of 8%, but for $5 a bomber, this is some pretty good stuff.

vintagecellar Black with a tan head. Chocolate and mild whiskey aroma and taste with a dry finish. Decent.

chocolate and coffee ground aroma .... thick and creamy head ... bitter coffee initial taste ... creamy feel .. alcohol finish ... raisins, prunes ...

12oz pour. Poured black with a relatively fizzy dark brown head. Couldn’t get as much from the nose as I would have hoped. Body is delightfully complex with dark chocolate, touch of sambuca and a notion of bourbon from the alcohol content. Evolves into a finish that comes and goes in waves with a couple new flavors: roasted almond and espresso. Lingers like a good wine, in fact... drinking this reminds me of how I would approach a wine.