Weyerbacher Old Heathen

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

Poured syrupy thick and very very dark black, with a brown head. Nose rich, malty, with hints at plums, dates, and vanilla. Flavor more of the same, and superbly balanced between the dark fruit malts and a roasted bitterness. Outstanding Imperial Stout, and a must have for any lover of the style.

Rather dark with a creamy head that forms a ring, eventaully. ARoma consists of fruity hops, concord grapes? and milk chocolate. Yes, this is very carbonated, as Venom stated, for an Imperial. Quite acidic; slightly oxidized. Lacking in full body. Flavors do not bombard the palate like I expect from an Imperial but it hints at being complex. A very nice example, nonetheless.

Dark black in colour. Aroma of chocolate, cherries and with mild coffee roastiness. Flavour was malty, mild coffee, chocolate but light bodied. Finished light with a medium bitterness.

Geez, I’ve never had a beer go from great to trainwreck so quickly. Pours close to black with a soapy dark tan head. The aroma has lots of creamy dark chocolate, heavily roasted malt, vanilla, cream and light coffee. With an appearance and aroma this good what could possibly go wrong? LOTS!! The body was medium / thin with very little carbonation. The taste was abismal - sour fruits, astringency and lots of tartness. None of the promised qualities on the nose are in the taste. I smelled it after taste and the aroma was still fine. This just went terribly wrong from the aroma to the taste.

I am not an imp stout lover so I’m not expecting much and some of you will say "why rate it? you’ll just ruin the stats" Smell is strangely heavy almost like there is damp chocolate roasted wood nearby. It has an aroma that is letting you get ready for something big. The pour is coal black and there is no head except for a very thin girdle on the inside of the glass. The bubbles are darker tan. The first flavors of this are simply edifying. It has such a smooth texture it is like silk on the tip of my tongue. This probably has the least amount of medicinal bitterness that I have tasted in an imps stout. There is some bitterness on the back of the throat but I must say it is overwhelmingly pleasant. No way is this 8%! Alky is well hidden. By leaps and bounds, this is the best imp stout I have ever tasted. Oily and very thin transparent lacing, better have some underwear on when you drink this. Finish is not aggressive. For an imp stout, this is not a bad brew! I was expecting the worse and got a big surprise. There is even some acceptable carbonation in this. I’ve got to try this again and make sure I was not under the influence of something when I rated it. Generally, imp stouts just don’t cut it for me. IMO much better than Bell’s Exp, Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout and Thirsty Dog Siberian Night Imperial Stout. Even better than Victory Storm King. This is so delectable it probably should be in the sweet stout style category. Has a little medium bitter linger that is easy to deal with. Undoubtedly my best Weyer and best imp stout to date. This is another reason why you should not quit tasting beers within styles you don’t care for. I never dreamed I would even consider liking an imperial stout.

Bottle at Toms Ultimate Glasgow Tasting: Poured a Black with a light brown head. Aroma is sweet candy and roasted malt. The taste is roasted coffee with a slightly smoked fruit finish with bitterness.

I have had this beer a number of times. Most recently in their "big beer" collection case. Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this brew pours thick, black and oily with a medium sized dark brown head. The aroma is roasted malt, dry chocolate and light hops. The flavor is bitter, chocolaty, a tad smoky and has a nice underlying hop presence. The mouthfeel is thick and creamy. If it were just a bit sweeter I think I could really get into this one.

Thanks to Willblake for sending this fine Imp Stout. A side by side was done with Heresy. Thanks for the opportunity, Jon! Old Heathen poured with an unusually big head for an Imp Stout that settled quickly into a nice thin ring of tan that stayed the rest of the session. The aromas became evident as this warmed. Rich chocolate and coffee are everywhere. The flavor is rich and complex, with fruitcake, rum and espresso blending with the roast malt flavors. A bitter roast malt finish in the end. Nice Imp Stout.