12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA. Had this one on the fridge for a few weeks. Jet black body with a few brown colors at the extremities. The body sets itself up with a very thin, wispy mocha film. A few legs and a little lace drips down the glass. There really is very little smoke in the nose at all, and what little there might be is overwhelmed with booze anyway. The beer also lacks much smoke element in the taste, too. The first wave of taste is a large sweetness, but this quickly...
Notes on beers brewed by
Weyerbacher Brewing Co.
Tiny
750 mL corked & caged affair from Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is a jet black pour with a khaki colored, fine-bubbled head that forms with a pretty good definition. Nose and tastes definitely have some decent dark fruits, a touch of alcohol and plenty of Belgian yeast notes which are pleasing to me. It IS true that the beer treads a fine line between a traditional Belgian Dark and a Stout (with the stout winning more often than not), but there is sufficient Belgian character to...
Riserva
750 mL corked & caged bottle that opens with a small pop. A little gun smoke and some fizzy head. Pour is an extraordinary, murky, strawberry colored body with a thin film of head and some residual lace. Massive (and I mean massive) vinegar and ethanoic acid gets straight into the nostrils with a vengeance. WOW, sinus clearing and quite violent. Tastes are slightly more reserved, but not quite as acidic nature of the beer overwhelms just about...
Fourteen Ale
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is a deeper orange color than I was expecting. Considering the ABV and the style, the head and lace are good and in that respect this looks better than I was expecting. The nose is VERY, VERY alcoholic and banana liquer-like. Bubble-gum too. The whole feel is like a cross between an Imperial Pilsner, a large Weizenbock and a fairly hot wheat beer of some description. Slick in the mouth but NOT as oily as the ABV would suggest. More huge...
Verboten
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Hazed, darkish orange pour with a small head that fades pretty quickly; minimal lace. Some chill haze. Nose has a touch of alcohol, some peppery spice, a little estery fruit as well. The tastes are an odd composite of lots of differnt strong flavors. Firstly we get some serious bubblegum and fruit. Mixed in there is some peppery, bitter alcohol and then some apparently bitterish hop bite in the finish! Really odd. This beer feels like a beer that...
Muse Farmhouse Ale
Delighted to get the chance to snag this one at Charleston Beer Exchange, $4.79 for the 22 oz bomber. Another of my favorite styles from a very respectable brewer, hope it's good! Pour is a fairly dark, orange one with a decent amount of head, lace and retention. White foam on to of the hazed body. Looks good in the wine glass. Light spice notes in the nose. Taste are more dense than some Saison's with some citrus, marmalade tastes and a delicate notes of mace (or something similar). The...
Blanche
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. In a nutshell, a simple brew that fits nicely in style from a reliable brewer. Pour is a very typical, light, lemom-yellow affair with a light head that is gone fairly quickly. Not much lace. Looks like a solid player in the Tucher Weizen, 500 mL glass. Very simple, mild citrus and a touch of spice (coriander ?) but not much else. Light tart finish. Very easy, light drinking but little to report here. Mouthfell is in line with the style and the...
Prophecy
Interesting to say the least. OK, here's my take; 22 oz bottle that on opening creates a small spew of foamy discharge. Poured into the Gouden Carolus chalice, the beer has a very deep, rich butterscotch hue, thin film of head that is produced after the aggressive pour that produces the head recedes somewhat. Nose is soaked in oak but still managaes to remain subtle. A very good sign. This is what I really want to say about Prophecy; I am REALLY dissapointed in this as a TRIPEL. The oak...
Winter Ale
12 oz single from Green's on Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. $1.85 for the single bottle. One of my favorite styles from a reliable brewery - has potential to be a good combo. Chestnut colored pour with a nice head that falls back to give some nice lace and a film and ring of froth that lingers. Nose gives away very little other than some simple malts and a touch of indistinguishable spice. Mouthfeel is good, with a decent amount of creaminess. The tastes are slightly on the bitter side of spice...
Fireside Ale
12 oz single. Mid brown pour with a decent head and a little lace. Nose and tastes are rich malts with more than a touch of smoke (as the label suggests). It is a little more smoky than I was anticipating, and it was pretty sweet. I enjoyed the taste but to be honest, this is a beer that I can only really manage one of in a sitting. It's rich without beying cloying. Obviously the smoke dominates, and to be honest at the end it seems that this is a little subtley smoked than many rauchbiers...
Thirteen
I bought three bottles of this when it first hit the GA shelves a few months ago, just getting around to opening one this evening. 22 oz bottle, $6.99 across the board in Atlanta, GA, USA. The Weyerbacher anniversary series has a mixed reputation. Often described as being too big for their own good, they have been reported as muddled, difficult to drink and generally poorly balanced so I'm approaching this with a little trepidation and relatively no expectations. At close to 14.0% ABV, there...
Autumn Fest
Strange one, this. Served as an 11oz pour at the Taco Mac on the East West Connector, Austell, Atlanta, GA, USA. Not sure why this is in the smaller pour since it is only a 6.1% beer, probably just Taco Mac screwing it up again - at least the glass isn't frozen in the smaller pour! $6.00 for the pour, so I think they've got it wrong again. Someone needs to educate this chain PROPERLY. Great clarity on the pour with some fine carbonation. A real orangey/red/amber body. IF ONLY the pour were one...
Slam Dunkel
22oz bottle, $3.99 from Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. Weyerbacher is new to GA in the last week or so and although I have had most of their offerings before, this and the XIII are new to me. Poured into the Tucher 500mL Weizen glass this looks superb (or at least as superb as the ugly color can get!). The Tucher glass always shows off Weizens of any description so well. Head and lace are reserved, but look high quality and dense. There is a really creamy, mocha look to the head. Body has...
Old Heathen Imperial Stout
12oz bottle from a recent trip to Greensboro, NC. I *think* this came as a single from either Total Wine in Greensboro or City Beverage in Winston-Salem. I've had some very good Weyerbacher experiences, and I was hoping for (and expecting) a good experience here too - alas, this wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Pour is a solid black with a dark brown highlight near the surface. Thin film of mocha head, but no lace to speak of. Mild solvent and some chocolate in the aroma. The...
Merry Monks’ Ale
12oz bottle. Golden hazy pour with a thin film of "head" on the surface. Basically no lace. Strong bubblegum aroma. Sweet in the nose with some artifical (estery) pineapple and some alcohol. Prickly carbonation in the mouth that I don't much care for, and some drying, medicinal alcohol. Fruity notes are missing. Dry alcohol finish. OK, but not a very good Tripel IMO.
Hops Infusion
12oz bottle purchased in Greensboro, NC, USA as a single - Total Wine. Non-descript code toward the bottom of bottle 4123061070221. Poured in to the 16oz shaker pint. Aggressive pour leads to a nice half-inch head (pillow like) and some good, well defined lace. A light copper colored body with very slight haze. Some mild carbonation. Nose certainly does not reflect much hoppiness. Clean and simple, a nice IPA and a welcome change of pace from the massive hop profiles that STILL seem to be en...
Quad
22oz bomber, $5.99 City Beverage, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. This (vintage?) is advertised as being 11.8% on the label. Dark, burned orange color with a little film of head on the surface of the glass as it sits in the Urthel, Hop-iT goblet. Lace is thin and wispy and only at the extreme edges of the surface. Aroma is brown sugar and some strong bubblegum. Very sweet, with alcohol fairly well hidden until the finish at which point it cuts in fairly strongly, but is still more subtley warming just...
Blasphemy
$7.99, GSO Wine Warehouse, Greensboro, NC, USA. 22oz bomber shared with a few BA's at The Brick Store, Decatur, GA, USA. I was a little wary of this since I have grown not to like many bourbon aged/infused beers, and often I find the simple oak aged to be a little overpowering as well. This was one of the more subtle ones I have tried. Mahogany brown pour with not much carbonation (ABV 11.8%), but nevertheless still some head and lace. Still looking pour. Nice sweet aroma of brown sugar and a...
Eleven
22 oz bomber, purchased at City Beverage, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. A "Triple IPA"?? Pour is a dark orange pour with plenty of head and some superb lace. Hoppy nose, but this is balanced in the aroma with lots of sugary sweetness. Considering the ABV it is also well carbonated. Sugary sweetness is the feature here. Metallic hop presence also features in the finish. Syrupy sweet mouthfeel makes this quite slick. Considering the ABV of 11.7 %, this is relatively drinkable and the alcohol is well...
Double Simcoe IPA
22oz bomber, courtesy of YonderWanderer in a recent trade. Nice pour in terms of the head and retention (real creamy and thick looking). Sticky lace. Color is a dark, burned orange and lacks the clarity I would like to see - a couple of ticks off the appearance score for the cloudy body, otherwise looks super. Hoppy nose, but it has a large degree of sweetness at the same time. This is a duplicate of the taste. Hops up front, but quickly sweet malts smooth out the beer rapidly. Nice. Creamy,...
Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Thanks go out to YonderWanderer for the trade. Cheers! 2007 release, 22 oz bomber, $5.99. Mid copper colored pour with not a great deal of head after the initial aggressive pour, and not much lace or retention. Pretty heavy pumpkin and spice in the nose. Cloudy. Reminds me a bit of Sam Adams Old Fezzy. Quite sweet with plenty of pumpkin/spice character. Cinnamon and clove come through nicely. Mouthfeel is rather light, but quite refreshing. Drinks easily. A little warming alcohol in the...
Raspberry Imperial Stout
Thanks to Matt, BA SilentSabre for the opportunity to try this. At first glance this appears to pour jet black with a small coffee colored head with some garnet hues, but a closer look reveals a dark raspberry red/brownish color. This color is especially vivid when there is only a very small amount in the glass. Aroma is a milk chocolate sweetness and a hint of fruit but nothing close to the strong smells that some others have reported. Thin in the mouth, and that respect this is barely...
Heresy
Thanks go out to BeerBeing and SilentSabre for this. 12oz bottle poured into the Koningshoeven small chalice. Pour is black with a nice brown head. Little lacing. Film on the surface of the body. Some serious chocolate alcohol aromas - fantastic and it promises much. Mouthfeel is light without sacrificing too much. A nice drinkable combo of real taste and depth without turning into an effort to drink it. In fact high drinkabilty for the style. A little too much carbonation for the style, but a...
Black Hole
Old Ale? Nah, it's a Porter for all intents and purposes. Black pour with an initial large tan head but this fades fast to leave a tiny bit of lacing and some minimal spotty head on the surface. Nice, rich chocolate alcohol nose. Decent mouthfeel with some warming alcohol and dry cocoa notes. Slightly acidic bitter finish, again with a powdery chocolate feel. If this were advertised as a Porter it would be nice, but as an Old Ale it's hopeless. Does that matter? I guess not, but it puts a...
Insanity
Typical viscous looking, mid-orange appearance with no head or lacing. Alcohol and some bananas & (of all things) coconut in the aroma. Taste is pretty powerful. Alcohol, hop bitterness and a dry feeling combine in a not all that subtle a manner. The coconut comes back in the finish too. Very odd. Also very obvious burning on the way down. This is a big, big beer and it's really not all that drinkable in my eyes, but many will enjoy it. Alcohol is not well hidden (not that I suppose that is...
Blithering Idiot
Updated Review 01/08 === 12oz single from recent trip to Greensboro, NC, USA. Thoughts on this bottle pretty much reflect mt original review. Very sticky, sweet and English in style. Original Review 02/06 === Great looking red pour with some head but it fades quickly. Obviously little or no persistent head or lacing. Sweet cherry medicinal aromas with alcohol featuring prominently. Tastes are sweet and alcoholic. An easy sipper that lacks a massive hop bite, and relies upon alcohol to take it...