Weyerbacher Winter Ale

For the past few weeks, I really haven't been able to drink.  I wound up replenishing my stock with a decent variety of beers I've been wanting to try.  I wanted something malty and delicious for my first beer back after the allergy issue (which isn't really settled, but I'm coping well enough for now), so I grabbed a Weyerbacher Winter Ale from my stash, since I've liked what I've tried of theirs in the past:

Vittles:
Southern English Brown Ale
5.6% abv

Score:
Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 22/25
Taste: 36/40
Mouthfeel: 7/10
Style: 4/5
Drinkability: 7/10
Overall: 83/100

Impression:
I was unimpressed by the poor head formation and retention, but the aroma was roasty toasty goodness with coffee, toffee, and chocolate notes.  I didn't smell or taste very strong hops flavors -- this is a malt-heavy brew, which is excellent for this time of year.  The malt flavors carry onto the tongue nicely, with a clean nutty/earthiness lurking in the background.  The mouthfeel was on the thin and watery side, though, so that took away a bit.  Decent overall, but I won't be going out of my way to try this again, unless I can find it on tap.

Cheers!

Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot

I love barleywines.  It's been a while since I had a good English style barleywine (the last one I had was Duck-Rabbit a couple months ago), so I popped the cap on Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot, and my evening got a whole lot smoother:

Vittles:
English Barleywine
11.1% abv

Score:
Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 21/25
Taste: 35/40
Mouthfeel: 8/10
Style: 5/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 85/100

Impression:
The coppery-mahogany color just looks so enticing, and the aroma is nearly all malt and dark fruits.  I smell figs, raisins, and cherries on top of caramel malts, with a touch of booze at the tail end.  The flavor matches the nose pretty closely, but there's a bit more spiciness on the tongue.  As the beer warms, it also takes on a sticky-sweet quality which I think I would enjoy more in chilly weather but is just a little too viscous to really enjoy on such a hot evening.  There's definite alcohol warmth on the back end, but it is a pretty high abv beer, so I was expecting to be able to taste it at some point.  The mouthfeel is fairly full-bodied, and the carbonation is present at low levels.  I'd love to try this one with a year or two on it, maybe while watching the first real snowfall of the year.  Or maybe to help make the holidays just a little more merry.  I'll have to keep my eye out for a sale on a case of this so I can try some aging experiments.

Cheers!

Weyerbacher Verboten

I like supporting local breweries.  And by "local," I kind of mean PA breweries.  I recently came across a bottle of Weyerbacher's Verboten, a Belgian-style Pale Ale, which I've never tried before.  I've liked every other beer of theirs that I tasted, so I bought this one and enjoyed it very much:

Vittles:

Belgian Pale Ale

5.9% abv

30 IBUs

First Impression:

Very bold and crisp.  The hops profile seems strikingly American -- not quite what I was expecting to taste in a Belgian-style Pale Ale, but it's ok.

Appearance: 8/10

In the picture, it looks a little murky, but that's probably due to the slight condensation that formed on the glass while my camera opened.  It's a nice golden color with about an inch of mostly white head.  Moderate levels of effervescence helped retain a thin head after the bulk of it fell.

Aroma: 20/25

The combination of American hops notes (citrus/grapefruit) and Belgian yeast characteristics such as clove, is interesting.  I can smell a light malt aroma in the background, but it doesn't seem very assertive.

Taste: 30/40

I'm not overly fond of the grapefruit and clove combination.  It's drinkable, but it's not exactly something I look for in a tasty brew.  The American hops flavors are just too sharp and bold to really blend well with more mellow Belgian yeast profile.

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Decently effervescent and medium bodied.  Finishes mildly dry.

Style: 3/5

This beer plays fast and loose with several of the guidelines for this category, like flavors and abv.

Drinkability: 7/10

Because of the flavor combination and the abv, I wouldn't really want more than one of these at a time, and I wouldn't seek this beer out very often.  I'm sure I'll come back to it at some point in the future to see if/how my tastes have changed, but it juts doesn't put forward the kinds of flavors I tend to seek out in a beer.  I think I would've liked this beer much more if it used something like Hallertau instead of Cascade.  I think the flavor profile would've been more compatible with a mellower, more herbal hops variety.

Overall: 76/100

I've enjoyed most of the Weyerbacher beers that I've tried.  Unfortunately, this one didn't hit the right notes for me.  Maybe I've just been having too many beers that use Cascade lately and I'm getting bored with the flavor.  Or maybe I've been having too many beers that try not-too-successfully to combine European yeasts and/or styles with American hops flavors.  Who knows.  I'm still glad I've gotten to try all of these beers, despite not being overly thrilled with some of them.

Cheers!