Weyerbacher Insanity

Brewed by Weyerbacher Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Easton, Pennsylvania USA

22oz bomber from The Lighthouse in Manchester. Pours a slightly hazy copper red with a good inch of light tan head that slowly dissipates. Smells woody, spicy, fruity, nutty, and malty. Tastes Malty and nutty with a fair bit of caramel, and spice, banana, wood, and alcohol playing contributing roles. Rich full body just flirting with viscosity. Instead of being sticky and viscous though, it has a pleasing full body with a fair amount of carbonation to wash it down making this barleywine more drinkable than most. Wow. This beer is absolutely phenomenal. I can honestly say that this is the best barleywine I have ever had.

First things first. This one pours a clear burnt orange color with a thick and just off white head. Good head retention. Some notes of dark fruit mingle with an obvious bourbon and vanilla scent. Surprising strong coconut type flavor in this one that really knocks my socks off. Of course I pick up some cherry and plum in this one. Obviously there’s some bourbon at the finish. Alcohol is well hidden. I’m not always the biggest fan of these guys but this one is very good.

Beautiful clear copper color with a one finger head that dissipates quickly leaving a thin coat of foam. Awesome nose with caramel malt, oak and fruit. Taste echoes the nose, but here the alcohol is very noticable in the finish. Mouthfeel is fairly light due to the carbonation. Still shows as definite medium bodied, would be full without the carbonation, very smooth. Drinkability limited due to the alcohol content, and the fact that it is so noticable.

22. Pours deep opaque brown with a thick and moussy off-white head. Light and scattered lacing. Huge bourbon vanilla nose--lots of sweet boozey bourbony booze. Yeah. Some caramel underneath that, but I’m not kidding, this smells like a shot. Medium body with very little carb. Hits you softly. Like a velvet anvil. The mid-palate is a whole mess of bourbon again. The base beer is actually pretty tasty, so I might’ve been inclined to steam out the barrels a little before aging, or something. Just to let more of the original base beer’s flavor carry through after aging. This bourbon is so powerful--tastes great, but masks, rather than enhances, a great-tasting beer. So it’s a tough call whether they went the best possible way they could have with this one.

Real nice and warming. Not a gulping beer though. Sit back, relax and spend some time with it.

Dark amber color with a red light; thin creamy head. The aroma is malty, with a touch of vanilla and very light wallnut. Thick body, full malt flavor, very sweet, with sweet caramel and fudge too, a hint of liquorice. Even the final is very sweet, not enough hopped, there is a lot of malt and caramel, some sweet liquorice; the alcohol warmth is too much. Not enough complex, not fully convincing; and the barrel is missing in action. For the lovers of malt juice.

Sweet aroma of caramel and bourbon. Very sweet taste up front with a bit of bittering on the back of the tongue. Nice barley wine. It needed more time to age in the bottle.

pours a clear amber with sweet cinnamon aroma. sweet fresh front with warm dry finish. sweet bourbon presence. complexity evident from the cask, a good mix with a Barley Wine.