Weyerbacher Insanity

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

Pours a hazy copper color with almost no head to speak of. Big whiskey nose with hints of oak, some floral accents as well. Vanilla taste hits you first, bourbon then wraps around you, and then the alcoholic burn takes you under. Simple, yes, tasty, definitely!

22 oz. bottle. Pours a cloudy, amber brown with a small off-white head. Aromas of rasin, vanilla, and bourbon. Vanilla and oak dominate the flavor with very little bittering. The alcohol is noticable but not unpleasant. The body is pretty thick and creamy.

Hazy orangish brown with a moderate head, decent lacing and retention. Aroma is wood, vanilla, bourbon with loads of caramel and sugary malts. Flavor brings this, medium to heavy body with a sweet light alcoholic finish. Tasty but not complex.

12oz bottle-pours a creamy light tan head and red color with effervescence. Aroma is bourbon, dark fruit, sweet medium malt. Taste is bourbon, dark fruit-cherry, sweet medium malt, vanilla. Smoooooth. Mild carbonation. Occasional.

THOUGHTS: I bought with right when the 2006 batch hit stores, but I’m pretty sure it is one of the 2005 bottles because it has the plain (non-logo) bottle cap that Weyerbacher stopped using in early ’06 and after tasting it I’m almost positive because it is way better than I’ve ever had it taste before. I’ve always thought this was a good beer, but it is way better when aged at least a year. I guess I’m lucky that wherever this was stored it was a pretty good temp. There was a little alcohol burn in the chest, belly, throat and mouth but in a pleasing marming way (not a harsh burn). There was also more alcohol as it warmed but still not harsh. Buy it, drink it, enjoy it. OR Buy it, age it, drink it, adore it. TECHNICAL: 22 ounce bottle. Poiured a medium brown, with a large to huge, off-white head that mosly diminished but left excellent lacing. There were also some small to medium particles of average density. The aroma was heary with cookies, caramel and candy. There was also cask wood, smoke, toffee, light vanilla and alcohol, but not bad for the ABV. All together it had a nice bourbon smell to it. One of the more complex beer aromas I’ve encountered. The flavor was heavily sweet throughout with and average finish duration. The body was full with a creamy and syrupy in a good way feel and fizzy carbonation with a metallic finish.

Bottle (Trade with nolankowal - Thanks John). Nice chocolate molasses and strong hops and alcohol aroma. Medium orange-brown with small head. Raisin and creamy malt followed by a hops blast. Alcohol doesn’t come out until after swallowing and then hits you with a vengeance. I really only get a hint of bourbon with this - hopefully the full 22oz will help knock out this lingering cold I’ve had.

Pours a dark rusty brown, with a quarter inch head that fades slowly to a thin swirling cap, leaving behind a solid webbing of lace. Smell; very pronounced vanilla, with some definite hints of bourbon. Some of the oak is there, as well as plums and cherries. I can almost detect some caramel malts in the background. Taste; there’s definitely a lot of bourbon flavor in this. It takes a few sips to be able to start picking out anything else. The vanilla makes a nice appearance, as well as some coconut that I didn’t notice in the aroma. Soome of the dark fruits are there, but they are a little overrun by the bourbon flavors. I can see how some would not like this beer, but I happen to enjoy bourbon and scotch, so this is making for an enjoyable drink. I just wish some of the bourbon was a bit more subdued, allowing the other flavors to stand out a bit more. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied, adn seems to fit the flavor profile very nicely. With the strong bourbon flavors this is definitely a sipping beer, but I still find myself continually reaching for the glass, although I am feeling a bit numb at this point.

22 oz bomber picked up by Kirk in Ridgewood, NJ. Pours a semi-typical barleywine color touching in a reddish orange hue with a light tan head than is fairly small. The aroma brings a massive amount of vanilla while also speaking of bourbon, and a very small hint of cherries. The flavor starts off sweet as pie...in the malt world, before bringing a huge vanillay oaked sense backed by dark cherries and plums. This progressively moves into a huge bourbon flavored alcohol singe which warms the end of the palate all the way down into the stomach where it sits and warms your entire body. The vanilla oak lingers on the palate in a beautiful way. I can see why some might not be into this one as much, but I personally enjoyed it!! It’s not the best attempt at aging a barleywine in bourbon barrels, but it definitely sets a standard.