Weyerbacher Old Heathen

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

Poured a dark brown, almost all black color with a decent intial head, dissipating to near nothing, only ok lacing. The aroma was fruity, coffee, some light roast. The flavor was dark fruity (raisins, rum soaked?), coffee, cherries, only faint roasted malts and light chocolate. Some bubblegum and cardboard came through in a second tasting a week later. This was somewhat sweet, no bitter malts or a hop presence at all, but not sticky. The mouthfeel was moderate but light for the style. A decent brew, but it won’t knock your socks off.

Coming out of the bottle, it’s a dark, dark brown, pouring with the consistency of hot tar. Once it hits the glass, it turns black and is capped with a slender light brown head. That’s gone soon. Licorice and a touch of sourness reach my nose first. Dark malts and a touch of toffee come next. Blended together in the flavor, the tastes behind the smells come together with a medicinal quality, especially once the alcohol joins the fray. It finishes on a sweet note, licorice sweet, with a slam of bitter dark malts and a low alcohol feuling. Not bad at all, but inerestingly different for the style.

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bottle generously donated by pops--pours black with just a touch of red highlight when held to the light. large foamy tan head that leaves wonderful lacings. smells wonderful, roasted malts chocolaty malts. its very subtle. some sweet caramel is in there as well. and coffee. tastes raisins, chocolate, coffee, and some fruit caramel sweetness. nice alcohol warming in the finish with figs in the background. a fine beer.

Pours a thick black, topped by a quarter inch of brown foam. The head recedes in short order to a thin film of bubbles and a ring. Decent lacing. Plum and kahlua in the aroma. Flavors of roasted grain, coffee, and bittersweet chocolate all the way through into the finish. A hint of tart cherry shows up in there somewhere towards the end and into the aftertaste. Medium full body, moderate carbonation.

Cold 12oz bottle: Pours an opaque dark brown color with a thin tan head, mostly around the edges. Roasted malts, coffee, chocolate, dark fruit and alcohol. Full bodied and vibrant carbonation. Ending is of coffee and subtle earthy hops with some alcohol burn.

From the bottle, pours black with a thick foamy brown head, nice lacing. Aroma is hard to discern, nothing that really stands out. Taste, however, is very strong. Very full flavor of coffee and chocolate immediately. A few gulps later, tastes of alcohol and that espresso they mention above start to appear. Kind of a dark, fruity flavor in there too as the beer warms. It’s a strong but not overwhelming flavor throughout. Smooth on the palate, really good stout here.

Draft. Definately a very solid stout. Not overly thick and full like many premium Imp. Stouts. Coffee is prevelant. A rather dry stout, a bit oatmeal-ish, if you will. Not a "big-hitter" in the alcohol department as many Imp. Stouts tend to be, not necessarily a bad thing though. It does make up quite a bit in the malt department where it is full and flavorful. Give this one a try - very different given it’s type.

Bottle. Dark chocolate and toffee aroma is dominated by heavy, intense coffee. Sweetish and roasty. Midnight black pour is topped by a dark brown head. First thing I noticed upon tasting was the rich, complex maltiness unusual even for this style. Big roast, lots of chocolate and coffee, but it’s not of the aggressive, in-your-face variety. Still, very robust flavor and a crisp, silken feel. Deep dark chocolate aftertaste, dry and with a note of espresso. Light nuts and a super-viscous palate. Molasses and raisins round ’r out. Light note of dark fruity-sweet alcohol. This isn’t the most bitter nor the most brutal of imps, and not one of the more distinctive, but it is impressively complex in the malt category and regally flavorful at a low-for-style abv, and perhaps more importantly, extremely - and dangerously - drinkable.

Here again, a bit of an aged bottle, robust flavor has diminished only slightly, mostly with regards to the roast, and somewhat with respect to carbonation. There’s a nice figgy-plummy feel that I hadn’t noticed before, though it’s somewhat in the bg. "Velvety" is the apt descriptor. Still classy.