Weyerbacher - Insanity

Tonight I'll be reviewing Insanity from Weyerbacher Brewing.  Every time I taste a new beer from these guys I become a bigger and bigger fan.  Since I started reviewing, I've had Tiny, Blithering Idiot, Harvest Ale and Imperial Pumpkin Ale and have been generally impressed with each beer I've tasted.  Weyerbacher seems to brew a huge variety of beers, ranging from their straight forward Harvest Ale to their Dark Braggot Honey Ale (a GAFB Gold Medal winner!).  You can never be quite sure as to what they will brew next.  But you can certainly depend on it straying from the style guidelines.

Weyerbacher Insanity is Blithering Idiot aged in oak bourbon casks.  If there is one thing that can make a big beer better, it's aging it in oak.  While I wasn't a huge fan of Blithering Idiot as a stand-alone Barley Wine, I think the noticeable flaws I found would be remedied with some age, especially on wood.  Their website doesn't tell me how long they let it age in the casks, or really any other information for that matter.  So lets just get to the tasting.

Burnt amber brown.  The foam is fizzy like a sparkling wine.  It recedes just as quickly as it formed leaving no evidence of its existence.  The aromas are of sweet dark fruit - plums and figs mostly - with maple syrup and hints of vanilla and brown sugar.  Everything about the smell is very prominent, and the flavors are just as bold.  This is where the barrel-aged really shines through.  Plenty of bourbon undertones are supported by a big, but not thick, malty body.  Oaked vanilla, brown sugar, caramelized dark fruit and burnt caramel are all discernible.  A very light carbonation combined with a strong alcohol warmth keep this English Barley Wine finishing smooth.

Overall - This is a huge beer with an ABV at 11.1%.  But you wouldn't know it without reading the label.  The alcohol is so well blended with the bourbon-esque characteristics you could easily forget the alcohol was there if it weren't for the pleasant warmth it provided in the finish.  Weyerbacher Insanity should be treated like a port wine or bourbon and consumed at room temperature.  Above 50 F is where these subtle flavors will be most noticeable.  Insanity is a complex and very tasty oak-aged English Barley Wine that will certainly get better with age.  I'll drink Insanity over Blithering Idiot anytime.

Weyerbacher Heresy Imperial Stout

First off, I would like to vent on a pet peeve of mine.  Multiple times in the last couple days, I've been asked if I could "borrow" someone an item.  Here's a specific example, "Hey Dunz, could you please borrow me your pen?"  {Enter angry emoticon here}  No I cannot borrow you my pen, because that doesn't make any F'ing sense.  This is basic, kindergarden grammer!  I will never lend anything to anyone that asks me to borrow it to them.

Now, on to the beer - tonight I'm drinking Weyerbacher Heresy Imperial Stout.  This is actually their Old Heathen Imperial stout, which is aged in oak barrels that were used in their previous lives for making top-shelf Kentucky bourbon.  The beer-geek stats aren't available on the brewery's website, but we do know this comes in at 8%ABV.  I picked this up in a 4 pack of 12oz bottles - the bottle design is definitely eye-catching, with a lightning bolt streaking across the background of the label. 

The beer pours a very dark brown, a burnt brownie color, into a snifter glass.  The nose is an intriguing mix of cocoa, toasted malts, whiskey, and a bit of raisin.  The first sip is quite a bit thinner than I expected, with chocoloate roasted malts setting in initially, and quickly disappearing.  Then there is a dry, woody flavor with a hint of whiskey.  Even more wood lingers in the finish, along with a fleeting fruity sourness on the tail-end.  The texture looks thick and syrupy, but the mouthfeel is actually quite thin (for an RIS), almost watered-down. 

After letting this sit and warm for a while, the flavors become a bit more pronounced, but the mouthfeel remains thin and light. 

Overall Rating:  (2.8 out of 6.0)  While this beer did bring some interesting flavors to the table (oak/bourbon), it left me wanting for more.  There wasn't enough muscle in the beer to balance and compliment the oak flavors.  It's extremely drinkable, and the alcohol is well-hidden, but overall I was disappointed. 

Southern Tier Brewing Cuvee Series Two

The lucky beer that I'm going to consume this evening is from Southern Tier Brewing, Number Two from their oak-aged Cuvee Series.  I was a little disappointed by the lack of information on their website regarding this series...they included copies of the labels and brief descriptions of flavors, but that's about it.  From the little bit of information available, I was able to gleen that this is an 11%ABV American Strong Ale that is aged in American Oak barrels. 

The presentation of this beer is pretty cool.  It comes in a box with a drawing of an oak tree, and the Southern Tier Logo stamped on the center of the box.  The bottle itself is a 650ml, with shiny purple label and another oak tree.  I'm drawn to shiny things.  Especially when they have beer in them.

This beer pours out a very dark ruby red, slightly hazy but against the light I can barely see through it.  There isn't a whole lot of head present, just a thin lace after a rigorous pour.  The nose is full of vanilla and oak, along with a heavy malt presence. 

The first thing that comes to mind after the first sip is sweetness...primarily vanilla - there is a creamy vanilla note that hits the palate right away.  A slight hint of dark fruit is present, along with some roasted maltiness, but honestly that woody, sugary vanilla is the star of the show.  The alcohol is also present and provides a small break from the sweet-train.  The thickness of the beer, combined with the intensity of the sweetness, definitely make this a slow sipping brew.  The texture is rich and syrupy, with low carbonation and a warm, clingy alcohol presence in the background.

Overall Rating:  (3.5 out of 6.0)  I would classify this beer as an oak-aged vanilla ale.  For me, it was just too sweet.....I'm actually having a hard time finishing it.  The sweetness and the syrupy texture become overbearing after about half the bottle.  BUT, I was definitely impressed by the intensity of the flavors, especially the oak flavors present in the beer.  Not a bad beer, but just not for me.