Brewery: Weyerbacher
Location: Easton, PA
Style: Barleywine
Brewery Website
Rating: B+
Today's tasting is the Blithering Idiot barleywine from Weyerbacher. The beer pours with a short, light-tan head that fades fast. It is a cloudy amber-brown color with lots of fine sediment floating in the glass. The nose has a big wine note, along with sweet oatmeal/cereal. There is a faint fruity hops aroma in the background as well.
On the palate the Blithering Idiot has an initial sweet note up from that fades to an off-dry wininess. There is a big warming sensation, which is not surprising at over 11% ABV. There is a fair bitter kick from the hops and some citrusy notes as well. Yeast and brown sugar play complimentary roles. The Blithering Idiot has a fairly heavy body, which along with the high alcohol definitely make this a sipping beer. The finish has lingering cereal sweetness with bitter and citrus hops highlights.
Weyerbacher have a pretty good barleywine on their hands with the Blithering Idiot. The flavors here are pretty standard for a barleywine that is this big. There is still a good deal of residual sweetness here, but the hops do manage to poke their head through a bit. This is a beer that will do well with a year or more of age under its belt.
Showing posts with label Weyerbacher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weyerbacher. Show all posts
Friday, December 3, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA
Brewery: Weyerbacher
Location: Easton, PA
Style: IPA
Brewery Website
Rating: B-
Today's tasting is a Double IPA from Weyerbacher. Weyerbacher brews this IPA using Simcoe hops, which is a fairly new variety first bred in 2000. Simcoe is most commonly used as a bittering hop, but has the potential for some complex aromatic properties.
The Simcoe Double IPA is a hazy dark amber-brown. The head pours thick with a short cascading effect, leaving a 3-finger thick light tan head. The nose has citrus, sweet cereal, and an aroma reminiscent of a juicy white wine (such as a Riesling).
On the palate, the bitter hops make themselves known right away. There are sweet notes of caramel, along with some wine flavors. There are some floral and herbal hops notes present, but for the most part this beer is dominated by a resinous, oily, bitter hop character. The finish has more lingering hop resin. The Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA has a fairly heavy body, which holds up well to the powerful bitter hop note.
As much as I like bitter, hoppy beer, I think the Double Simcoe overdoes it a bit. The bitterness just seems to overpower a lot of the other flavors here. It's a good IPA for bitter hop fans, but this wouldn't be an everyday beer for me.
Location: Easton, PA
Style: IPA
Brewery Website
Rating: B-
Today's tasting is a Double IPA from Weyerbacher. Weyerbacher brews this IPA using Simcoe hops, which is a fairly new variety first bred in 2000. Simcoe is most commonly used as a bittering hop, but has the potential for some complex aromatic properties.
The Simcoe Double IPA is a hazy dark amber-brown. The head pours thick with a short cascading effect, leaving a 3-finger thick light tan head. The nose has citrus, sweet cereal, and an aroma reminiscent of a juicy white wine (such as a Riesling).
On the palate, the bitter hops make themselves known right away. There are sweet notes of caramel, along with some wine flavors. There are some floral and herbal hops notes present, but for the most part this beer is dominated by a resinous, oily, bitter hop character. The finish has more lingering hop resin. The Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA has a fairly heavy body, which holds up well to the powerful bitter hop note.
As much as I like bitter, hoppy beer, I think the Double Simcoe overdoes it a bit. The bitterness just seems to overpower a lot of the other flavors here. It's a good IPA for bitter hop fans, but this wouldn't be an everyday beer for me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)