Weyerbacher Insanity - Tasting and Cellaring Notes
By jason on May 4, 2008 in Barleywines & Strong Ales, Reviews
Name: Insanity
Brewer: Weyerbacher
Style: Barleywine
Vintage: 2007
Bottled On: December 8th, 2007 (Date printed on case)
Cellared On: March 21st, 2008
Original Tasting: April 26th, 2008
Every year, Weyerbacher takes a portion of their Blithering Idiot Barleywine and age it oak bourbon barrels before bottling. And since I’ve enjoyed aging Weyerbacher’s Blithering Idiot Barelywine it was only natural that I’d try cellaring the oak-aged one, which is called Insanity.
Insanity is a deep, dark, cloudy orange. When I hold the glass up to a light I can see a whole bunch of yeast floating around in it (my wife wanted me to make an off-color joke here but I’m resisting). Powerful smells came from my glass. Sweet malts and oak dominated, but there was plenty of ripe dark fruit and noticeable alcohol present.
Even taking just a single sip, the oak flavor comes in with a vengeance. The oak hits you right after the first bite and lingers on the palette well after the brew finishes. This brew is really sweet as well, with the malty flavors provide a ton of complex dark fruit flavors (figs and dates mostly). There’s also a noticeable, almost subtle background bitterness that really matches the flavor of this brew well. A big alcohol burn comes in on the finish (definitely some fusels here), joining the oak and sweet malts flavors.
One heavy, powerful, and complex beer, a definite sipper for sure.
Cellar Outlook:
With the magic combo of high alcohol (11.2% ABV) and bottle-conditioning, this brew is bound to hold up well. Insanity also has a lot of flavors that need a bit of cellaring to “calm” down a bit in my opinion, especially the hot fusel alcohols that were burning me on the finish.
Next Tasting: October 2008
Jason
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