Weyerbacher Heresy

The Stats
Style: Russian Imperial Stotut
ABV: 8%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.94/5
- RateBeer: 3.81/5

"This is an incredibly intriguing ale is made by aging our Old Heathen Imperial Stout in oak barrels that were used for making fine Kentucky bourbon! The result is an extraordinary, dark, and mysterious stout whose very essence has been enhanced. The aroma is filled with vanilla, cocoa, and roasted coffee beans. This silky-smooth brew has notes of oak, whiskey, roasted barley and vanilla that meld together on the tongue to create an incredible sensation."

This was given to me years ago by a buddy of mine and has just been sitting in my fridge ever since. Well, you don't want to hear my life story, so let's get to the beer.

Pitch black appearance with no brown or ruby red. The pour gave off less than half a finger of khaki-colored head.

Aroma had a smooth, pleasant oak and bourbon smell. Behind that are cherries and dark fruits and even a dark fudge chocolate brownie presence.

I'd say the taste is on point with the aroma and no more/no less. The sweet, but not too sticky bourbon hits first followed by the dark chocolate ahead of the cherries and dark fruits. I thought it would be the other way around based on the aroma, but no big deal. The dark fruits give this stout that Russian Imperial Stout taste and feel which makes it seem bigger than 8%. I get a lot of oak in the middle of the mouth and near the back end, which just adds more barrel complexity to this beer. There's an overall coffee ground taste surrounding the whole experience, which makes this bitter at times, but it's not as enjoyable as I'd like it to be. The finish ends with some plum, raisins, and figs.

Mouthfeel comes up a little thin for an 8%, barrel-aged stout. It doesn't coat the mouth at all, but it isn't watery either. The body is like mine: simply ok. On the plus side there's no alcohol or burning/warming anywhere to be found. It drinks lighter than its abv would lead you to believe.

After so many years in the bottle and so many months in my fridge, Heresy is a perfectly acceptable barrel-aged stout. There's not too many shortcomings to point out, but at the same time nothing dazzles me either. The bourbon is nice and sweet while the base beer had plenty of those RIS characteristics. Not a mind-blower, but still solid.

Rating
8.2/10

Weyerbacher Sunday Morning Stout

The Stats
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 11.30%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.35/5
- RateBeer: 3.88/5

I think like most people, I had never heard of Sunday Morning Stout until this year. I'm not sure if this was the first year it was bottled and distributed to all of Weyerbacher's markets, but I do believe it was a draft-only release in previous years. It's an Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels with coffee.

Pours jet black with less than a finger of a dark brown head. I can barely see some ruby red on the edge when held up to the light, but this is just dark as night.

The aroma blasts you with massive amounts of coffee - rich roasted coffee and big vanilla. After that is sweet bourbon, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and oak. It smells more like a coffee stout with bourbon rather then a bourbon barrel-aged stout with coffee.

While coffee is here at the very front of my tongue, the biggest flavor I get right off the bat is dark chocolate reminiscent of Hershey's chocolate syrup. Then there's also the bourbon which thankfully isn't dominating and is rather sweet. The coffee is bitter, dark roast coffee akin to coffee grounds in a way. Oak is here, but not really that big, it's more of just the char from the barrel rather than the barrel itself. Surprisingly it has a faint hop bite on the finish that adds another layer of bitterness to the already prominent dark coffee bitterness. Not much vanilla as I would have hoped, but the vanilla taste matches the subtlety that was on the aroma

Mouthfeel is silky and creamy like a rich espresso. This is great due to its mouth-coating tendency and also that it leaves flavors sticking to your tongue and roof of your mouth without being cloying. Maybe a little residual bitterness from the coffee in the aftertaste that leaves me smacking my lips, but it's easy to live with. At over 11.00% I do feel a warming sensation in my throat that is persistent with each sip, but no alcohol presence whatsoever. It's understandable with such a big beer, so just be prepared to sip this one for a while.

Sunday Morning Stout has the makings of a "breakfast beer" with a big coffee base and a supporting cast chocolate and vanilla. Throwing it into a barrel has yielded a complex stout with enough flavors to keep anyone guessing. Some flavors dominate more than others and this has a few bitter components that can be overpowering at times. In the end, this is an incredibly complex, barrel-aged beer that checks off all the criteria for a great stout.

Rating
8.6/10