21st Anniversary Ale
Weyerbacher Brewing Co.

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into pint glass in June 2020. There was a bottled-on date of June 23, 2016 on the bottle. I drank this shortly after purchasing it.

Appearance: Dark black with a thick tan head. Head is very creamy and does not last long. It leaves a little lacing on the glass.

Smell: Strong aroma of chocolate, bourbon, and some caramel. Also some coffee, cinnamon, and vanilla. There is not much hop aroma.

Taste: There is strong alcohol and bourbon flavor along with coffee flavors with some sweetness like caramel and chocolate flavors with some smoky roasted malt flavors. There is little bitterness from hops, but the flavor is dominated by the bourbon, chocolate, and roasted malt flavors. There is a strong alcohol presence as with Imperial Stouts.

Mouth-feel: Medium to thick, but with a heavy and extremely smooth and creamy body.

This is a good Imperial Stout, and it has a variety of flavors that adds a nice complexity to the beer. It is very smooth and enjoyable to drink. Comparing the taste to other Weyerbacher stouts, this is definitely good but I prefer Sunday Morning Stout. I would buy this again if Weyerbacher decided to brew some more. This is also probably my favorite of the anniversary brews so far.

 

12 oz bottle with a June 2016 packaging date.
A big beer with ABV at 11.9%, as is obvious in the aroma, hinted at in the flavor, but nicely concealed in the mouthfeel.
Some bourbon but lots of fruit and dried fruit in the boozy aroma. The flavor adds some woody notes and more dark bread.

Full body with light carbonation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at Tap and Mallet in Rochester, NY.

This one pours a pretty dark black, with a small head, and no lacing.

Like much from Weyerbacher, this has a bit of a boozy fusel thing going on, but the creamy vanilla aroma, fudgy chocolate, and oak aroma is nice, though.

I wish this a bit thicker tasting, and I wish the booze was hidden a bit more, but the flavors we do have are nice. There's a smidgen of smokiness, kinda feels like a smoky chocolate flavor, with creamy vanilla. If I could have more vanilla, I'd certainly be happy. There's just a slight hint of hop bitterness, but I could be mistaking boozy astringency for that, who knows.

This is kind of thin, I wish it had a bit more body to it. The carbonation level is about normal for the style.

 

 

Reviewed from notes. Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a Cycle Brewing goblet.

A: Very, very dark brown, and nearly opaque with just some translucence around the edges. Minimal amount of visible carbonation and a thin tan head that fades fairly quickly. Leaves only a little lacing on the glass.

S: Fairly subdued for a barrel-aged stout. The aroma components seem to be there – chocolate, bourbon, and roasted malts. Oak with a light vanilla. But at least at refrigerator temperature, you’ve have to dig in there to find them. Not off-putting, but a little weird for a nearly 12% beer. NOTE: The aroma does open up a little as it warms, but still stays really low.

T: Bourbon and chocolate, about in balance. More vanilla than I got on the nose, and the dark malts with a good bit of roasty character. Hints of barrel char and mild smoke as the beer warms. Some sweet leathery notes mixed in with the malts as well. It finishes with lingering chocolate, sweet bourbon and some ethanol heat. Some dry woody tannins show up more as it warms, especially in the hang.

M: A fairly thin body for any barrel-aged stout, let alone one with this ABV. Average carbonation sensation. The alcohol flavors are definitely prevalent but not quite obnoxious.

O: Not an offensive beer, but really not a terribly good anniversary effort from Weyerbacher. I wouldn’t tell you to avoid it, but I would suggest you're probably better off letting this sit on the shelf. Certainly nothing exciting.

 

 

And, as the grand finale to the madness that has been my Weyerbacher vertical as a part of the eradication of the Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody, I have arrived at the anniversary beers. I never intended for things to get so out of hand, but between work & travel, this is the result. It is actually nice to reconnect after all of this time, plus it keeps me at home & out of trouble.

From the bottle: "Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout Brewed with Cocoa and Vanilla".

Packaged on 06/21/16 with no Best By date indicated. It is of no matter. I figure that eight months should have been sufficient time for even a minute amount of lees to build up & I do not want to take chances. All tolled, I Pop!ped the cap and conducted a very gentle pour. I then gave it an in-glass swirl once a sufficient amount had been decanted, producing a brief finger of foamy, soapy, deep-tan/light-brown head with limited retention, quickly falling back to wisps. Color was Black/Opaque (SRM = 44), allowing ZERO light penetration. Nose was VERY rich and chocolaty, almost like a fresh, liquefied brownie, but the bourbon barrel aging also gave it a coconut-like aspect. Mouthfeel was medium, but a bit thin for the style. The taste was REALLY bourbon boozy! Whoa! After the initial shock wore off, I could taste the smoked malts as well as the chocolate cake-like chocolatiness. This could easily be cellared for at least a year or two. I would bet that it will smooth out and the flavors will blend together more pleasantly. In this, its early iteration, it was kind of jangly in terms of its mélange of flavors. Finish was dry, but that was due more to the alcohol heat than its taste. I firmly believe that, given an opportunity, it will blend together into something quite tasty. I should bought a second bottle ... 8=(