Weyerbacher Brewering's Thirteen

Beer: Weyerbacher Brewing Thirteen
Brewery Location: Easton, PA
Beer Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 13.6%



I've fallen out of my trading habit quite bit lately, but there are a few beers that I've tracked down that have come out recently, and this is one that I've wanted to try since I knew it was coming out. According to Weyerbacher this is a beer that was brewed for their thirteenth anniversary and is an imperial stout that is made with a Belgian Abbey yeast strain, and the yeast really comes in strong on this beer.

This beer glugs a very dark black color into my glass with a decent sized dark mocha colored head. The nose on this beer is full of chocolate, roasted grain, and fruity esters are quite apparent from the abbey yeast. The flavor profile starts out with the malt upfront bringing in those dark fruit flavors with rum soaked cherries being quite dominant with figs, raisins, and plums very apparant as well. There is also quite the heavy sweetness present as well on this one, and there is plenty of warming alcohol on this after the swallow. It has both qualities of a good Belgian Quad as well as a Russian Imperial Stout. A really interesting flavor profile that marries all of those flavors quite well. The mouthfeel is quite sticky, but is still incredibly smooth at the same time. The alcohol is quite heavy on this one, but isn't overpowering, and that is quite the feat for the high ABV on this beer. I certainly thought this beer was going to be quite hot, but was pleasantly surprised. The drinkability on this one is quite nice for a beer that clocks in at 13.6% ABV, and was a real treat to drink.

I was quite surprised by this beer. As I said before it is like a Belgian Quad and a good imperial stout have been mixed together quite successfully. This was a little "hot" in terms of the alcohol, but at such a high ABV that is to be expected, and I am really curious how the other bottle I have will age. This was almost like drinking dessert in a glass.

Cheers!
Matt