Review - Weyerbacher Brewing Company's Blithering Idiot
"At Weyerbacher, we prefer to brew things true to European style guidelines, so our barley wine is definitely on the malty side, without being overly sweet. Notes of date or perhaps fig on the palate follow a pleasurably malty aroma to your taste buds. The finish is warm and fruity, and begs for the next sip." -- Weyerbacher
Pours a medium caramel color producing a healthy off-white frothy head creating some nice consistent lacing on the glass. Good clarity with a touch of haze, very little carbonation but the head has decent retention. Aroma is surprisingly muted alcohol with a moderate malt character, some fruity esters, and just a moderate hint of alcohol. Initial taste is sweet and the alcohol that was hiding in the aroma makes an appearance in the taste, leaving a strong alcohol burn on the roof and back of the tongue. Medium bodied with sweet malt notes, there is a creamy to buttery texture leaving an oily film on the palate, soft carbonation on the back of the mouth, and a warm alcohol finish. Well-balanced, the alcohol is not in your face and only has moderate warmth, making this a very drinkable beer considering the alcohol content. This bottle had been aging in our cellar for over a year, and mellowed out beautifully and we recommend trying one that has been aged for this amount of time. We will need to crack a new one open to do a fair comparison
Reviewed on June 13th, 2008.
