370. Weyerbacher Tiny

We got a big ol’ bottle from Weyerbacher for tonight’s shenanigans. Scrumptious! The last two from Weyerbacher were Double Simcoe IPA and Harvest Ale, so this marks a little something different from those troublemakers in Easton. I guess we’re willing to be their guinea pigs, but only for tonight, here me? Harump!

As the label informs us, “this velvet concoction excites your senses with bottomless roasted, earthy and vinous notes.” Alright then, Tiny, bring it. Tiny, which is a Belgian-Style Imperial Stout, pours a thick inky chocolate with a creamy mocha head that looks like the foam on an espresso drink and that sticks around for the long haul. The nose is creamy with a whole lotta roastiness mixed with smaller amounts Belgian yeast fruitiness; flavors start with dark, roasty, and lightly sweet malt flavors mixed with some creaminess. The middle sees an emergence of dark fruit flavors mixed with more of the roasted flavors and coupled with light chocolate hints, finishing with more chocolate, roastiness, and creaminess, and small amounts of alcohol flavor. Tiny has a medium to heavy body with a creamy, chewy, and slightly slick mouthfeel while the carbonation is medium, although it has a brightness in the front before rounding the final third—it is pretty lively on the palate, especially for an imperial stout, which does help lighten the mouthfeel. The alcohol warmth is minimal but present, with a bit of a tang in the back of the mouth at the end. An interesting beer—we’re not sure what we think of the combination of a Belgian-esque beer, with the bright fresh carbonation, yeast esters, and fruitiness, with an imperial stout, with the roastiness and alcohol strength. This is most certainly not a Belgian strong—the roastiness is too omnipresent. So while good, it still tastes like it needs to sit in the basement for like a spell to marry flavors and calm and connect the parts. For now, we’ll just note that the Belgian IPA seems to be a better combination than the Belgian Imperial Stout. Unless someone else has a new hat to throw in the ring...

I wasn’t able to find any information on the Weyerbacher website; Beer Advocate did offer this under Beer Releases: “Supplies are limited, we only had 700 cases overall. We expect to make Tiny on an occaisional basis, with the next release possibly this coming Winter.”

ABV: 11.8%

(7/5/2010)