Beautiful Blasphemy

Blasphemy

Weyerbacher Oaked Quadruple Ale

Weyerbacher Brewing Co., Easton PA

22 oz. capped bottle

11.5% ABV

Sampled: Dec. 7, 2008

I avoided this beast for two years due to its alcohol content and burnout with the oak-aging trend in American brewing. Too many bad strong beers with that oak flavor gets old very quickly.

But a dreary winter night in Nashville finally wore me down. To think I dreaded this experience.

Now, I can only say, Weyerbacher, blaspheme away.

Its thin fizzy head vanishes without a lace to speak of. Strangely enough, a small island of lace lingers dead-center in the chalice.

A mammoth ale must deliver an equally powerful nose, and with the oak shoves ahead backed by spearmint, cloves, vanilla beans, pepper and tobacco. Really, all of those exhibit here and somehow, these flavors manage to avoid all-out war in favor of peaceful co-existence.

When used properly, oak can mellow out a strong ale – it almost works with Arrogant Bastard (aka, the frat boy’s snob beer). Weyerbacher makes it work on levels most brewers could never anticipate.

Aging and addition bottle fermentation usually ratchets up the alcohol content, already a scary 11.5 percent. The height to which it has scaled are even scarier considering how drinkable it remains.

This beer has no business being this smooth in light of that strength. All that heaviness that slows down many quads not brewed by St. Bernardus or Chimay drops out after the first year of aging. Everything day past that is gravy.

What characteristic Quadruple fruitiness remains has been condensed into a fine plum and date strain running between the pepper and the oak.

Blasphemy closes with a molasses and tobacco finish, with no flavor reaching obnoxious heights.

At the end of a full bottle, the pepper never obstructs as it does with most stronger ales, and the rest of the package never overstays its welcome.

What follows is remarkably smooth, with an oak background delicately supporting ale that has evolved closer to port wine, the common path for Quadruples left to sit. The oak drives Blasphemy into an intriguing offshoot of the august style.

Not anyone’s ideas of an everyday libation, Weyerbacher succeeds wildly with its bold act of Blasphemy.

Rating: 9/10