Weyerbacher Decadance

I am a big fan of cellaring beers and seeing how they change over time. It's nowhere near an exact science and sometimes you get good results and sometimes you wish you would have drank the beer fresh, but it is always fun. There's lots of opportunity to see how age affects the nuances of the beer and age also mellows out beers that might be too hot out of the gate or not well balanced enough. This particular beer was brewed in 2005 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Weyerbacher in Easton, PA. It weighs in at 13% abv and is brewed with honey, cardamom and gentian. I cracked my bottle tongiht.....



12oz bottle that's been lurking in my cellar. Got a 22oz bomber as a trade extra recently so I figured I'd open this one to see how it is doing.

Pours into my glass a deep ruby red with minimal khaki head on top, but I figured as much due to the abv. Quite a few particles in suspension here but it's not uncommon after aging this long. Aromas start with sweet, fruity malts bathed in a deep floral honey that really shines through. Spiciness abounds with hard candy and ginger undertones. A bit medicinal even. Ripe plums and fruit cake. Interesting.

First sip brings big sweet maltiness quickly smacked down by huge spice flavors and caramel. Cardamom becomes evident in the flavor even though I didn't initially realize it before looking at the description on Weyerbacher's website. Lots of dark fruit flavors and floral honey mix in with plum coming to mind most. Flows down with a medicinal, candy like finish. Alcohol heats up the throat as well.

Mouthfeel is dense and slick with a syrupy quality to it. Mellow carbonation. This brew is not messing around and with the abv it's a sipper. Overall, I found this one big but tasty at the same time...a bit too sweet for me so I'll probably need someone to help share the bomber. I always enjoy a new Weyerbacher brew and this is a good sipper.

Overall I gave this beer a rating of Enjoyable. Drink it if you still have any!

Check out the whole line of Weyerbacher beers by surfing over to http://www.weyerbacher.com/