Weekend Enjoyment 1:
America's Beer Shouts Out!



Brewery: Heretic

Country: American

Style: Belgian Strong Ale (Dark)

ABV: 10%

Review:
Beer, yeah yeah I know this is mainly a whisky blog, but considering the fact that I work with beer almost as much as I hang with whisky every so often I feel obligated to give a bit of information about some of the awesome beers out there.

Now any of my customers reading this know that I'm a dark beer geek, stouts, porters, dark Belgian strong ales, smoked beers, anything dark usually has me giggling.

Now I'm not sure why this is, however I know that I tend to find lagers and pilsners completely boring, 

Pale Ales and Amber Ales are ok, easy drinking, but once again fairly boring.

Wheat beers have to be brilliant, but once again I can take them or leave it.

But dark beers, big sexy dark beers, yeah that makes me happy.

Normally I'm sitting there happily with my imperial stouts and imperial porters, but every so often I feel the need to depart from the usual and move to some sexy dark Belgian beers.

Now recently my company started bringing in Heretic Brewery, a Californian brewery.

Not bad beer to date, but sadly a brewery where I often say "not bad, but for 'x' price you can get 'y' beer in the very same style, but for cheaper and a better quality."

Like I said not bad, but nothing for me to write home about.

Until about 3 months ago when Heretic Worry came in, a light colored Belgian Strong Ale aged in Chardonnay barrels, only 25 or so cases came into the country and the bottles were 355ml bottles that were selling for about $17 to $20+ each.

But then I was informed about Torment.

Torment: A Sexy Barrel Aged Belgian Strong Ale done by the Americans.

A big beautiful dark beer, now this was something I could get behind! 

And even better more cases of this guy were coming into the country, about 60 cases of 12 650ml bottles, so almost triple the amount as the Worry.

So it finally arrives into my store and I know I need to take a bottle home, to try it, just for research so I can sell it better you know?

So I crack the bottle when I get home and pour it into a goblet and it pours a blackish color with reddish overtones and a slight beige head.

Lovely ripe fruit comes off the nose, slight coffee notes, lots of spice and candied sugars, oh it's beautiful and the more the beer warms up the more the fruits and spices come through oh so beautifully.

Time for a taste!

Lovely mouthfeel, just the right amount of carbonation and the flavors follow the nose very closely.  Almost no bitterness leading to a sweet spicy aftertaste.

Oh so gorgeous this beer is.  I wound up picking up bottles of this for my brother in laws Christmas present, after we'd tried it at a tasting at my house, and then my sister in law tried it over the recent holidays at a friends house where I'd brought a bottle.  She wound up loving it, heck even our friend who doesn't like beer so it was pretty darn good.

This is a beautiful beer and I'll be sad when I run out of it at my shop, but it's selling steady and not just too me, but something that I've noticed over the last year.  I don't buy more then one beer of a type from a brewery.  Unless it's brilliant.  Then I'll indulge in it by picking up a couple extra bottles.

At $17 to $20 a $650ml bottle it's a damn good deal and I will just say this, when we're looking at the last case in the country...it's going home with me.

Nose:       23/25
Taste:      23/25
Finish:      21/25
Balance:   22/25

Overall:    89/100