So it was that time of the week again, yes the now famous Tuesday Night at 381 Main. As mentioned previously, 381 Main hosts brewery nights about twice a month, and this weeks event was all about Weyerbacher. For those of you unfamiliar with them, they are based right over the river in Easton, PA and produce a wide variety of beers easily available in New Jersey.
Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Although this was not 381’s Oktoberfest, it’s still October after all and that means some fall seasonals must be making their way into the lineup. The featured beers for this event were Imperial Pumpkin, AutumnFest, Double Simcoe, and Old Heathen.
Weyerbacher AutumnFest
It made the most sense to me to knock out the fall seasonals first on my adventure through Weyerbacher’s offerings. So I started the night off with the Imperial Pumpkin Ale. This is something I’ve had over the last few years, but each year’s batch comes out a little differently. I have already had a few bottles of this one this year, and I wasn’t overly impressed by it, I was hoping the draft version would have something better to offer me… and sure enough it did. The first thing you get hit with is the aroma of all the spices. Sure, anybody and everybody can dump the spice cabinet into the boil and make a spiced beer, but these flavors worked well together. It wasn’t overpowering yet it let you know they were there. The next thing you notice as soon as it hits your palate, is that the mouthfeel is very light and watery for a beer weighing in at 8%. It hid it’s alcohol content very well and at no point did I feel an overpowering alcohol flavor come through. It poured your standard pumpkin ale color, but what surprised me the most was the lack of any head or lacing the beer left behind. Overall this one was a good surprise. Compared to the bottles I have had, this was 100 times better on draft and I would order it again.
The AutumnFest was listed as an American Amber but brings through most of the flavors of a German Oktoberfest. It was the first time I had ever had the opportunity to try it. It poured a light amber color with a small head. It gave off a typical malty aroma, very similar to others of its style. The taste was sweet and malty, very mellow hop flavor, and a slightly sweet finish. Overall it was a solid Oktoberfest.
Weyerbacher Old Heathen
After the Autumn Fest I decided to switch over to the year round selections. I was in the Fall mood and was looking for a good stout to follow up the previous two fall selections. This led me to taking on Old Heathen. This one was another heavy hitter also weighing in at 8%, but once again there was no overpowering alcohol flavor. This one comes off extremely roasty, which probably has something to do with the 8 different types of malt it’s brewed with. The one thing that really through me and the Yeti for a loop was the mysterious bourbon aged nose it was giving off. For a minute there I thought it could’ve possibly been their Whiskey Barrel Aged Heresy sitting in front of me. (Heresy is their Old Heathen aged in Oak Whiskey Barrels) It became very clear once drinking it that the bourbon nose dissipated and left nothing on the palate. The head on this one was about an inch thick and with a deep brown hue to it. It left decent lacing down the back of my Weyerbacher Cuvee glass.
The last Weyerbacher of the night was of course the old reliable Double Simcoe. It’s their year-round DIPA. I’ll give you one guess to figure out what hop controls this brew… No no no it’s not Mosaic the slut of all hops, it’s Simcoe. This 9% DIPA is held together by a strong (too strong for my liking) malt backbone. I can see this one appeasing the masses, and therefore being a great year round DIPA. Personally I don’t want my DIPA’s to give me a heavy malty mouthfeel. I want an explosion of hops hitting me in the face, which unfortunately this one couldn’t give me. But all was not lost on this beer, while it was nothing more than a typical DIPA it’s Simcoe hops did stay on the palate for longer than most.
Once I conquered the last of the Weyerbacher selections, I decided my night couldn’t end without some pizza and a beer to wash it down with.
After a long debate, and help of friends, I decided to not get my usual Buffalo Chicken Pizza, rather I was going to hit the other side of the spectrum. I went for one of their newest creations, the Jersey Sunset Pizza. This beast came loaded with Pepperoni, Pineapple, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Basil, and probably something else I’m currently forgetting. This one didn’t disappoint at all, I inadvertently ate all 8 slices instead of saving half for lunch as I previously intended.
After all that eating I had to order a Carton Pumpkin Cream Ale to wash it down. Shockingly enough for all of you that know me, this was my first Pumpkin Cream of the season. Yes, you heard that right, my first one. While pumpkin beers in general are not my absolute favorite style, this one sure comes through different than the rest. You don’t get hit with a pumpkin pie spice attack, you don’t get blasted with a severe sugar rush like Pumking, you just get what you came for, the pumpkin. As I had already eaten an entire pizza and had four other beers, this one helped me along to the end of the night.
The one thing that this night made me realize, was how craft beer should really be enjoyed socially. About halfway through the night of checking into my beers on Untappd, a friend and fellow user of Untappd came on over to say hey. There is no better surprise than drinking a beer and having a good conversation with someone else who shares the same passion about it as you. So if you haven’t already, go download Untappd for your phone, or use their website when you get home and check into the beers you are having so you can explore through the craft beer world with others. The recommendations and warnings you get about beers from your friends is exponentially useful.
So please go out and use Untappd you can find both The Rager and The Yeti on it. Stop by a see what we are drinking and leave us a comment.
John, 381’s Event Director also has another event set up for later this month. On October 29th he will be hosting Terrapin Night at 381, so make sure to stop on by and say hey.
Until we rage again.
Cheers