The month of July is always full of birthdays for me. Between my mom, both my brothers and my friends, I spend much of my month shopping for gifts. Luckily, there is one birthday that I actually receive gifts from, and that birthday belongs to Weyerbacher Brewing Company.
Every July, Weyerbacher celebrates their birthday by releasing a new anniversary beer. I have been a huge fanboy for their anniversary beers ever since I got my hands on my first, Sixteen. This dark braggot ale was released in 2011 to celebrate their sixteenth anniversary and was also a 2011 Great American Beer Fest gold medal winner. Weyerbacher’s anniversary beers always follow two simple requirements. Every version is 10% ABV or above and every version is an extreme beer. The beer styles fluctuate year by year and have included a “weizendoppelbock,” a smoked imperial stout, a rye barleywine (with a whopping 50% rye malt) and a wheat wine, just to name a few. After trying Sixteen I quickly set out to hunt down some of their older anniversary iterations. Since then I have been able to try all of them except three that have eluded me to this day. I am constantly on the lookout every time I go into a bottle shop for an older anniversary beer because I have never had one that didn’t love, and they also age very well.
This month, Weyerbacher has released Nineteen, the newest in their anniversary line. Nineteen is a 10% ABV tart imperial wheat ale brewed with mango. To create this unique brew Weyerbacher created two different beers they eventually blended to create the right balance. The first part of the blend is a super-Berliner Weisse that was blended with the second part, a higher alcohol mango wheat beer. I recently got to try this unique creation and it definitely did not let me down.
I poured the 12 ounce bottle into a tulip glass. The lightly carbonated liquid shined orange with a reddish hue and was topped with a small head. The tulip glass emitted aromas of mango, wheat, allspice, citrus, grassy notes and sweet corn, and the alcohol was also present in the smell. When Nineteen hits your tongue you get a burst of bright flavors, which start out sweeter with notes of mango, strawberry and blood orange. This is followed up with a more tart lemon flavor with light acidity and a slight bitterness, and then the beer finishes with a slight booziness. Even with the slight booziness this beer is fantastic! It’s got a great balance of the sweet and fruity side that plays well with the tart and citrusy side. I plan to stock up on a couple four packs to add to my cellar since, like all Weyerbacher anniversary beers, the brewers suggest that it should cellar quite well. These anniversary beers are only brewed once, so make sure to get your hands on one before they’re gone for good!
To keep updated on Weyerbacher’s upcoming beers you can visit their website, like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.
