Weyerbacher? 'Cause They're Awesome, That's Why!

It’s hard not to have a soft spot for number three.  One is great, always reliably quality, having won hearts & minds across the board.  Two offers a good complement to one, arguably just as great, but a little scrappier, a little edgier, always vying for that top position with something to prove.  The Beatles & the Stones.  Coke & Pepsi.  Chocolate & vanilla.  Even  Bud & Miller.  So it goes with Pennsylvania’s craft breweries: Victory’s well-recognized, having gotten in early & offered a well-made line-up over the past 18 years; as of 2013, they were the 28^th largest craft brewer in the US.  Out of Harrisburg came Tröegs, a little newer (1997), not quite as big, but also yielding a consistently high-quality product with a few cult favorites.  You can see these two neck-&-neck to be at the head of PA’s craft brewing culture.

Then there’s number three.  I’m not sure that Weyerbacher’s volume would necessarily make them the third largest PA craft brewer, but I always think of them as the dark horse in the triumvirate.  Weyerbacher predates Victory by just a year & has always been a little different.  They’re that “Oh yeah!” brewery for me, not always at the front of my mind, but when I remember them I get excited.  It’s kind of like “What do we want to order in tonight?  There’s pizza, there’s Chinese.  Hmm, what else?  Ooh, how about Thai?  Hell yeah, I love Thai!”  Know what I mean?  Number three doesn’t have as much at stake as one & two, which gives it a little more freedom to just be itself.  People love the Beatles & Stones, but the Who has a niche all its own.

Practically from the get-go, Dan Weirback & company haven’t been afraid to go big.  Not sure that I’d call it their flagship, but the beer that put them on the map was their 12% barleywine, Blithering Idiot.  Distributors sold out of this big boy two weeks after its initial release.  I imagine people were drawn to the name, the label art (the jester has since become Weyerbacher’s mascot), the “bang-for-your-buck” factor, & the fact that it’s a damn good barleywine.  Forging your way with a strong beer like that is no mean feat, but it didn’t take long for other high gravity brews to roll out: Raspberry Imperial Stout & its successor, Old Heathen; Tripel, which became Merry Monks; Imperial Pumpkin Ale, one of the first big pumpkin beers in my recollection, trumping the strength of Dogfish Head’s Punkin.  The list goes on.  They used to offer a variety case of their big beers.  Their Double Simcoe IPA introduced me by name to what’s become my favorite hop.  Their anniversary series, starting with Decadence (as in “decade”), has been perpetually sought-after, further experiments in high-gravity brewing – they just released Nineteen, a wheatwine with mango.  And what goes better with big, bold beers than bourbon barrels?  By taking some of their core & aging in wood they rolled out Insanity, Heresy, Prophecy, & Blasphemy.  And don’t forget Riserva…

It’s not all about big booze, though - Weyerbacher makes a solid witbier in White Sun (nee Blanche), Autumnest, Winter Ale, & continuing selection of “more-than-one-in-a-row” brews.  They’ve always seemed very hometown & handmade in the best possible way.  In the near past they underwent a design change, slicking up their label art & logo.  This was a good move as they’ve gained more ground, & craft beer has become more competitive.  They need to look as professional as they are, no doubt, though part of me always had a soft spot, too, for the old logo, which appeared taken straight from Microsoft Office circa 1995.  It was kind of cheesy & dated, sure, but it spoke to a very DIY aesthetic, & I always wondered if the brewery wasn’t sort of stubbornly, sentimentally attached to it.

As my PA Dutch friends would say, “Machts nicht.” – onward & upward.  Weyerbacher is still kickin’ it, & showing it to be a driving force on the forefront of Pennsylvania’s craft scene.  The House is thrilled to be hosting our first beer & food pairing in years, with four courses created by our own beloved Chef Brian, complemented by the excellent beers of Weyerbacher.  Featured will be the afore-mentioned Insanity (Blithering Idiot aged in bourbon barrels), Nineteen, & Imperial Pumpkin, as well as Jester’s Tree a double IPA made in collaboration with Spain’s Naparbier with Apollo, El Dorado, & an experimental hop.  This should be a really fun event, & give us a chance to flex some culinary muscles while highlighting some quality brews from a landmark brewery.  Hope to see you there, & remember: three is where it’s at!