Two Tastings, Many Different Opinions. Idiot's Drool, and Bitch's Brew.

Weyerbacher's Idiot's Drool

Well tonight was the night. Broke out two beers I have been holding on to waiting for the right moment to open. A friend was celebrating their birthday and enjoyed different beers so why not. But the reservations I had in bringing these particular beers were partially for good reason.

It was about time the Idiot's Drool got opened. After stewing over when to open one, who to have it with, and whether to sell or trade a bottle or two, I decided just to open one up. But it was the wrong crowd to taste it with. The Bitches Brew on the other hand was a hit with everyone. It hit to everyone's liking(or should I say expectations), and was definitely the overall favorite.

To being, we drank the Idiot's Drool. Touted by me as such a rare beer that most people will never get a chance to try it. So it had built up quite a reputation before any of us even knew what it tasted like. Even me! Right from the get go it looked nothing like a beer at all and people became skeptic. Then the smell built more doubt. And finally the taste sealed it for most. Worst comment of the night, "this tastes like beef broth". But this was coming from people who don't drink craft beer aside from my wife and I and the person celebrating their birthday. Was it really that bad?

After sitting with the glass for a long time and smelling it over and over, then taking a sip now and then,  the beer began to build on me. Complexity. And depth, that was downright overwhelming. Aside from the flavors that kept changing sip after sip, and the occasional puckering of the lips due to the sourness, I realized there was nothing like this possibly on earth. And that's when it clicked. Idiot's Drool is by no means a beer going by the common definition of beer. It is a brewer's experiment with what can happen with beer if you play jazz with it.

Dogfish Head's Bitches Brew

Which leads up into the Bitch's Brew. Unlike the Drool, Bitch's Brew was closer to the common definition of a beer. Poured with a nice head, it didn't have a syrup like body, and more of the common taste characteristics of beer were present in it. Needless to say it was a hit with everyone. The gesho used in place of the hops definitely added a complex bitter flavor to it. And I found a very earthy overall body that was enjoyable, complex, and hard to pin point at the same time. There is a characteristic that I found very similar to chewing a coffee bean. But a coffee bean with a thin coating of dark chocolate.

Bitch's Brew was the fan favorite for the night, Idiot's Drool took a back seat. Not because one beer one better than another. But we have been raised and grown up with a very common perception of what beer is. When people who drink craft beer, or like tonight don't drink craft beer often, try these wacky ones that breweries are offering, we need to get the idea out of our heads that we are drinking beer. We are drinking what a beer can do when given the reins and let loose to do what it wants with itself! This is what the people needed to do tonight and what I need to do in the future as well.

Cheers!

Check out my reviews of both the Idiot's Drool and the Bitch's Brew by clicking their link;

Weyerbacher's Idiot's Drool

Dogfish Head's Bitch's Brew