Weyerbacher Brewing on track, after a struggle

In many ways, Weyerbacher Brewing’s Imperial Pumpkin Ale — released for the first time in Atlanta last week — epitomizes the company’s unconventional approach to the craft beer business.

In recent years, pumpkin ale has become increasingly popular as a fall seasonal style. But Weyerbacher’s 8 percent alcohol take pushes the envelope, with heaps of malt and spices (notably clove, cinnamon and nutmeg), that make most other versions seem wimpy by comparison.

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Dan Weirback grows hops at his Lehigh County, Pa., farm.

BOB TOWNSEND
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• Bob Townsend is editor of Southern Brew News, a bimonthly beer publication distributed throughout the Southeast.

“The Imperial Pumpkin is our biggest selling seasonal, as of this year,” says Dan Weirback, founder and president of the Easton, Pa., company, who admits pumpkin ale isn’t his favorite style. “We refused to make it for years. But when we finally did, I said, ‘I refuse to make another 5 percent pumpkin ale. We’ll do an imperial pumpkin ale at 8 percent, and make it something special.’ “

Weyerbacher entered the Atlanta market in July, much to the delight of many a local beer geek. But the company has been around since 1995, a date Weirback marks as a boom time for craft brewery startups.

“From ‘95 to ‘97 was a fad stage,” Weirback says. “There were an enormous number of start-ups in those three years. There was a lot of media attention, and everybody started to give microbrews a try. But like any other fad, it lasted a year or two and went away. By 1998, the breweries that hadn’t established a real customer base started dropping like flies.”

Like so many other American craft breweries, Weyerbacher tried to build its business on mainstream beers, including the ubiquitous pale ale. By 1997, though, Weirback began creating bigger, more unusual offerings, and soon the brewery became known for its award-winning, 11.1 percent abv (alcohol by volume) Blithering Idiot Barleywine and several Belgian-style beers.

While Weyerbacher survived the microbrew bust by carving out its own niche, Weirback admits that his company didn’t really begin to prosper until around 2003. “That’s when we saw the big growth,” he says. “And I can’t help but believe that has to do with the Internet and the beer boards and rating sites.”

Many of the beer geeks who frequent those sites tend to favor so-called “extreme beers,” which is fine by Weirback, who has settled on a year-round portfolio for 2008 that, in addition to Blithering Idiot, includes four more big ales.

Hops Infusion (6.2 percent abv) is a strong, hoppy India pale ale. Double Simcoe IPA (9 percent abv) is made exclusively with the highly aromatic but smooth Simcoe hop variety. Merry Monks (9.2 percent abv) is a very drinkable Belgian-style golden ale. And Old Heathen (8 percent abv) is a dark, roasty imperial stout. Weyerbacher also has six seasonals, including Quad (11.9 percent abv), a complex Belgian abbey-style ale that will be released around Thanksgiving, as well as a limited-edition series of high gravity ales aged in oak bourbon barrels.

“Obviously, those kinds of beers have made us successful,” Weirback says. “The last three months, our sales are up by 50 percent. We had 40 percent growth last year. And as we look toward the future, we’d rather grow with those unusual and boutique styles, rather than the more common beers that you have to produce in huge volumes to make a profit.

“The Imperial Pumpkin Ale is an 8 percent beer, but people are considering it very approachable — which I think it is. But what that means is that we’re changing the thinking as to what’s a standard beer and what’s an approachable beer. Some people might say, ‘Oh, it’s all about more alcohol.’ But 8 percent is far less than any wine. And we’re getting to the point of appreciating beer more like wine. We don’t want people downing mugs of the pumpkin ale. We want them to savor it in a wine glass or a snifter.”