Thirsty Thursday – Founders vs Weyerbacher
I prefer buying variety pack cases because I tend to get sick of drinking 24 of the same beers. Variety packs switch it up a bit and you get a good sampling of what the brewery has to offer. This being said, I’ve probably had variety packs from 50 different brewers over the years. These two mentioned in the title are the cream of the crop. I haven’t found better bang for my buck in terms of abv, taste, and value.
Weyerbachers variety pack costs around $50 dollars. This price seems extraordinary but considering each beer is over 8% it’s like slicing that number in half and buying 2 cases. Since it’s basically 2 beers in one, they tend to get you bombed quickly. I find it nice when I can consume half the liquid and still catch the same, if not better, buzz. The 4 beers that come in this case are the Blithering Idiot, Old Heathen Imperial Stout, Hops Infusion, and the Merry Monks. The Hops Infusion is their IPA and probably my favorite. Old Heathen is the 8% stout and I’d rank highly for a stout beer. The Blithering Idiot hits 11.1% is you can hardly taste it. The Merry Monks is my least favorite but still a beer that’s better than 85% of the beers out there. This case is one that you get upset when you are coming down the homestretch.
Founders is probably the better value because it’s priced at a 40 dollar number. Considering it’s being shipped from Detroit you’d think a beer of this caliber would be priced higher. The pack consists of the Dirty Bastard (8.5%), Centennial IPA (7.2), Red Rye’s PA (6.6%), and the Porter (6.5%). With 3 ales and a porter I may be a bit biased because I like pale ales. I see the alcohol content isn’t as high as Weyerbacher but still much higher than the average case. The Dirty Bastard is the showcase of the pack and a beer I’d order at any bar if they had it. The pale ales have nice to them and I really can’t remember much about the porter. For 40 bucks though I never find myself complaining about any of the styles (which is normally the case) and with a higher than normal ABV, they get you drunk.