August 24, 2001 -- When fellow beer writers Gary Monterosso and Mark Haynie invited me to go on a beer tasting road trip with them last spring, the brewery they were most enthusiastic about having me visit was Heavyweight Brewing of Ocean Township, New Jersey. So great was their enthusiasm, in fact, that I didn't bother looking at a map before agreeing to the journey. Had I noticed that Heavyweight was located a considerable distance from Philadelphia, where I was staying during the run of the annual Book and the Cook Festival, I might have reconsidered.

After having tasted Tom Baker's beers, I'm glad my road atlas stayed on the shelf.

True to the name of his brewery, Heavyweight's owner and brewer Tom Baker makes big beers - high in alcohol and massive in flavour. He also leans toward unusual and obscure beer styles, like gruit and Baltic-style porter. And in what is perhaps the greatest example of his fringe mentality, he even brings prominent beer writers in to brew with him.

Heavyweight brews four year-round beers, as well as a handful of seasonals. I was able to taste most of them both at the brewery and under more controlled conditions at my office.

Looking at the Heavyweight portfolio, it's tough to identify any single one of the quartet that might qualify as the brewery's flagship. But if a choice had to be made, my vote would go to Lunacy. This 7.7% ABV Belgium-inspired golden ale has a fragrant and fruity aroma with notes of melon and canned peaches, plus a firm, moderately fruity body with notable alcohol and some spiciness. As it matures in the bottle, Lunacy develops a more developed character - a five-month-old bottle displayed a significantly more rounded and complex structure than did a fresher version.

Heavyweight's Balthus is described on the label as an "O.V.S. Ale," which Baker says stands for "Our Very Special Ale" and means that he has no idea what else to call it. Very broadly speaking, it could be slotted into the abbey-style dubbel category. The colour is muddy, dark brown and the aroma is chocolaty, with some light spicy notes and hints of Madeira and faint raisin. The flavour is a little confused, with cocoa and spice notes, and fruit (cherry?) lingering in the background. The best thing about it is the finish - warm and mellow without being at all cloying.

The last of the regular brews is Perkuno's Hammer Imperial Porter, a Baltic-style porter constructed with the input of Philadelphia-based beer writer and author Lew Bryson. (In the interests of fairness, I should also mention that the Two Gruits was concocted with the valuable assistance of Ale Street News publisher Tony Forder.)

I like the Baltic interpretation of porter - a strong, bottom-fermented brew typified by the likes of Saku Porter - and I like this beer. The nose is deep, dark chocolate while the body has the characteristic crispness of the style and a well-developed palate of slightly oily roastiness, hoarhound candy and the rich, slightly bitter chocolate of the aroma. The finish shows a warming alcohol and lingering bitter-sweet roast. All in all, a very nice testament to an underappreciated style of beer.

Heavyweight also brews a trio of seasonal beers: a strong (6.8%), lightly spicy and fruity (mandarin and kaffir lime) wheat beer called Turbidity; Old Salty, a rich and round barley wine conceived with the help of beer writer and cartoonist Bill Coleman; and a new and untasted Stickenjab Alt Bier, an unconventionally strong (7%) altbier brewed in co-operation with the New Jersey Association of Beerwriters, including the gentlemen who brought me to the brewery in the first place.

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