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Hellbender Barleywine
Pisgah Brewing Co.
- From:
- Pisgah Brewing Co.
- North Carolina, United States
- Style:
- English Barleywine
- ABV:
- 9.8%
- Score:
- 89
- Avg:
- 3.99 | pDev: 7.52%
- Reviews:
- 62
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Apr 03, 2017
- Added:
- Mar 12, 2006
- Wants:
- 90
- Gots:
- 7
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by akorsak:
Reviewed by akorsak from Pennsylvania
3.87/5 rDev -3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
3.87/5 rDev -3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to ncvbc for this bottle. Opened in the wee hours of the morning at Tröegs during the Splinter Black release. This cork was a bear to get out.
A: The barleywine is a copper color, brown and orange in tandem, that is opaque. The only thing visible in the glass is the swirl of yeast particles. A small head sat atop the ale, a white color. The cork removal issues caused a slight ding here.
S: The nose has all the key ingredients of a rich barleywine, toffee and caramel and rich breads. Hops, surprisingly, aren't a factor (at the time I didn't think that it was English).
T: The spicy warmth is a nice touch on this cold day. By spices, I primarily mean brown sugar and caramel. This is by no means a quad or spiced ale. Rich caramel and toffee, aided by several years in the cellar, are chewy and sweet. Hoppiness is minor, an afterthought amongst the malts. A decent barleywine, maybe with a little too much time under its belt.
M: The mouthfeel is malt sweet, plenty of rich syrups that sit heavily on the palate.
D: A tad heavy, all the better for sharing in a sub-freezing temperature. A visually appealing bottle.
Dec 16, 2010A: The barleywine is a copper color, brown and orange in tandem, that is opaque. The only thing visible in the glass is the swirl of yeast particles. A small head sat atop the ale, a white color. The cork removal issues caused a slight ding here.
S: The nose has all the key ingredients of a rich barleywine, toffee and caramel and rich breads. Hops, surprisingly, aren't a factor (at the time I didn't think that it was English).
T: The spicy warmth is a nice touch on this cold day. By spices, I primarily mean brown sugar and caramel. This is by no means a quad or spiced ale. Rich caramel and toffee, aided by several years in the cellar, are chewy and sweet. Hoppiness is minor, an afterthought amongst the malts. A decent barleywine, maybe with a little too much time under its belt.
M: The mouthfeel is malt sweet, plenty of rich syrups that sit heavily on the palate.
D: A tad heavy, all the better for sharing in a sub-freezing temperature. A visually appealing bottle.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by darktronica from Indiana
4.36/5 rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.36/5 rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Winter 2016 bottling, pours a murky brown with little head or lacing. Sweet but fruity on the aroma, with black plums, brown sugar, candied orange, green tobacco, and floral hops. The flavors introduce a bit of assam tea, more prominent brown sugar, and vanilla. Velvety texture that makes this disappear dangerously quickly.
Apr 03, 2017Reviewed by Smakawhat from Maryland
3.97/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.97/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from the bottle into a large snifter glass.
Dark burnt chestnut brown, slightly red for the body color as well. Milky out of the bottle from the pour, hitting with minimal head creation. Faint tan, small collar, and a little pit of a sheen and tanned top.
Solid aroma. Muted and small brown sugar and sense of dates. Slightly fig fruit flavored with far less sweetness than say raisins. Solid dark fruit angle on the nose.
Palate doesn't bring too many new surprises to the table. Light brown sugars, and slight molasses in flavor on the first sip. Definitely more molasses in the mid palate with a nice sticky coating. Finishes slightly warm, but also with little flavor left to ponder, leaving all the exploring in the front and middle of the palate. Hints a little bit at creamy mouthfeel but washes quickly down the throat.
A decent barleywine.
Aug 13, 2016Dark burnt chestnut brown, slightly red for the body color as well. Milky out of the bottle from the pour, hitting with minimal head creation. Faint tan, small collar, and a little pit of a sheen and tanned top.
Solid aroma. Muted and small brown sugar and sense of dates. Slightly fig fruit flavored with far less sweetness than say raisins. Solid dark fruit angle on the nose.
Palate doesn't bring too many new surprises to the table. Light brown sugars, and slight molasses in flavor on the first sip. Definitely more molasses in the mid palate with a nice sticky coating. Finishes slightly warm, but also with little flavor left to ponder, leaving all the exploring in the front and middle of the palate. Hints a little bit at creamy mouthfeel but washes quickly down the throat.
A decent barleywine.
Reviewed by stakem from Pennsylvania
3.78/5 rDev -5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.78/5 rDev -5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bomber poured into a teku. The brew appears a clear mahogany color with really no head formation, just a couple large bubbles hang on the surface. A swirl produces of legs of alcohol clinging to the glass.
The aroma is malty sweet with caramel/molasses before getting fruity in nature from a combination of hops and alcohol. A bit of herbal and earthy feel towards the back of the nose.
The taste is sweet with a grainy aspect like biscuit malt. Contrasting that sweetness is an earthy herbal hop inclusion. It is fruity almost like apple and raison mixing with a mild oxidation aspect towards the finish.
This is a medium bodied brew with a low level of carbonation. It has a creeping alcohol warmth and overall is well made. Not the best nor worst barleywine ive had. Worth trying if you get the chance.
Aug 07, 2014The aroma is malty sweet with caramel/molasses before getting fruity in nature from a combination of hops and alcohol. A bit of herbal and earthy feel towards the back of the nose.
The taste is sweet with a grainy aspect like biscuit malt. Contrasting that sweetness is an earthy herbal hop inclusion. It is fruity almost like apple and raison mixing with a mild oxidation aspect towards the finish.
This is a medium bodied brew with a low level of carbonation. It has a creeping alcohol warmth and overall is well made. Not the best nor worst barleywine ive had. Worth trying if you get the chance.
Reviewed by GeezLynn from Colorado
4.24/5 rDev +6.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.24/5 rDev +6.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
2009 bottle (22oz) purchased from City Beverage (Raleigh) .
A: Body is light brown and shows a pretty strawberry hue under the light. Produces a scant white head with decent retention.
S: Caramel, brown sugar, toffee. Also a bit buttery and likely to be very sweet – not expecting much in the way of hops or alcohol at this age.
T: Has become quite fruity at this point – dates, marmalade, lots of brown sugar and a bit of stale bread. Surprisingly, still enough bitterness to cut the sweetness. Finishes with raisin bread, vanilla, pine needle bitterness and has hung onto a slight ethanol bite.
M: Medium body – a bit tannic and dry, and surprisingly, a decent amount of carbonation.
Figured it was getting risky to ignore this any longer, but if you enjoy smooth/sweet aged barleywines, this could have gone longer. Didn’t notice much in the way of oxidation and the carbonation was still adequate. Nice beer.
Jun 25, 2014A: Body is light brown and shows a pretty strawberry hue under the light. Produces a scant white head with decent retention.
S: Caramel, brown sugar, toffee. Also a bit buttery and likely to be very sweet – not expecting much in the way of hops or alcohol at this age.
T: Has become quite fruity at this point – dates, marmalade, lots of brown sugar and a bit of stale bread. Surprisingly, still enough bitterness to cut the sweetness. Finishes with raisin bread, vanilla, pine needle bitterness and has hung onto a slight ethanol bite.
M: Medium body – a bit tannic and dry, and surprisingly, a decent amount of carbonation.
Figured it was getting risky to ignore this any longer, but if you enjoy smooth/sweet aged barleywines, this could have gone longer. Didn’t notice much in the way of oxidation and the carbonation was still adequate. Nice beer.
Hellbender Barleywine from Pisgah Brewing Co.
Beer rating:
89 out of
100 with
107 ratings
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