Pecan Dream
Holy City Brewing

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From:
Holy City Brewing
 
South Carolina, United States
Style:
American Brown Ale
ABV:
6%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.95 | pDev: 13.42%
Reviews:
16
Ratings:
50
Status:
Active
Rated:
Sep 16, 2019
Added:
Dec 12, 2011
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  10
We don’t blame you if you don’t believe us, but this beer was born in a dream. Sean arrived at the brewery one day, having woken from a dream where we brewed two beers. One was made with boiled peanuts, and the other with pecans. For logistical reasons, among others, we decided we had to make with ones with pecans. After sourcing 150 lbs of them, we split them up amongst ourselves, roasting every last nut in our respective home ovens. 5 pounds of those home-roasted pecans were added per barrel of this American brown ale, imparting a great nutty nose that presents itself more as the beer warms up.

Feel free to consult your psychology textbooks for “dreams about nuts” at this point.

25 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4 by Wrigfen from South Carolina

Sep 16, 2019
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Reviewed by strohme2 from Michigan

3.57/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Dark brown pour, fluffy tan head that fades quickly. Smell is oaky, maple, nuts. Super sweet, nuttiness, smoke. Thin mouthfeel, a bit cloying aftertaste. Different, but a one and done for me.
Aug 25, 2016
 
Rated: 3.96 by von_kaiser from Connecticut

Jun 20, 2016
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Reviewed by thatche2 from Georgia

3.92/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 12 oz can into a snifter glass.

Appearance is dark brown with one finger thick head and decent retention. Head appears creamy and inviting with good lacing around the glass.

The smell is earthy nuts/pecans with some woody and floral notes.

Taste has nice caramel malt backbone with good pecan flavor coming through on the finish. The pecan flavor surges in for half a second on the mid palate and vanishes rather quickly. There is not much roast as expected from a brown ale. Sweetness is moderate in the form of caramel and molasses with fairly low bitterness. The one complaint is that the finish is slightly watered down, which mutes the flavors a bit.

Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy with a lot of carbonation (nicely effervescent). The beer has a good medium bodied feel without being heavy. The finish is slightly watery.

Overall this is smooth yet nicely carbonated brown ale with some good pecan flavors. This is a great beer to enjoy after a long day at work. I prefer a little more body, but this beer is quite enjoyable in its current form.
Apr 21, 2016
 
Rated: 3.76 by jshusc from South Carolina

Apr 18, 2016
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Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

3.67/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Malty nutty brown ale, with some pecan taste, sweet and sticky. A big brown foamer. OK drinkability, maybe on a very hot day. Thanks for the extra can, Brian.
Apr 10, 2016
 
Rated: 4.39 by zachthelaxer93 from South Carolina

Apr 07, 2016
 
Rated: 4.26 by PHarm from Georgia

Mar 06, 2016
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Reviewed by Pourharddrinkslow from South Carolina

3.84/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Light brown with frothy white foam this beer is very nutty and strong on the pecan flavor in a slightly sweet way. this is a nice treat from your typical brown ale goes down easy
Feb 08, 2016
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Reviewed by TonyLema1 from South Carolina

4.12/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
L: mahogany with a thin lacing tan head
S: faint nuttiness
T: caramel and malts without being too sweet
F: very creamy
I: another hit from Holy City, recommend
Feb 07, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by sonofliberty2 from South Carolina

Jan 14, 2016
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Reviewed by DavoleBomb from Pennsylvania

2.17/5  rDev -45.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 1.75
Can poured into a snifter.

3.0 A: A great deal overcarbonated - this took a half dozen pours to get a full glass. Deep brown practically black color. Head is a beige foam. Hard to judge retention on an overcarbed brew, but a short ring of lacing is left.

2.75 S: Dry, dusty toastiness. The pecans are rather tame and barely detectable. In fact, this is much less nutty than at least half of the browns out there that don't have nuts in them. Mild tangy caramel. Underwhelming here.

2.0 T: The tanginess is stronger in the taste. I'm not sure if this is due to an early infection, a stange manifestation of the overcarbonation, or just the way that it's supposed to be. In any case, it doesn't taste great. Again there's a dry toastiness and just a slight nuttiness.

1.75 M: Lighter medium body. Well overcarbonated. Somewhat watery rather than creamy.

1.75 D: Obviously not what the brewer intended, but I have to review the result rather and not the plan.
Jan 12, 2016
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Reviewed by pjhalifax from South Carolina

2.81/5  rDev -28.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Purchased a six pack at Charleston Beer Exchange and, from glancing at other reviews, I can only guess something has gone wildly wrong with the cans I got. The beer is overcarbed and has a sour note that makes me think there's been a packaging issue. I don't get much in the way of pecan even after letting the beer warm up -- tastes mostly like a brown ale that went off the tracks somewhere.
Dec 24, 2015
 
Rated: 4.25 by JeffKowalek from Tennessee

Dec 13, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by Dave_Treat from Virginia

Nov 15, 2015
 
Rated: 3.82 by cauthen22

Nov 07, 2015
 
Rated: 4.21 by huntermop from South Carolina

Nov 03, 2015
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Reviewed by mdfb79 from New York

4/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Had several of these on tap around King St. in Charleston. Pretty nice, lots of nutty notes, roasted malts, peanuts, chalk, cocoa notes. One of their better beers IMO.
Mar 12, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by RavenForBeer from Georgia

Dec 11, 2014
 
Rated: 2.8 by Bill-w from South Carolina

Nov 19, 2014
Pecan Dream from Holy City Brewing
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 50 ratings