Brimstone - Boom Island Brewing Company

blakelive784

Colorado

3.1/5  rDev -19.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

1 pt 9.4 fl oz brown glass bottle served in a snifter, reviewed live:

A - Pours a murky honey yellow color with a thin, white one finger head. Retention is awful. Generic and uninviting.

S - Light citrus, floral hops, bready yeast, and pale malts. Balanced and lively. Good enough.

T - Yeasty throughout. Fruity esters throughout. Citrus is prominent. Floral hops make an appearance near the end. Balanced and easy drinking.

M - Oddly thick and smooth. Not ideal for the style.

D - Incredibly easy drinking for the high alcohol but pretty bland and uninspired. Probably won't have it again.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2013 03:22:24 | More by blakelive784

kojevergas

California

3.13/5  rDev -18.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle into nonic glass in Fort Collins, Colorado.

A: Body colour is a pale yellow-copper. Head is two fingers, beige, fairly thin, without much cream at all but of good retention for the ABV. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show.

Sm: Pale malts, lemon citrus zest, lactic notes, and grassy notes. Not great for the style. An above average strength aroma.

T: Pale malts, lemon citrus, some grassy notes, more citrus zest, and maybe clove from the yeast. A fairly simple beer in the style. Decently balanced. Unimpressive. Lacks complexity and subtlety.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Slightly overcarbonated. Good thickness. I wouldn't call it refreshing.

Dr: Drinkable for the high ABV, but underwhelming. I wouldn't get this again. A passable tripel, but nothing unique or special.

C+

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2013 03:21:21 | More by kojevergas

yamar68

Minnesota

4.18/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Classic strong Belgian appearance... dark gold, clear as a bell, swelling white head retains and laces wonderfully. Loads of beading.

Citrus, pine, muddy yeast notes, more smooth than spicy, tons of banana and clove, more yeast... damn smooth.

A liquid banana split... sweet malts overpowered by pale fruits, coconut, the yeast waits until the finish to really show itself, drying up the palate in the process... again, incredibly smooth.

Give it a go if you're interested.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 01:24:35 | More by yamar68

mjryan

Minnesota

4.15/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

As good a Tripel as I've ever had. Hazy orange with a voluminous, lacy head. Yeast driven aroma displaying light banana, chamomile and citrus zest. Flavour is at first sweet, almost honey like. Clove and banana make a camio mid sip followed by a light, hoppy garden herb, dry finish. The carbonation on this one is lively, yet the body is just a tad full for my taste. Just a touch, and really I'm just searching for something in the beer to criticize. Second bottle in as many weeks. Extremely good beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2012 19:23:35 | More by mjryan

Mdog

Minnesota

3.55/5  rDev -8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Clear yellow, good carbonation, nice big head.

Smell: Light fruit--grapes, yeasty.

Taste: Fruity grape, pears, hint of alcohol. Breadiness in the background.

Overall: Kind of a generic tasting tripel, not a lot of yeasty spicy notes going on in either the smell or the taste. Nice fruity taste and body, but just feels like a "strong ale" instead of a tripel.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2012 00:25:36 | More by Mdog

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.73/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Lightly hazy, pale golden coloring, thinnish chalk white head.

Aroma: sweetness and spice, lemon and banana, especially ester-y. Alcohol begins to show through after a bit.

Taste: Once in the mouth, alcohol comes first, followed by light malt character, then citrus fruit, and spare amounts of spice. Light-bodied, fairly smooth, but something feels off in the flavor. It comes close, …but misses the mark. Too thin in the mouthfeel, I could do with some more of malt and yeast. The alcohol overcomes it, and overtakes the parts of the flavor I'd really rather be enjoying. "A bit 'hot", we like to say these days.

All in all, I'm not wild about this one, but I'll give them time to improve. And one area I really want to see them improve on is their label descriptions:

"The skinny on Brimstone: Aroma: Light fruit & interesting yeast character. As it warms, light alcohol and subtle spiciness increases. Appearance: clear and golden, long-lasting white head. Flavor: Nice balance of yeast character and spice, layered upon light fruit notes. Moderately dry with slight hop bitterness on the finish. Overall impression: A classic of a Belgian Strong! Flawless technical merit, good alcohol control, and nice fruit & spice layered on base (malt and hops) flavors. Wonderful!"

Enough with congratulating yourself on your beer, and calling it Wonderful! and saying how nice and interesting it is...or "flawless" for the love of Pete, my God, who refers to themselves on their product label as "flawless", or even "classic"? You don't get to be classic yet, and you shouldn't call yourself flawless. That's a big mistake. Who are you kidding?

It's neither classic nor flawless, and superlatives should be removed from all in-house copy. Effective now.

A quick lesson on in-house beer descriptions: say what it is, what is does, and how it does what you say it does, be positive and uplifting, but stay away from showering your own beer with your own praise. This is simple, people. And it just makes you look better.

Also, learn my lesson: stay away from exclamation points. Far away.

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2012 08:01:19 | More by feloniousmonk

ballenc

Minnesota

4.13/5  rDev +7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 750 ml bottle into an oversized wine glass.

A - Slightly hazy straw yellow color with a two finger head of foam with tight bubbles. Head retention is wonderful as it slowly recedes leaving nice lacing.

S - Fruity esters on the nose - fruit with a bit of bubblegum sweetness. A little citrus (lemony) with more pronounced tropical notes of pineapple and a bit of mango. Some limited bready malt aspects appear after the beer warms a bit. Overall, a solid Belgian ale aroma.

T - Very similar to the nose/smell but the spicy elements of the beer (cloves, black pepper and maybe some coriander) are more pronounced in the taste than in the smell. Not much in terms of hops but yet it comes across pretty balanced overall.

M - Nicely balanced on the tongue - not too watery or too thick. Quite effervescent, dry and clean.

O - Tripels are one of my favorite beer styles and I am not disappointed with this one from Boom Island. I've tried all four of their beers and this one easily ranks at the top in terms of style. I encourage others to give this one a try as it will likely surprise you.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2012 22:59:43 | More by ballenc

womencantsail

California

3.58/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a hazed yellow color with a white head. Heavy on the banana and yeast aromas. A nice spiciness, pale malt and bread, maybe a little candi sugar. Sort of watery, though. The flavor is a touch watery, but the flavors are still good. Spices and banana along with yeast and sweet bready malt. A bit of pear and sweet apple in there, too.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 21:48:49 | More by womencantsail

MattyG85

Minnesota

4.23/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from corked 750 ml bottle into a Duvel tulip glass.

Appearance: Pours a deep and slightly cloudy golden orange with a moderate amount of bubbles. Big four finger off white head slowly fades into a thin layer. Leaves a good amount of lacing on the glass.

Smell: Spicy Belgian yeast and cloves with a little coriander. Hints of citrus orange, white grape, pineapple, peach, and lemon. Good amount of candied sugars. Some bready malts with good hints of biscuit. Light earthy hops. Smells like a pretty solid Belgian.

Taste: Like the smell leads, a solid combination of spices, fruits, and bitterness. Belgian yeast up front with some clove and coriander spices. Solid citrus taste with notes of oranges, white grapes, pineapple, peach, and lemon zest. Solid bready malt background with a good taste of biscuit and cracker. Just the right amount of candied sugar. Light earthy hops add some bitterness. Very solid taste.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a medium to high carbonation. Creamy, slick, and somewhat syrupy. Fairly drying. Alcohol is hidden fairly well.

Overall: A very solid take on a Tripel here. Nice balance and fruity esters. Probably the best from this brewery so far.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2012 01:08:11 | More by MattyG85

sacrelicio

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is their best beer so far. It smells of citrus, cotton candy, pineapple, and faintly like spice. The taste is similar, with some booziness. The mouthfeel is great. Overall, a satisfying beer, they are starting to get the hang of it. This is the bizniss.

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2012 17:52:58 | More by sacrelicio