Hell For Certain - Bluegrass Brewing Co. - East St. Matthew's

FormatKid

Tennessee

3.63/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I recieved this beer via Trade probably close to a year ago now. It's been awhile since I've done a review but I'm ready to jump back in.

Belgian Dark I figure this is a style that a little age won't hurt but looking at the ABV it's a little lower than I'd expect so I worry a little bit.

I poured this beer out of a 12oz bottle into a goblet. The body is a little more translucent than I'd expect, usually a good thing but I expect a little murk in a Belgian Dark, practically no head at all and what there is at first quickly recedes into absolutely nothing. The color itself is nice though a nice tawny ruby brown..

The smell is very muted. Faint apple and pear esters. The smell of Belgian yeast I so enjoy is barely perceptable, just a teeny-tiny twinge of must.

The taste turns me about a little bit, the appearance and scent had set me up for disappointment but I feel this is not quite the case. Nice firm apple flavors up front. Clean solid malt profile, again not as much must from the yeast as I would like in this beer. Nice caramel kick in the rear of the palate. The beer is rather light bodied, due to use of some type of sugar I'd assume.

This has to be the most "drinkable" (in the sense of having a few in one sitting) Belgian Dark I've ever had.I could imagine savoring a few of these in a row.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2005 02:56:53 | More by FormatKid

harpus

Alabama

3.25/5  rDev -9.5%

01-03-2013 18:54:33 | More by harpus

cosmonick

Indiana

3.75/5  rDev +4.5%

11-22-2012 01:26:56 | More by cosmonick

bzach

Indiana

3.75/5  rDev +4.5%

10-16-2012 05:19:04 | More by bzach

t0rin0

California

3/5  rDev -16.4%

08-24-2012 01:41:00 | More by t0rin0

DrNo

Australia

3/5  rDev -16.4%

01-16-2012 23:29:12 | More by DrNo

mikesgroove

South Carolina

3.58/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

nice dark brown color with this tin wispy head of off white that capped the top only for a slight time offering little in the way of side lacing. aroma of roasted malts, light smoke, and hints of chocolate, nice and warming, but lacked the punch i was looking for. flavor was more of the same, not bad at all, had all the right markers there with light peat, lots of chocolate, deep roasted profile, just too light for me to be honest. thin feel

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2011 00:40:23 | More by mikesgroove

johncampbell

Kentucky

4.33/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

To Hell with this. This beer is madness in a bottle. It tastes so good and is so easy drinking that one quickly forgets the high abv. I did. I had several of these at the BBC Taproom on Clay and Main. Afterwards, I thought it would be a good idea to take my longboard down the block to the Louisville Skatepark. Brilliant. I think I broke my wrist right before I bounced my chin off the concrete. Hell For Certain. Delicious. Drink with caution.

Serving type: on-tap

11-05-2010 01:24:46 | More by johncampbell

jwinship83

Illinois

3.15/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

12oz bottle picked up on a recent trip to kentucky. drank from my duvel tulip.

A- this one pours out a murky looking reddish brown colored body with a small beige head on it. the head lasts for a while before receding, and leaves behind a few randomly placed spots of lacing.

S- belgian yeast is the first thing that i notice. after that comes a myriad of fruits. apples, pears, plums, cherries, and a little bit of orange. interesting. some bubblegum/banana in here also.

T- the taste isnt nearly as inviting as the smell, and is kind of a let down. the fruits are in here, but alot less pronounced. the yeast is the main contributor to the flavor, offering a bit of banana and bubble gum.

M- thin and watery. highly carbonated.

D- after the smell this one sort of fell apart on me. i dont think id seek it out again.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2010 15:37:27 | More by jwinship83

wisrarebeer

Wisconsin

3.48/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 750ml.

A: deep, dark copper color
S: yeasty, gutsy, but not a ton of Belgian character, hints of candy sugar
T: not bad, astringent, yeasty, and hints of burnt candy sugar, but lacking a true Belgian focus
M: decent, easy drinking, great carbonation, much like trad Belgian beers with thick head that lasts
D: ok, but lacks overall traditional Belgian dubbel quality, getting there but not there yet

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2009 23:03:12 | More by wisrarebeer

eyncognito

Wisconsin

3.68/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Thanks to my boss for picking a few of these up for me while touring through Bourbon country Kentucky.

Pours a dull crimson into my Duvel tulip with a thin collar. Orange and red highlights peek through. A rockier head would add to the already inviting color, but oh well. The aroma shines bright with some bigtime spices, allspice, nutmeg, and hints of mild cinnamon. Fruits emerge as this ale warms- mostly apple and pear, a bit odd for a belgian dark ale that there are no notes of dark or pitted fruit, but pleasing nonetheless. Mild chocolate notes also emerge as this ale warms up.

Taste follows up, building on the nose-the same spices again, only with mild clove (faint) and more fruits this time, again apple, pear, but hints at berries. Overall somewhat sweet, but had a mild metallic flavor, but the overall spice from the yeast? is enough to forgive the metallic character. Malt is sweet caramel, but doesn't really offer the toffee-ness. Too bad, but finishes with a clean hop dryness. Mouthfeel is somewhat thin for a dark ale and lacks the carbonation that many American Belgian offerings seem to miss, although the almost peppery spice notes work well with the tight bubbles in the carbonation.

Overall a well done ale. Compared to a Belgian Dark Ale, it is pedestrian. That said, I enjoyed drinking a few of this. Pleasurable and worth purchasing.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2009 05:34:25 | More by eyncognito

kels

Virginia

3.73/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to bamadog for sharing this local brew with me. Poured from bottle into a pint.

Appearance: Pours an opaque plum-flesh, orangey-red color, almost rust, with a 1/2 finger cream-colored, smooth and thick head. The head fades and retains at a thick skim, holding well throughout the drink, leaving little spots of lacing here and there.

Smell: Really sweet and caramelly malts with chewy raisins, apricots, dates and prunes. Not much hop presence to speak of, but not so unusual for this style.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Taste is full of the chewy, syrupy fruit and malts along with a slight tartness and bitterness from the hops. Wheaty, dry grains are accompanied by a spiciness that I can't put my finger on but reminds me of cinnamon, allspice or nutmeg. The spice throws the taste a little off-balance. The feel is super-sticky, somewhat viscous, and slightly stale.

Drinkability: Moderate. The taste is fairly balanced and not too overwhelming, and the sticky feel is a little heavy.

Pretty solid offering from BBC who I'm not typically so impressed by. Not an incredible beer, but a really solid and drinkable intro to Belgians from a good local company.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2009 13:05:57 | More by kels

bamadog

Kentucky

3.63/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The first time I had this on tap and it seemed like a much better drink. This time, from the bottle, it just didn't have some of the same flavors but overall it's not a bad offering from BBC, which typically seems kind of average to me. Poured from a bomber.

Appearance: A pretty dark and cloudy brown (almost like a thick instant iced tea?) with a thick 2+ finger head that is light tan (almost a cinammon color) with pretty solid retention; lots of sediment floating through the body and sitting on the bottom of the glass.

Smell: Caramel, raisins, some candied fruits and spices.

Taste: Strong caramel presence and a fair amount of maltiness; strong presence of raisins and the candied fruits and the spiciness really becomes much more presrent -- I would say coriander and nutmeg; it's sweet and tart all at the same time.

Mouthfeel: Relatively dry; moderate carbonation but still fairly smooth. Leaves a funny aftertaste in the mouth, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is.

Drinkability: Moderate. It's kind of a heavier beer in the body and the flavors weren't quite as balanced as I've had in some other Belgian darks. Not bad overall, but I feel like I was a little too excited about coming across this in the bottle. Oh well.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2009 03:24:57 | More by bamadog

endincolorado

Ohio

3.53/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Appearance- Deep, clear gold-amber-- light on head, ultra-low retention, thin lace

Smell- Sweet malty character, with some yeast and notes of baked bread

Taste- Slightly blander than I expected, pale malt, bread, light yeasty spice

Mouthfeel- fairly thin and flabby, low on carbonation

D- I expected a little more from this beer -not one I'll seek out for another round.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2009 23:21:10 | More by endincolorado

bluesoul

Kentucky

4.28/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at O'Shea's on Baxter in Louisville. Poured into snifter.

A - The beer arrived a dark amber, with almost no head to it. I didn't watch the pour so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt. Lacing was decent at best.

S - The smell was a lot better than the looks. In my notes I described it as "luxurious", due to the rich profile of it. The nose was primarily malty with hints of nut. Slight funk when swirled, not much sweetness to the nose.

T - Very well balanced attack, barley opens up to a mild heart and finished with a very nice hop kick. Hops tend to build up towards the back of the tongue. I'm not quite far enough along to really pick anything out with this one but that didn't make it any less tasty.

M - Super smooth, light to medium bodied, carbonation was good. Finish was nice and clean, though increasingly hoppy. Hoppy aftertaste but not overpowering.

D - Eminently drinkable for any occasion, I foresee a session of these soon. It was gone all too soon.

As a bit of trivia, Hell For Certain is named after an area of the same name in Southeastern KY, just a bit south of "Hell Creek" and "Whynot?" You really can't make these things up.

Serving type: on-tap

01-21-2009 02:18:50 | More by bluesoul

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.18/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Some alcohol, yeast and malt in nose. Whitish foam. Very mild brownish body. Some yeast in taste, bown sugar and pepper and cloves and raisin.Not too drinkable, and a fairly mediocre Belg. Above average mouthfeel and appropriate carbonation.FOund at Warehouse Beverages.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2009 13:32:20 | More by northyorksammy

jkrich

Indiana

3.83/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had a 10 oz. glass of this at a local eatery in Jeffersonville, IN.

Poured a deep, golden, almost bronze like color with a small foamy white head. It was very clear with multiple bubbles.

The only disappointing aspect of this beer was the aroma; I simply could not discern much. There was an indistinct sweet aroma, but not much else.

The taste was somewhat sweet (though never cloying even after it warmed) with a grainy, biscuit like flavor. The taste became a little more complex as the ale warmed. As I have had very little experience with this style, I don't know if it is a good representation of the style. I did expect more complexity.

Moderately carbonated and medium bodied; left some sweetness on the tongue.

For a 6.6 ABV this is extremely drinkable, but I don't think I could drink many of them because of the sweetness. I would definately order it again.

Serving type: on-tap

11-27-2008 15:38:14 | More by jkrich

mobyfann

Ohio

3.95/5  rDev +10%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Paid around $1.79 for a single...

The beer pours a brown colored base with minimum head and no lacing. The aroma is a mixture of sweet aromatic malts with some fig and raisin characteristics.

The taste is similar to the aroma, low carbonation, with a sweet aftertaste. Feels pretty smooth in the mouth and at 6.6%abv very drinkable.

Final Thought: Solid Belgian Strong from one of the Midwest's finest breweries. A little sweeter than most of this style.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2008 20:28:28 | More by mobyfann

tmitch75

Illinois

4.18/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Clear dark orange (almost red) color. A half inch of off-white head drops to a thin swirl but leaves a ton of lacing.

Super-sweet smell, like fruit or candy. I like it.

Sweet fruity flavor with a nice earthy hop flavor. Sweetness is strong but not over the top. Quite good.

A bit thin in the mouth but not bad. Very tasty and drinkable. I am very glad I found this one (on a recent business trip to the Louisville area).

Tasted on 4/3/08 (bottled Oct '07).

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2008 15:42:17 | More by tmitch75

blackhammer

Indiana

2.4/5  rDev -33.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Picked up on a shopping trip in Indy, only my second Belgian Dark, so I thought I'd give it a go.

A: Poured a dark reddish brown oak color in the glass with some cloudiness. Poured a rocky head, about a half inch, with lingered on the glass for some time.

S: Strong smell of oats, rye, and cherries underneath both. No hop aroma to be found by my nose.

T: Very mild, roasted oats flavor. Much milder, than I would have expected given, the robustness of its appearance. It seems like all the work on this beer went into it's appearance and smell. Nothing was left for the flavor itself. None of the underlying aromas come through on the palate.

M: Very thin on the mouth and throat. Not a bad feeling, just not memorable. Just too light in body for a beer that appeared to be much more.

D: An easy drinker, certainly, but I expected a lot more when it poured. It just seems lacking in punch in flavor and feel for having such an intimidating moniker.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2007 03:54:34 | More by blackhammer

Duster72

Indiana

2.88/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a nice dark amber with an impressive off white head. Aroma is yeasty with some nuttiness and dark fruits. Taste is bready, toasty, slightly sour. Unmemorable and bland. Mouthfeel is on the light side. I drank half the bottle before getting bored with it and dumped the rest out. Moved on to something better.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2007 15:43:18 | More by Duster72

dren

Indiana

2.08/5  rDev -42.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 1.5

Pours a dark amber with a nice thick head that leaves lacing. This is the only good quality of this beer.

Smells malty and slightly nutty. A very small hint of dried fruit sweetness.

Tastes similar with the malts up front and hops afterwards. The flavors do not blend well at all. You have to swish this in your mouth to pick up some of them, very bland but bad tasting. It's like an IPA gone wrong with some Belgian yeast thrown in it. The worst attempt at this style I have had. As the beer warmed I caught a few hints of dried fruit but as soon as you pick them up they are gone. I didn't want to finish this beer which is extremely rare as I'll drink just about anything.

Mouthfeel was fairly thick but the flavor was flat. Enough carbonation. This was another high point of the beer. If I didn't have tastebuds I wouldn't mind drinking it.

Pass on this beer. Actually pass on just about everything the BBC has to offer. They have a few gems in there, but they are far and inbetween.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2007 20:46:24 | More by dren

danielharper

Michigan

3.65/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Purchased from Strong Bros. Liquor, Fayetteville, TN.

A: Pours into a snifter with a dark brown body and a thick luxurious head. Very pleasant. Head leaves serious lacing.

S: Fruity, slightly nutty, tart from the Belgian yeast strains. About what I'd expect a good-quality Belgian Dark to smell like.

T: A bit flat on flavor. Slightly tart, nutty, hints of dark cherries and maybe a touch of chocolate... but leaves the palate somehow unsatisfied. Leaves a drying aftertaste.

M: Thin, but also chewy due to the bottle fermentation.

D: Drinkable beer, and very nice for the level of alcohol... but there are a lot better Belgian Strong Dark Ales out there.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2007 02:34:38 | More by danielharper

emerge077

Illinois

3.2/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours into an Oerbier tulip a mahoghany tone, with two fingers of foam after an aggressive swirl and pour of the dregs. No actual yeast was visible in the bottle though. Moderate to low level of spotty lacing, an irregular skim of foam blankets the liquid.

Aroma is mild, sweet dark fruit, raisin, with a slight metallic edge. Sweetness becomes a little cloying over time.

Taste is of light toasted malt, raisin, and fairly ho-hum. Not really a stand-out, but ok. Burnt molasses and graham cracker. Too much diacetyl presence. Mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied, possibly due to the addition of yeast. Pretty ambiguous overall. I could finish a bottle, but didn't want another.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2007 00:46:56 | More by emerge077

flexabull

California

3.38/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a nice brown color, a bit cloudy, and with a decent head.

Aromas are sour, burnt, dusty, and tart. This doesn't really smell right...

Taste is pretty mild, but pleasant. A bit of an oaky biscuit like flavor from the malts, somewhat sweet as well. Finish is kind of tart and sour.

Mouthfeel is good. Beer has a nice full upfront feel to it.

Drinkability is pretty good. Not a great example of the style, but it's still a pretty decent beer. Easy to drink, and has some decent flavors.

Thanks for letting me try this nathan15.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2007 05:19:17 | More by flexabull