Lilja's Hell Hound Brown Ale - Sand Creek Brewing Company

Suds

Pennsylvania

3.74/5  rDev +18.7%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

This beer is mostly clear with some noticeable floaters, a small head, and is a dark copper color. The smell is malty...bread, a little yeast, and pie crust. Some distant fruit..berries. The taste is firm, sweet, and very malty. Some warmth, it shows its alcohol at times. The body is full and just heavy. Not bad, but not outstanding.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 23:37:59 | More by Suds

czfreeman

Michigan

3.14/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a nice ruddy copper tone. Already looks quite like a Red or Amber to me rather than a brown. Head is light, leaves decent lacing.
Smells of corn syrup, or a fake nut extract. Really sweet, malty, and pretty one-dimensional.
I can't really pick up on a hop profile or something to clean up the aroma..kinda messy.
Flavor is half a notch better. Some good peppery bitterness, roasted barley, malt, touch of grass, finishing with an almost coffee bean flavor.
Pretty light for a brown ale.I would have guessed this to be an amber ale in a taste test.
Sand Creek produces some solid brews... unfortunately this one I'll pass on in the future.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2013 01:31:54 | More by czfreeman

TaylorK

West Virginia

2.9/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75

Not sure what to think about this beer. The packaging looks a little wild and I've not heard anything about the beer or the brewer. The artwork seems a little erratic, strange and perhaps a bit over the top.

A: The beer is a very dark copper. The head, at least on my pour, was huge. It was a thick foamy head with large air bubbles throughout. The head dissipated unevenly and big chunks of the head clung to the side of the glass leaving little dry bubbles as the head went down.

S: The beer smells metallic. Almost smells like a light beer in a can even though I poured into a glass. There's also something in there with a dark roasty or chocolate aroma. That part is almost completely eclipsed by the metal though.

T: The flavor is okay. Particularly when it was cold. As it warms up, a metal flavor really comes out to match the smell. I found myself reaching out quick for a palate rinse after this one was over.

M: Light, but something from this beer really seems to feel like it sticks on the tongue.

O: Sorry. but no thanks. I was kind of unimpressed by the beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2013 01:48:32 | More by TaylorK

ummswimmin

New Jersey

3.38/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This label immediately caught my eye at the store. I had to pick it up. After all, it is certifiably luscious.

Off the pour it looks pretty good. You get a lot of foam (about three fingers). It dissipates down to scum thereafter, but the lacing it leaves behind looks really good.

I really enjoyed the smell on this. There is a lot of malt, and some chocolate notes there. I wonder how that plays in. I didn't see chocolate anywhere on the bottle. This smells really good.

The malt and nuttiness comes through pretty well. I like a lot of the aspects. Unfortunately I also pick up on some bitterness and metallic taste. I really wish they weren't there.

The metal and bitter really stay on the tongue. I wish they would back off. This really hurts the experience.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2012 19:29:49 | More by ummswimmin

htomsirveaux

Texas

3.65/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. bottle tried 9 Jan 2012. Courtesy of R&S, thanks! Served in the 0.4 L Gordon Biersch becker.

Large light brown head. Minimal carbonation. Clear orange brown in color. Aroma of light malts, a touch nutty, bready, some vanilla and ethanol. Starts much the same, lightly malty with a bit of nutty bitterness. Hints of vanilla and brown sugar, toffee. Medium to light body, ethanol is slightly warming and present throughout. Moderately astringent-bitter finish. Lingering light nutty bitter aftertaste.

Decent but these brown ales that are fairly high in alcohol always seem a bit not quite right to me.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2012 05:26:13 | More by htomsirveaux

DavoleBomb

Ohio

3/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured into a snifter.

4.0 A: Lightly hazed plum color. Two fingers of creamy beige head with good retention and glass covering lacing.

3.0 S: Strange. The strongest aroma is an almost tangy plum fruitiness. After that, the brown ale settles in offering a thrust of toastiness followed by raisin and a light nuttiness. It's decent, but would be better without the tanginess.

3.0 T: Fortunately, it's a little cleaner in the taste. Less plum and more toastiness and nuttiness. Grainy malts. Still hints of raisin and tobacco. I can't tell if this is overly hopped in the bittering category or there's an ashy bitterness from the malt.

3.5 M: Lighter medium body. A touch too much carbonation. Mild, but pleasant creaminess. Bitter finish and aftertaste.

2.5 D: This would be a better beer if the bitterness was put in check. The malts don't have a chance to shine. Still, worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2012 02:37:50 | More by DavoleBomb

BB1313

Ohio

2.63/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

12oz bottle poured into a snifter. Pours hazy auburn with red hues, beautiful huge off white head, great retention and sticky lacing, very very good looking beer. Maple is present in the nose with a slight nuttiness. There's a sweet subtle alcohol aroma as well. A little oak/wood in the mix. Wow, this beer is bitter as hell and really spicy. The flavors feel meshed together with a touch of booze and just fall flat. Lots of malt and bread notes as well. Now the body on this beer is really nice, it's on the heavier side of medium-bodied, creamy and pretty smooth reguardless of it finishing somewhat hot.

Interesting take on a brown ale, it's definitely not traditional. It's like a Brown Ale, Doppelbock, IPA, Altbier and whatever else all rolled up in one.

I've had Lilja's Sasquatch Stout a couple years ago and loved it, two years I revisit them with this and wasn't impressed at all. Looks like we need a rubber match..

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2012 01:42:25 | More by BB1313

Brenden

Ohio

3.93/5  rDev +24.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Hellhound is a medium brown color with a bit of orange-red tint to it. The light brown head is impressive, not massively tall but plenty tall nonetheless. It is exceptionally creamy with a denseness that's more thick than rocky. It never dissipates, but the heavy foam that's left drops a creamy sheet of lacing in its wake.
This is a heavily malted beer as evidenced in the aroma, but with balance from plenty of floral hops. There's a bit of nuttiness for sure. A candy sugar note isn't unwelcome but doesn't mesh perfectly.
The flavor some have mentioned but not as a prominent one is hops. Floral and a bit herbal with a biting pine in the back, they're plentiful in this beer. It takes the edge off the sweetness in the aroma without diminishing the nut, which comes through more strongly in taste than smell. I don't know what people are tasting according to previous reviews, but we might not be drinking the same beer. A tinge of warming alcohol peeks through in a dry, hoppy finish, but not "OMG drinking rubbing alcohol" as at least one person seems to have gotten.
The feel starts off very creamy and ventures.more toward crisp as it sits. Carbonation is moderate in a medium body.
Maybe others got bad bottles. Maybe I got a good one. All I know is that this is not a bad beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2012 16:37:19 | More by Brenden

david131

Michigan

3.1/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A- Pours a dark leathery brown liquid with a massive amount of tiny floaters. The off white head is creamy and thin.

S- Caramel and butter up front with a bit of a floral aspect on the finish. Simple and nice.

T- Bitter hops, sweet caramel and butter, some nuttiness and earthiness.

M- A nice amount of carbonation with some strong lingering bitterness.

O- A fairly average take on the style. The alcohol is a bit apparent which takes the drinkability down a bit.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2012 04:44:19 | More by david131

TMoney2591

Illinois

2.4/5  rDev -23.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Served in a Gale Sayers shaker pint glass.

Love finding random Wisconsin brews on mixed-six racks. This one pours a garnet-brown topped by a finger of cream-tan foam. The nose comprises light caramel, rye bread, light chocolate powder, and a touch of candied orange peel. The taste, though, reverberates with the echoes of harsh, almost acrid walnut. Yup, that's what my tongue is telling my brain, all in shrill, punctuated yelps of pain. Damn, this actually kinda hurts to drink... The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a lightly dry finish. Overall, a decent brown, unless you count the horrid flavor...

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2012 05:39:52 | More by TMoney2591

scruffwhor

Illinois

2.85/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Color is a ruddy ruby and brown mix with a clear complexion.. Head is a pretty good two fingers with a constant layer of foam for all twelve ounces. Not much bubbling though.

Toasty biscuits with a little syrupy marmalade of orange. More malt niscuit, rye bread crust, and maybe a little pumpernickel crust.

The texture is little syrupy from teh front to middle of the palate. Resiny citric hops combine with the abv. to make a dissatisfactory bitterness. The malts throw in some powdery, deep toast to light roasted malt flavors. But the alcohol and hop bitterness combo on the finish, leaves much to be desired.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2011 21:37:42 | More by scruffwhor

nrbw23

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A- Pours a slightly hazy reddish brown color with a fairly thin light tan colored head. Head has okay retention and leaves some nice spotty lacing.

S- Nothing mind blowing here. Picking up some sweet malts, light coffee, toffee and nuts.

T- Taste really follows the nose well. Coffee bitterness is balanced out by quite a bit of sweet malts, and nuts. A bit of alcohol comes through too.

M- Lighter side of medium in body and a tad bit too high in carbonation.

O- Not too bad of a beer, but nothing to write home about either. I'd say just run of the mill Brown Ale.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2011 09:53:42 | More by nrbw23

lurpy1

Minnesota

1.73/5  rDev -45.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

This beer sounds promising, looks promising, even smells promising. But evil beer gnomes have raised hell with the taste of the beer. I am not sure what happened. After a decent start with a somewhat malty, coffee flavor, I get an unmistakable sucker punch of pure, unblended alcohol. Bad medicine. After a while of trying to gut it out, it's just to brutal.Into the sink it goes.

I will try Sand Creek again, and with great reservation might try this beer again to see if it was just the bottle. But first impression is: ick.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2011 03:18:24 | More by lurpy1

TCgoalie

Michigan

3.93/5  rDev +24.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This appears to be a reddish brown brew with just a ring around the top for a head. Not much happening.

Dark malts and a pinch of coffee and brown sugar show in the nose.

The taste is pretty solid. The coffee bitterness comes through nicely and is balanced by a blend of roasty malts.

The feel features a medium body with a good deal of carbonation.

I'm pleasantly surprised with this in terms of the taste. I wasn't expecting much and really enjoy the flavor.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2011 18:55:08 | More by TCgoalie

youngleo

Michigan

3.53/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured to a two fingered head with big bubbles. Head was light brown in color. Ale itself was dark brown or maybe a cola colored. Head retention was good. Nice and thick. Left some globs of lacing on the sides of the glass. Smelled of a hint of alcohol, caramel, roasted malt, and perhaps some slight nut smell going on. Tasted of roasted malt, a little alcohol, and slightly sweet. Had a bitter aftertaste that hung around for a little while. i thought the carbonation was good. Also felt a little thick in the mouth. Ill buy again. Perhaps when the weather is a little cooler.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2011 17:53:46 | More by youngleo

bluejacket74

Ohio

3.53/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 ounce bottle. Served in a mug, the beer pours a somewhat hazy reddish/brown color with about an inch light tan head. Head retention is good, and there's a lot of lacing that sticks around on the glass for a while. The aroma is very malty, the brew smells like toffee, toasted and caramel malt, and some coffee and nuts. Taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also some slight hops leaving a bitter finish. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a little bit coating and has moderate carbonation. I think it's a decent enough brew, I'd drink it again in the future. Worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2011 22:21:41 | More by bluejacket74