Big Hole Mythical White Grand Reserve

Big Hole Brewing Company
Brewed at Madison River Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Belgrade, Montana USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

UPDATED: SEP 20, 2005 Pale Golden/yellow color, cloudy. Pleasant, mild lemony aroma. ALOT! of head, cold or warm still poured a huge amount of white head. Bottle. Initial taste is lemony. Taste some coriander and some honey? Anyways definitely taste the lemon and it kinda transitions you, along with a light yeastiness, right through to the end. Medium to light body which is out of touch with the alcohol content. The lemon taste needs to be rounded better with some more fruit taste. Aftertaste is a bit better with a warm honey appeal. The beer accomplishes most of what the brewer attempts, but in my opinion it simply needs more body, though the alcohol is very well masked and the estery, plasticy alcohol taste that is the downfall of many belgians is not at all present here. My bottle did not seem to travel well as my 6 pack was highly carbonated. RERATE. Well it’s had about 5 months to age. Something happened anyways, maybe I just like it more. Initial taste is still alcoholic and muddled. Almost a rubbing alcohol flavor. But as it warms and breathes, wow, a whole new beer emerges. Good honey sweet finish, but lots of dry coriander. Great citrus hops complexity on the finish as well. Good stuff. Aroma is very meaty, old potent yeast smell. Nowhere near as thin as I remember. Let it warm. . .

12 oz. brown long neck bottle. From my cellar. Poured out a hazy golden color, with an enormous white meringue head. Plenty of carbonation left in this old gal. Aromas are phenolic, black pepper, slight disinfectant as well. Flavors are of black pepper, cloves, sourdough bread. Medium mouthfeel, thin body. Finished peppery & clovish. Alcohol sneaks up on you at the end.

Bottle. Amber with soft white foam. Aroma of yeast and malt liquor. Flavour is yeast, a sweet lemon and a strong Belgian ale. Lingering lemon, yeast and triple. Kind of a nice experiment.

Smells pretty decent. Some spices, Appearance is disappointingly flat. The beer is okay, but seems a bit flat in flavor as well. Some apple cider notes to it, but a tad off all-around.

Bottle thanks to Toby. Pours a clear golden color with a medium white head. The aroma is heavy cloves and other spices, banana and rich malts. The flavor is quite nice; smooth spices, cloves and nutmeg, orange peel, rich and easygoing.

Bottle at Brewforia. Cream soda beelijt and vanilla with some mile spice Basic pale malt ale

A pretty typical yeasty Ale. Nothing special, nothing wrong with it either.

12 oz bottle
When I saw this in the pick six section I decided to gamble. There wasn’t much to lose. As it turns out the result was a solid Belgian style strong ale. Mostly what I would expect from an American brewery trying their hand at the style it was nice to "visit" a part of the country that I don’t usually sample. Maybe I will see if any more styles are available next time I visit Madison.

Aroma / Appearance - The transparent amber body sparkled below a stark white head. Both of them glowed brightly in the sunlight. Vanilla cream puffs with a dash of lemon glaze provide the sweet and sour aspects. White pepper provides the Belgian contribution. There is not much complexity yet even at only 7% it feels heavy.

Flavor / Palate - Light bodied and fluid the mouthfeel is the opposite of what is advertised. White pepper tickles the tongue and throat. Lemon crisp fades fast before the vanilla cream soda finish. A pleasant hoppiness bites back. Eventually it gets a bit boring but not before I got my money’s worth. Given my expectations this met them nicely.

Slight fruity citrus aroma. Some hop presence in the beginning, with a flavorful citrus finish.

Belgian strong? Seems more like a blond or wit or something. Anyway this beer pours clear pale yellow with a bubbly white head that fades quickly. Aroma of grain, mild citrus, spice. Taste is earthy with spice and mild bitterness. Grassy, watery, alcohol is higher than expected from taste.

Bottle. Pours a clear, light tan. I don’t get much from the aroma, a little bit of yeast and orange. Flavor has some decent zest, I pick up hints of a few different spices, but they all seem mushed together to me, nothing stands out to me.