Holgate Brewhouse Beelzebub’s Jewels

Brewed by Holgate Brewhouse
Style: Barley Wine
Woodend, VIC, Australia

Serve in Snifter

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First time tried and it was on tap! Not a bad BW, but far from being exceptional. Nice malty flavours, hint of barrel, but overwhelmed by the ETOH burn.

22nd July 2012
Hazy amber beer with a big pale tan head. Palate is airy and soft and light. Mild fine carbonation. Nice nose of dessert wine - mango and peach. Mild creamy malt with a toffee streak. Mild minerals and aniseed alcohol. Lovely wine tones, honey - orange and red berry fruits. Sweet candy - dried fruits - dessert wine. Finishes smooth and dry with a pinch of spice.

750ml capped bottle 2011 Vintage listed as a Belgian style Quadruple pours amber in color with a 3 finger white head that retains well and eventually settles to reveal some nice lacing on the glass. Aroma is raisiny with hints of alcohol, oak and yeast. Taste is a dark fruit (red wine grapes) and light chocolatey malt sweetness with a generous alcohol burn and a spicy hop bitterness in the finish. Medium bodied with nice carbonation leaving a nice sensation on the tongue. A pretty decent brew for the style and recommended to try once, even though it is quite pricey.

2011 bottle (label calls it a Quadrupel):
Pours reddish brown with a large head. Very sweet toffee aroma with notes of dried fruits and dark currants. Flavour is quite sweet and has notes of dark currants, wood, mushrooms and moss! Alcohol bitter finish.

750ml bottle, as pointed out, this latest bottling is described as a Quadrupel. Clear, deep mahogany, beige head. Quite complex, vinous aromas, caramel, toffee, dried fruits, yeast, candied sugars, hazelnuts. Semi-sweet, medium to full bodied, medium bitterness, balanced CO2. Spicy, slightly earthy taste, yeast, dried fruits, walnuts, apricots, candied sugars, alcohol. Quite complex, but will need some time to mature. (2012-09-01)

A-- poured a deep, dark, slightly hazy ruby color. Short lived half finger of light brown head. Went to light brown film. Head retention is good. Got a finger of head on whirling. Visible alcohol legs on the sides of the glass. S-- Like the smell. Like a thick, rich spiced rum cake. Not so much rum but a lot of stewed dark fruits with touches of candied sugar. Slight amount of alcohol to this but reserved. Smells like an English Barley wine or a Belgian Strong Dark Ale than a US style one. No smell of wood at all in this. Thought this was barrel aged?? T-- Big, thick and rich again. Very jammy tasting. Get strawberry jam, plumbs, rum, some spices, wood (finally) and touches of wine. M-- Some hops in the mouth. Just a small bit of tingle but not much else. Lots of malt with this. Has portions of a lot of thinness and then over the top in just being almost pure alcohol. More it warms up the more the alcohol is pronounced and the fruit really drops off. D-- Great nose, great look but as it warmed it just became total booze with small flashes of what it should be. Really liked how jammy it was and just oozed of big bold juicy flavors. Drinking wise just a lot of booze. Bummer. Could have been very good.

Bottle at Papsø’s
Cloudy dark amber color; small creamy head. It has a nice aroma of malt and caramel, a bit buttery, cheesy and maybe phenolic. It has a correct body strength, but somehow the flavor is evanescent, and the mouthfeel dryish; there is malt and caramel, a bit sweet, also alcoholic; correct bitterness; the final is warming, because of the alcohol. Unbalanced.

Actually this was the 2011, which is a Belgium style quadruple, rather than Barley wine. 0.75l bottle from Beer DeLuxe in Federation Square. Bottle poured into 6 glasses to share with family. Sediment obvious towards the end of the pour. Pours as a hazy dark amber. Huge amounts of spiciness, and essence of pinot noir wine. 12% alcohol.

At Ministry of Beers Craft Beer Festival at Archive. Big, bold and worth waiting for this is a full flavoured high alcohol brew that hangs onto the palate long after the beer is gone.

UPDATED: MAY 1, 2011 Bottle. Pours a deep mahogany with a creamy tan coloured head. Beautiful aromas that I can best desribe as spicy christmas pudding. Lots of spice, sweet caramel toffee and plenty of dark stone fruits. Good. Flavours are very sweet with some spice coming through near the end. Fullish mouthfeel. Enjoyed this one.