Pisgah Hellbender Barley Wine

Brewed by Pisgah Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Black Mountain, North Carolina USA

Serve in Snifter

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april 2008 bottle thanks to KP. deep chocolate brown pour with a nice cream rocky hard. malty, raisins and dried fruits on the nose. very easy on the palate with flavors of fruits and sugar. very smooth finish that hides the alcohol quite well.

If memory serves, this corked-and-caged 750 was from dchmela circa October 2008, had here mid-March 2010. Smells like a barleywine, that’s for sure. Huge, huge caramel notes, big but dulled Ami hops. Dark copper pour with a lacing, sudsy beige head. Taste is lightly bitter, lightly sweet, well-attenuated, though, some butterscotch. Faint plum and almost some ash in the back. Fully nearly-syrup body, aftertaste is moderately dry. There’s some good complexity here, and certainly some nice intensity, but it’s hard to rate this in the upper echelon, as I’m already tired of it after about eight ounces. Alcohol is well under control, at least.

Aroma of brown sugar hints of hops and raisins. Lightly hazed brown pour with a light tan head and lace. A very well hidden abv on the front and fades to a good warmth. A good hops presence. A good solid palate and carbonation. A very nice BW.

UPDATED: MAR 8, 2009 Appearance: Pours a lightly hazy, chestnut brown body with a very frothy, tall, off-white head. Smell: Sweetish, caramel-minded aroma with a distinct waft of alcohol and lesser notes of bread and citrus pith. Taste: Slightly bready maltiness with a middling amount of caramel sweetness. Touch of citrus. Resounding, resinous hop bitterness. Pinch of freshly-grated spices. Hint of candied lemon peel on the otherwise bitter, somewhat boozy finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Moderate carbonation. Drinkability: Ask me again in a few years.

25 oz bottle. Pours a dark amber body, clear, with a nice frothy beige head. Nice sticky heavy lacing. The nose is big and heavy toffee malt with a good bit of resiny hops. The flavor is very similar, big caramel and toffee maltiness, some brown sugar, and a little resiny hops on the back end. Pretty well hidden alcohol, lots of nice dark fruits. Mouthfeel is full but soft with nice light fizzy carbonation that cuts the heavy malt well. The more it breathed the better this got. A pretty solid Barley Wine. How these guys do organic stuff so well, I’ll never know.

750ml bottle from April 2008. I’d heard this one was wicked hot to start out, and I’m glad I waited on it because this is a nice, mellow English-style barleywine. Murky amber pour with a medium creamy head. The nose is still rather sharp, with some hop bite and a touch of sweet heat. Toffee and a bit of molasses lead things off in the taste, which soon settles into a firmly malty BW with a nice mix between the brown sugar and the grit of the hops. Smooth and dangerously drinkable, I enjoyed this one.

Pours a clear amber with a khaki head. Nose is caramel, raisins, booze, figs, and sugar/ honey. Flavor starts off fizzy then comes in with caramel, hops , barleywine fruits, and finishes off with some more hops. Medium-bodied and somewhat fizzy. Nice BW.

750ml bottle, caged and corked. Medium brown. Foamy white head. Plain malt aroma. Flavor is way to big. Heavy bodied BW with big alcohol. Heavy, strong. Not the best, but well.

Bottle shared on RBSG Tour Bus. Hazy rust with a small glass lacing beige head. Nose of berries, toffee, and oak. Flavor of hop bitterness, toffee, and alcohol.

Draught at Barley’s in Asheville, NC. Attractive hazy ruby color with foamy off white head that laced the glass. Fruity nose reminiscent of raspberry, sprucy hops, and alcohol. Sweet up front, but not cloyingly so, again with a hint of raspberry, dried cherry, and alcohol. Tangy finish. Tasty.