Sankt Gallen El Diablo

Brewed by Sankt Gallen Brewery
Style: Barley Wine
Atsugi-shi, Japan

2008 bottle from Wachi, Kyoto. Pours cloudy copper with a good head for a barley wine. Spicy and fruity aroma that reminds me of a glühkriek, definitely with sour notes. Sour berries, chocolate, some roast and sweetness, but at the same time very dry and bitter. Very Belgian in character and quite unique, actually. Grows with every sip.

Deep orange to brown with nonexistant head. Lovely smell of sweet fruits, strawberry, plum. Sweet caramel malt. Sweet start to the taste, very strong in grassy hops. Bold flavored. A heck of a bitter hop finish. Palate is a bit oily and has very little carbon. A smooth, biting barley wine. Nice.

2008 version. Subtle yet deep aroma of alcohol, fruit, orange, hops, cascade, caramel. Dark amber with orange color. Absolutely no head. Strong, bold but austere flavor. Tons of hops, alcohol, with some dark fruit. Malty but not super sweet. Shockingly bitter hop finish. Tons of hops. Doesn’t really have the maltose to back it up. Burning hop and alcohol finish. Tastes very young. Should be better with aging and hop mellowing.

This one boasts a big, eggy white head composed of soapy, fragile bubbles. Retention is fair, no doubt undermined by the 10% ABV. The body itself is a mellow peachy brown, hazy but still quite translucent. The nose is surprisingly meek, offering up some leafy/herbal hops, a bit of Dunkel Weizen-esque banana and clove, warm, Vodka-like alcohol, and lovely caramel/toffee malts - but not much depth and not much oomph. The actual taste has far more impact: big, bad, spicy hops dominate, made more spicy by the volatile alcohol. The hops’ flavor is like a brushfire: hot as hell, wide, and woody - reminiscent of cedar à la Hitachino Nest, in fact. It also carries a nice herbal shadow, something like Campari mixed with root beer, but without so much sugar. And that brings me to the beer’s major flaw: incredibly underdeveloped malts. There is a somewhat sugary backdrop to this beer, but the actual flavor of the malts, that nice caramel aroma, is almost completely dissolved and washed away by the massive hop bomb. There is some nice fruitiness, especially in the finish - grapes and berries come to mind - but I want more from the malts. I also want more from the mouthfeel; this seems thin and far too airy, although I must say the sugary quality may be too much were this any heavier. Overall it lives up to its name - it is an incendiary, devilish brew - but not among my favorite barleywines. Possibly among my favorite DIPAs, though!

3-24-08 bottle thanks to aceofhearts!!
Caramel in color with a nice frothy head. Sweet honey and alcohol aroma. Flavor is very unique and is nice and hoppy and bitter. Earthy and grassy which causes this drying sensation in the mouthfeel. Thanks for sharing Chad!!

Don’t know if I would call this amazing, but it certainly was remarkable. According to Chad, many Japanese micros are rather nondescript and that absolutely does not apply to this. Exceptionlly dry, possibly due to use of honey? If not, there is at least a flavor hinting at it, tannic quality and what seemed like a woodiness to it. Very interesting and enjoyable and wish I had been a bastard and taken more than my fair share. Thanks Chad.

Thanks to aceofhearts for sharing this awesome beer!
"The diablo" pours a light muddy chocolate brown with a light beige head. Smell is light and bright, fresh malt with just a hint of alcohol. Taste is pretty hoppy up front with earthy and piney hops and dark and toasty malt. Beyond that, there is an oaky drying characteristic. Slightly bubbly mouthfeel. Really nice woodsy and hoppy toasty malt combo. As good as it is unique. Thanks again.

A full bodied beer with a good bitter aftertaste. Drunk in Ushi-Tora Tokyo. Very good