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Hel & Verdoemenis - Bourbon BA
Brouwerij De Molen
- From:
- Brouwerij De Molen
- Netherlands
- Style:
- Russian Imperial Stout
Ranked #60 - ABV:
- 10%
- Score:
- 96
Ranked #1,062 - Avg:
- 4.34 | pDev: 8.29%
- Reviews:
- 44
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Dec 22, 2023
- Added:
- Aug 23, 2013
- Wants:
- 30
- Gots:
- 23
Aged for 20 months
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Sarlacc83:
Reviewed by Sarlacc83 from Oregon
4.37/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.37/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
11.2 oz bottle.
A: Pitch black with a very faint mocha head. Has great legs, though.
N: Rich mocha/dark chocolate covered espresso bean. Heavy amounts of vanilla/caramel/bourbon/oak. Some dark fruit.
T: Lots of bourbon. Quite sweet with oak acting as balance. Some moderate bitterness.
M: Oily, and medium-heavy body. Alcohol is very well-hidden.
O: This is far better than the regular version. It really is just about everything you’d want in a barrel aged stout. Plenty of flavor showing through, everything in coordination...I wish this didn’t cost so much or I’d buy a case.
Sep 13, 2013A: Pitch black with a very faint mocha head. Has great legs, though.
N: Rich mocha/dark chocolate covered espresso bean. Heavy amounts of vanilla/caramel/bourbon/oak. Some dark fruit.
T: Lots of bourbon. Quite sweet with oak acting as balance. Some moderate bitterness.
M: Oily, and medium-heavy body. Alcohol is very well-hidden.
O: This is far better than the regular version. It really is just about everything you’d want in a barrel aged stout. Plenty of flavor showing through, everything in coordination...I wish this didn’t cost so much or I’d buy a case.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by EmperorBevis from England
4.29/5 rDev -1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.29/5 rDev -1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Bottled with a red wax covering on the cap and poured as it was bottle conditioned to reveal a jet black body with big, thick tight tan head
Aroma is the darkest of sugars and boozy molasses with treacle soaked sherry
Flavour is liquid Christmas cake
Dec 22, 2023Aroma is the darkest of sugars and boozy molasses with treacle soaked sherry
Flavour is liquid Christmas cake
Reviewed by kitch from Hong Kong
4.43/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.43/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
A 330ml black waxed bottle, bottled on 19th November 2013. Enjoy within 25 years. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate, roasted malts, oak, bourbon, vanilla, caramel, toffee, with some slight dark fruit notes.
Taste: Roasted malts, chocolate, oak, vanilla, caramel, toffee, bourbon.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, velvety, full to medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: I thought that the bourbon barrel aging of the beer improved it over the base. A very enjoyable sipper, well balanced, with great aroma and flavours.
Jan 21, 2021Appearance: Black in colour with no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate, roasted malts, oak, bourbon, vanilla, caramel, toffee, with some slight dark fruit notes.
Taste: Roasted malts, chocolate, oak, vanilla, caramel, toffee, bourbon.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, velvety, full to medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: I thought that the bourbon barrel aging of the beer improved it over the base. A very enjoyable sipper, well balanced, with great aroma and flavours.
Reviewed by Arjen from Netherlands
4.2/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.2/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
33cl bottle, 2016 edition (11% ABV), at home, so aged over 2 years. Jet black colour. Hardly any head. Aroma's of bourbon, vanilla, wood, roasted malts, charcoal. Retronasal it's sweetish, vanilla, bourbon, roasted. Flavour is moderate sweet, dark chocolate, a bit boozy, light bitter, roasted. Moderate alcohol feel. Medium bodied. Low carbonation. Long finish, with charcoal and moderate bitterness.
Mar 23, 2019Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois
4.49/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.49/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
So I really liked the non-barrel aged version, but I LOVE this version! Still plenty of what I noted in the original: dark chocolate, coffee, raisin, almond, caramel, and booze, but now add in rich and viscous depth and complexity in how the barrel plays with all of these classic stout elements. Gives a little cream fresh texture on the finish too.
Sep 13, 2018Reviewed by moose1980 from Germany
4.2/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.2/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Pours almost completely still; no head, only a thin foam around the edges. Aroma is similar to the non-ba version: all roasted coffee and dark chocolate, with the hops lending some spicy earthiness to it.
Good lord, hello bourbon. Whatever barrel that is missing in the aroma is more than made up for in taste. Just a huge smack of oak bourbon barrel upfront and mid-palate, then ending like a piece of dark chocolate - dry and bitter. Low carb.
Subtleties be damned; one for the whiskey lover in your life, no doubt.
Dec 26, 2017Good lord, hello bourbon. Whatever barrel that is missing in the aroma is more than made up for in taste. Just a huge smack of oak bourbon barrel upfront and mid-palate, then ending like a piece of dark chocolate - dry and bitter. Low carb.
Subtleties be damned; one for the whiskey lover in your life, no doubt.
Reviewed by DJ-Hophead from England
4.25/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Tap @ Small Bar, Bristol - 11% Brett version - Pours dark black with a small tanned foamy head which quickly dissipates to a film. Aroma - roasted malts, dark chocolate, coffee notes, licorice and vanilla hints. Taste - Slight sweetness at the front, hints of sourness, roasted malts, dark chocolate, roasted coffee, slight alcoholic finish. Nice well balanced strong ale
Oct 14, 2017Reviewed by Beersnake from California
4.23/5 rDev -2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.23/5 rDev -2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
2016 vintage poured at fridge temp. Pours black with little carbonation. Nose is full of bourbon, licorice, roasted malts, and caramel. Taste is mind-blowing. Just the right amount of bourbon and bitterness from the roasted notes. Nice dark fruit, with a bit of sweetness up front. Bitterness lingers for a while. Also getting some chocolate, coffee, and tobacco on the taste. Mouthfeel is nice and thick, with a creamy body.
Sep 13, 2017Reviewed by flyingpig from Scotland
3.47/5 rDev -20%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
3.47/5 rDev -20%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
330ml bottle from Good Spirits Co, Glasgow (£7.80):
Definitely a strong one from De Molen, overly so in my opinion & quite a hard one to get through as a result of the overpowering alcohol taste from the bourbon. There was a lot of peat & dark malts featuring through with the odd grain thrown in for good measure but the balance definitely wasn't as good as I'd have liked. Some dark fruits featured at times but I found them more subdued than expected & there was no sign of any hops, although the fact that the beer was three years old wouldn't have helped that any. The aftertaste was a lingering one with some coffee & an earthy bitterness rounding things off & while it was an okay beer, it's not one that I'll find myself going back to again; perhaps I'd have enjoyed it more if I was into whisky but sadly this wasn't a beer for me.
Feb 02, 2017Definitely a strong one from De Molen, overly so in my opinion & quite a hard one to get through as a result of the overpowering alcohol taste from the bourbon. There was a lot of peat & dark malts featuring through with the odd grain thrown in for good measure but the balance definitely wasn't as good as I'd have liked. Some dark fruits featured at times but I found them more subdued than expected & there was no sign of any hops, although the fact that the beer was three years old wouldn't have helped that any. The aftertaste was a lingering one with some coffee & an earthy bitterness rounding things off & while it was an okay beer, it's not one that I'll find myself going back to again; perhaps I'd have enjoyed it more if I was into whisky but sadly this wasn't a beer for me.
Reviewed by AlarmClock314 from Wisconsin
4.5/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.5/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
11.2oz bottle, US date of 1/28/13. Pours mostly black with a very small sized khaki head. Smells of bourbon, oak, oxidization/parchment, vanilla, dark fruit, roasted malt, and cocoa. The taste follows closely with bourbon, oak, roasted malt, oxidization, cocoa, dark fruit, and vanilla; pretty rounded. Medium bitterness and subtle sweetness. Average body and low carbonation for the style. Overall, this one held up okay for approaching 3 years of aging. It reminded me of aged KBS with a little less bourbon and more dark fruit. Pretty tasty as a whole.
Nov 21, 2016Reviewed by Marius from Netherlands
4.5/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.5/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
33cl bottle, labelled as Hel & Verdoemenis Bourbon Barrel Aged. Very dark ruby-brown pour with a thin tan head. Smells like bourbon, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, coconut, a bit of sherry. The taste follows the same notes, with an emphasis on coffee, chocolate and bourbon. Medium to full bodied, light carbonation and a roasty-sweet aftertaste.
Nov 11, 2016
Hel & Verdoemenis - Bourbon BA from Brouwerij De Molen
Beer rating:
96 out of
100 with
172 ratings
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