Batchelors Delight
Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery

Batchelors DelightBatchelors Delight
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From:
Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery
 
Virginia, United States
Style:
Quadrupel (Quad)
ABV:
12%
Score:
93
Avg:
4.21 | pDev: 9.74%
Reviews:
22
Ratings:
78
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 20, 2017
Added:
Jul 09, 2014
Wants:
  16
Gots:
  13
Aged in Nicaraguan Flora de Cana Rum Barrels for over 12 weeks, the Batchelors Delight is a unique and delicious Belgian-Style Quadrupel Ale.

Like all great legends the facts are in dispute. Batchelors Delight is named for one of the most notorious and important pirate ships in history. Captained by the infamous buccaneers Davis, Wafer and Hingson, who won the ship in a card game. After years of pirating in the Caribbean the trio were set on retiring in Virginia. They were arrested near Hampton Roads and spent nearly 3 years in prison. They were able to negotiate their freedom by giving up a large portion of their booty, which King William used for the “Charitable Purpose” of founding the College of William and Mary.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by CreoleWilliams:
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Rated by CreoleWilliams from Virginia

5/5  rDev +18.8%

Aug 22, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of JayQue
Reviewed by JayQue from Virginia

4.19/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This IS an exceptional Quad, and an American Quad at that. Poured a murky brown color from a 750 ml bottle into a n Augustijn goblet. Surprisingly big tan head for such a strong beer. Head retention was surprisingly good as well. The bubbly head faded, but let a ring around the glass and some film all across the top. Aroma included malt, some oak bitterness, flavor from the rum barrel; and some candi sugar. There may have been some dark fruit there too. but the oak and the rum muted it. Taste was fairly complex as well. Malt, oak and rum were most prominent, but there was some balancing candi sugar sweetness too. Mouthfeel was very rich and malty, mostly smooth with a bit of alcohol warming. The oak bitterness, candi sugar sweetness add a touch of complexity to this brew. A great Quad, look forward to finding more of this.
Dec 20, 2017
 
Rated: 4.16 by CheapBeerBuzz from California

Sep 20, 2017
 
Rated: 4.25 by Zekenyce from New Jersey

Dec 17, 2016
 
Rated: 4.49 by SlothB77 from Virginia

Dec 01, 2016
Photo of HopBomb515
Reviewed by HopBomb515 from New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Deep unfiltered hazy dark brown leather color with a light tan head and great lacing. Aromas are soft but hint at rum barrel and dark fruit. Notes of rum soaked dark fruit, molasses laced crystal sugar, tabacco, raisin, plum and light char. Medium toward full body, soft, and super dry. I've loved this beer in the variants I've tried. Great American quad and barrel influence plays great.
Oct 23, 2016
Photo of Stevedore
Reviewed by Stevedore from Oregon

4.05/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750ml bottle, served in a snifter glass.

Pours a medium dark brown body, one finger offwhite head, good retention. Bits of lacing. Smells of tons of rum and dark fruit, nuttiness, raisins. Essentially a quad with a lot of rum on it. Fair bit of booziness. Flavour is a bit less complex, more rum, raisin, dark fruit, oaky, and slightly boozy. However, it isn't particularly sweet which is nice. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, good carbonation, slight boozy heat with rum flavours on the finish.
Sep 12, 2016
Photo of HattedClassic
Reviewed by HattedClassic from Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
The beer pours a nice creamy brown tan head that dissipates quickly but leaves a nice film around the inside of the glass. The beer itself is kind of a hazy brown color. The shade of brown is pretty good and looks nice. It doesn't have the purple shade you normally associate with the style but it looks decent.

The smell is pretty good. It has a nice mix of the notes that you would expect from a quad and a rum barrel aged beer. The quad notes consist of a light dark fruit note but with a slightly stronger caramel smell to it. The rum barrel notes mix well with the quad notes and create a nice smelling beer.

The taste is very good. It's a nice mix between the traditional quad style and the rum barrel notes. The traditional quad notes are as expected and come in the form of a dark fruit note with a light caramel note. The rum notes provided a nice brown sugar note with a slight molasses note and bits of vanilla. Like the smell, the rum notes mix very well with this beer.

The feel is pretty good. The beer has a heavy body but isn't as thick as a regular quad due to the barrel aging. It smooth and the light carbonation give it a nice texture as goes down.

Overall, this is a pretty good beer and Lickinghole Creek shows how good it is. It's a nice combination and use of a rum barrel to add a nice and complementary note that definitely works better with the style than other liquors. The beer has all the notes you would expect including very complementary notes from the barrel. Go for it.
Aug 15, 2016
 
Rated: 4.12 by Cpmitchno1 from Virginia

May 22, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by Jlang2012 from South Carolina

Apr 28, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by Casey3236 from Pennsylvania

Dec 23, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by Dave_Treat from Virginia

Dec 05, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by bhunt201 from Virginia

Nov 08, 2015
Photo of GarthDanielson
Reviewed by GarthDanielson from Virginia

4.2/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a 750 into a snifter, the beer is a muddled, turbid, opaque, mahogany brown coloring with a foamy, low profile, clingy, off-white head. Despite the thick opacity, you can see slow trails of carbonation traveling up the side of the glass. Aromas of old world fruit sweet, heavy on the date and raisin, with highlights of vanilla, brown sugar, toasted notes, wood spice, and a subtle blend of nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, and all spice. Very rich and sweet aromas. Flavors are balanced and smooth forward, with heavy notes of plum, raisin, date, and fig followed immediately by a warm bite of rum characteristics. Brown sugar, vanilla, and spice envelope the old world fruit notes, providing warmth and a subtle edge, and open the door for some of the other subtle spices to come through. Nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon hit the tail end of the palate to coincide with the building warmth. The body is full and smooth, with an old world fruit heavy fruitcake-like aftertaste. The finish is slow, velvety, layered, and with a decent sweet and spiced balance. There's also traces of rum notes and warmth hanging around, too. Good beer!
Oct 03, 2015
Photo of FlandersNed
Reviewed by FlandersNed from Indiana

4/5  rDev -5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
25.4oz bottle. Opaque dark brown hue with a moderately-high, tan head. Roasted brown sugar and chocolate nose. Caramel, raw sugar, molasses, rum, fig, nuts, cocoa and a slight char note on the palate. Full+ body and medium- carbonation.
Sep 22, 2015
Photo of Alieniloquium
Reviewed by Alieniloquium from Florida

3.78/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750 mL bottle poured into a snifter. Murky brown. Nice khaki head that retains well. Smell is boozy. Rum. Dark fruits. Bread. Smells like a decent quad behind the alcohol. Taste is nutty up front and then a strong rum flavor. Oaky and bitter finish. Boozy, but not sweet, which I really appreciate. Well carbonated. The quad is lost, but usually American quads don't even fair well behind an intense barrel. This one does.
Sep 22, 2015
Photo of msscott1973
Reviewed by msscott1973 from North Carolina

4.51/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
This was an insanely smooth beer to be 12% ABV. All of Lickinghole Creek's big beers that I have tried have been amazing. They are doing great things up there on the farm. The overall taste and mouthfeel on this one leans more toward a wee heavy or English barleywine, in my opinion. I guess it is the rum barrel softening things up a bit. Cheers!
Sep 21, 2015
 
Rated: 3.6 by LeeEvolved from Virginia

Sep 21, 2015
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

4.01/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Bottle 226; 2014 bottling

Appearance: Pours fudge brown with a rocky beige head; webby lacing from the lip of the glass on down

Smell: Toast, yeast, tamarind, tobacco, oak, cinnamon, clove, vanilla and a subtle hint of rum

Taste: Toast, yeast and tamarind, up front, with the rum barrel and tobacco tones developing; after the swallow, a blend of molasses, tobacco, cinnamon, clove, rum and vanilla; oddly phenolic in the finish, with a bitter herb character

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with moderate carbonation; a bit clunky for a Belgian style

Overall: I wouldn't have pegged this for a quad as it is more like a rum barrel aged old ale; there are a lot of interesting flavors but it doesn't quite hit the mark

Thanks, julielynndubee, for the opportunity
Aug 14, 2015
Photo of uvachief
Reviewed by uvachief from Virginia

4.18/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Draft into a snifter. Pours a reddish purple brown. Not datk. Light does filter through it. Little to no head. Some lacing though. Smells of rum, toffee and candied sugars. Smells SWEET. Taste is rum and sugar along with traditional quad. Thin like a quad. Goes great with spicy Thai or Asian food. Also a good desert beer by the fire. Little chewy for a quad. Sailors would enjoy this. Tropical. Would love to try the coconut delight. This is very good by itself. Well done
Aug 10, 2015
Batchelors Delight from Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery
Beer rating: 93 out of 100 with 78 ratings