Hell For Certain
Bluegrass Brewing Co. - East St. Matthew's

Hell For CertainHell For Certain
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From:
Bluegrass Brewing Co. - East St. Matthew's
 
Kentucky, United States
Style:
Belgian Dark Ale
ABV:
6.6%
Score:
82
Avg:
3.59 | pDev: 13.65%
Reviews:
65
Ratings:
75
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Dec 27, 2014
Added:
Apr 13, 2002
Wants:
  9
Gots:
  3
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of Benjamin_Stewart
Rated by Benjamin_Stewart from Kentucky

4.45/5  rDev +24%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Haven't seen this brew around for awhile. Wish they would bring it back.
Dec 27, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Miles228 from Ohio

Feb 25, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by cwd from Kentucky

Nov 23, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by ADTaber from South Carolina

Aug 06, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by BamfBacon from Ohio

Jul 03, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by harpus from Alabama

Jan 03, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by cosmonick from Indiana

Nov 22, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by bzach from Indiana

Oct 16, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by t0rin0 from California

Aug 24, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by DrNo from Australia

Jan 16, 2012
Photo of mikesgroove
Reviewed by mikesgroove from South Carolina

3.58/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
nice dark brown color with this tin wispy head of off white that capped the top only for a slight time offering little in the way of side lacing. aroma of roasted malts, light smoke, and hints of chocolate, nice and warming, but lacked the punch i was looking for. flavor was more of the same, not bad at all, had all the right markers there with light peat, lots of chocolate, deep roasted profile, just too light for me to be honest. thin feel
Sep 26, 2011
Photo of johncampbell
Reviewed by johncampbell from Kentucky

4.3/5  rDev +19.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
To Hell with this. This beer is madness in a bottle. It tastes so good and is so easy drinking that one quickly forgets the high abv. I did. I had several of these at the BBC Taproom on Clay and Main. Afterwards, I thought it would be a good idea to take my longboard down the block to the Louisville Skatepark. Brilliant. I think I broke my wrist right before I bounced my chin off the concrete. Hell For Certain. Delicious. Drink with caution.
Nov 05, 2010
Photo of jwinship83
Reviewed by jwinship83 from Illinois

3.21/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
12oz bottle picked up on a recent trip to kentucky. drank from my duvel tulip.

A- this one pours out a murky looking reddish brown colored body with a small beige head on it. the head lasts for a while before receding, and leaves behind a few randomly placed spots of lacing.

S- belgian yeast is the first thing that i notice. after that comes a myriad of fruits. apples, pears, plums, cherries, and a little bit of orange. interesting. some bubblegum/banana in here also.

T- the taste isnt nearly as inviting as the smell, and is kind of a let down. the fruits are in here, but alot less pronounced. the yeast is the main contributor to the flavor, offering a bit of banana and bubble gum.

M- thin and watery. highly carbonated.

D- after the smell this one sort of fell apart on me. i dont think id seek it out again.
May 15, 2010
Photo of wisrarebeer
Reviewed by wisrarebeer from Wisconsin

3.46/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 750ml.

A: deep, dark copper color
S: yeasty, gutsy, but not a ton of Belgian character, hints of candy sugar
T: not bad, astringent, yeasty, and hints of burnt candy sugar, but lacking a true Belgian focus
M: decent, easy drinking, great carbonation, much like trad Belgian beers with thick head that lasts
D: ok, but lacks overall traditional Belgian dubbel quality, getting there but not there yet
Oct 18, 2009
Photo of eyncognito
Reviewed by eyncognito from Wisconsin

3.7/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Thanks to my boss for picking a few of these up for me while touring through Bourbon country Kentucky.

Pours a dull crimson into my Duvel tulip with a thin collar. Orange and red highlights peek through. A rockier head would add to the already inviting color, but oh well. The aroma shines bright with some bigtime spices, allspice, nutmeg, and hints of mild cinnamon. Fruits emerge as this ale warms- mostly apple and pear, a bit odd for a belgian dark ale that there are no notes of dark or pitted fruit, but pleasing nonetheless. Mild chocolate notes also emerge as this ale warms up.

Taste follows up, building on the nose-the same spices again, only with mild clove (faint) and more fruits this time, again apple, pear, but hints at berries. Overall somewhat sweet, but had a mild metallic flavor, but the overall spice from the yeast? is enough to forgive the metallic character. Malt is sweet caramel, but doesn't really offer the toffee-ness. Too bad, but finishes with a clean hop dryness. Mouthfeel is somewhat thin for a dark ale and lacks the carbonation that many American Belgian offerings seem to miss, although the almost peppery spice notes work well with the tight bubbles in the carbonation.

Overall a well done ale. Compared to a Belgian Dark Ale, it is pedestrian. That said, I enjoyed drinking a few of this. Pleasurable and worth purchasing.
Aug 25, 2009
Photo of kels
Reviewed by kels from Virginia

3.75/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Thanks to bamadog for sharing this local brew with me. Poured from bottle into a pint.

Appearance: Pours an opaque plum-flesh, orangey-red color, almost rust, with a 1/2 finger cream-colored, smooth and thick head. The head fades and retains at a thick skim, holding well throughout the drink, leaving little spots of lacing here and there.

Smell: Really sweet and caramelly malts with chewy raisins, apricots, dates and prunes. Not much hop presence to speak of, but not so unusual for this style.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Taste is full of the chewy, syrupy fruit and malts along with a slight tartness and bitterness from the hops. Wheaty, dry grains are accompanied by a spiciness that I can't put my finger on but reminds me of cinnamon, allspice or nutmeg. The spice throws the taste a little off-balance. The feel is super-sticky, somewhat viscous, and slightly stale.

Drinkability: Moderate. The taste is fairly balanced and not too overwhelming, and the sticky feel is a little heavy.

Pretty solid offering from BBC who I'm not typically so impressed by. Not an incredible beer, but a really solid and drinkable intro to Belgians from a good local company.
Apr 30, 2009
Photo of bamadog
Reviewed by bamadog from Ohio

3.65/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
The first time I had this on tap and it seemed like a much better drink. This time, from the bottle, it just didn't have some of the same flavors but overall it's not a bad offering from BBC, which typically seems kind of average to me. Poured from a bomber.

Appearance: A pretty dark and cloudy brown (almost like a thick instant iced tea?) with a thick 2+ finger head that is light tan (almost a cinammon color) with pretty solid retention; lots of sediment floating through the body and sitting on the bottom of the glass.

Smell: Caramel, raisins, some candied fruits and spices.

Taste: Strong caramel presence and a fair amount of maltiness; strong presence of raisins and the candied fruits and the spiciness really becomes much more presrent -- I would say coriander and nutmeg; it's sweet and tart all at the same time.

Mouthfeel: Relatively dry; moderate carbonation but still fairly smooth. Leaves a funny aftertaste in the mouth, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is.

Drinkability: Moderate. It's kind of a heavier beer in the body and the flavors weren't quite as balanced as I've had in some other Belgian darks. Not bad overall, but I feel like I was a little too excited about coming across this in the bottle. Oh well.
Apr 22, 2009
Photo of endincolorado
Reviewed by endincolorado from Ohio

3.54/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Appearance- Deep, clear gold-amber-- light on head, ultra-low retention, thin lace

Smell- Sweet malty character, with some yeast and notes of baked bread

Taste- Slightly blander than I expected, pale malt, bread, light yeasty spice

Mouthfeel- fairly thin and flabby, low on carbonation

D- I expected a little more from this beer -not one I'll seek out for another round.
Mar 08, 2009
Photo of bluesoul
Reviewed by bluesoul from Kentucky

4.24/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
On tap at O'Shea's on Baxter in Louisville. Poured into snifter.

A - The beer arrived a dark amber, with almost no head to it. I didn't watch the pour so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt. Lacing was decent at best.

S - The smell was a lot better than the looks. In my notes I described it as "luxurious", due to the rich profile of it. The nose was primarily malty with hints of nut. Slight funk when swirled, not much sweetness to the nose.

T - Very well balanced attack, barley opens up to a mild heart and finished with a very nice hop kick. Hops tend to build up towards the back of the tongue. I'm not quite far enough along to really pick anything out with this one but that didn't make it any less tasty.

M - Super smooth, light to medium bodied, carbonation was good. Finish was nice and clean, though increasingly hoppy. Hoppy aftertaste but not overpowering.

D - Eminently drinkable for any occasion, I foresee a session of these soon. It was gone all too soon.

As a bit of trivia, Hell For Certain is named after an area of the same name in Southeastern KY, just a bit south of "Hell Creek" and "Whynot?" You really can't make these things up.
Jan 21, 2009
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

3.2/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Some alcohol, yeast and malt in nose. Whitish foam. Very mild brownish body. Some yeast in taste, bown sugar and pepper and cloves and raisin.Not too drinkable, and a fairly mediocre Belg. Above average mouthfeel and appropriate carbonation.FOund at Warehouse Beverages.
Jan 18, 2009
Hell For Certain from Bluegrass Brewing Co. - East St. Matthew's
Beer rating: 82 out of 100 with 75 ratings