Bommen & Granaten (15.2% ABV)
Brouwerij De Molen

 

2009 version: 750 ml corked, wired and waxed bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Bottle No. 28 out of a batch of 429 bottles. Brewed 7. Oct. 2009. ABV is 15.2%. OG 1150, FG 1041. Nugget and Saaz hops, 53.9 EBU. Pours reddish brown without any visible carbonation and no head. Intense and attractive aroma with vinous and oaky notes, also notes of dark dried fruits, curacao liqueur and tangerine. The flavour has an overwhelming sugary and malty sweetness, with some fruity and vinous notes. The absence of carbonation makes the mouthfeel oily and cloying, and the alcohol is noticeable. The relatively high EBU kind of disappears behind all the sweetness. Declared fit for 25 years of cool and dark cellaring - sounds like a really good idea, if you are of the patient kind, and have faith in your own life expectancy.

 

Bottled Jan 15 2016
Drinking Jan 15 2023

I didn't drink one when fresh so ... I think this one didn't hold up to the aging , off flavors that I can't put my finger on .

Last bier of my recent trip. Enjoyed two 0.33l bottles of this at In de Wildeman in Amsterdam on 05OCT22, prior to my return flight home. This was the regular version, and the bottle was showing 11.0% ABV, and cost €8.50 each.

Was a clear, medium copper hue, with steady carbo. Head was 1/4" high, light tan and creamy, with good lacing. Nose had a mix of caramel, brown sugar and some dark fruit. It was quite smooth, and medium-plus for body.

tasted of caramel mats, toffee, dates, raisins, molasses and rum-soaked fruit cake. Very tasty! A fine finsih to a solid trip! Prosit!

4.19/5 rDev +6.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

2372

 

 

 

 

Bottled Jan 15, 2016
Pours no real head just some bubbles, hint of lacing though, nice legs, darker murky brown to chestnut color

Nose brings some oxidation and hints at cardboard but doesn't get there, plenty of burnt caramel and toffee notes, molasses, candied dates and fig, little prune, toasted malts, little winey oxidation, sweet candy

Taste brings loads of caramel and sweet candy again, a little toffee and dark toasted grains, boot strap molasses, light warming alcohol, a little chocolate and nutty notes, a bit of dark fruit, candied dates and fig notes as well, a little dark berry as well, a bit of a chewy caramel malt, light bitterness, mild oxidation as well with a winey character

Mouth is fuller bod, thick almost chewy like, pretty much no carb but also no alcohol which is crazy for 15%

Overall this was a nice aged barleywine for sure, and it's only a few years old, it has the character of a 10 year old, mild oxidative affects, no alcohol presence, lack of carbonation (which is not necessarily a good thing for a 4 year old barleywine), but nice complexity and taste, glad I drank it now and didn't sit too long or it would probably go too far.

 

 

 

 

 

11.2oz bottle poured into a snifter
Bottled 8/20/12

A- pours a murky brown color with a very thin off-white head that disappears almost immediately

S- tobacco and leather, caramel, beef stew, spent grain, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, raisins, a bit woody

T- sweet and malty up front with flavors of caramel, toffee, fruit cake, rum soaked raisins, figs, molasses & brown sugar. The finish gives some musty woody notes and lingers of raisins, caramel and slight oxidation

M- medium-thick body with virtually no carbonation leads to a chewy mouthfeel and a silky finish, abv is hidden well, given that it's over 15%

O- the aroma was a bit off but the flavor was very nice, dark fruits & caramel. ABV hidden quite well

 

Almost as good as a British Barleywine gets, mouthfeel and flavor would have benefited from a little more carbonation. Bottled August 2018 and purchased November 2019 in Zurich, listed as 11.9% ABV. A fine, strong beer from De Molen that I’ve never seen in the US.