Hellshire IV | Oakshire Brewing

3.96/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Had on draft at Scion Dupont on 5/8/14

A-Poured a dark brown color with a small off-white head.

S-Aroma was some wood, with notes of nice malt, bourbon.

T-Flavor was heavy bourbon, caramel, and fig with some light roasted notes.

M-Mouthfeel has medium and full body. Very smooth

O-Overall great beer to try

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2.5/5  rDev -37.2%

3.78/5  rDev -5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

4/5  rDev +0.5%

4.25/5  rDev +6.8%

4.32/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

(Served in a snifter

A- This beer pours a woody brown body that is dense with a thick creamy foam of head that last a good bit.

S- The rich buttery oak is full with some hints of dark fruit coming through as the beer opens.

T- The rich bourbon barrel flavor is full of wet oak and vanilla with some green woody hop character in the finish. There is a slight dark vinous note that comes through with a touch of sweetness as the beer opens.

M- This beer has a medium-light mouthfeel with a nice alcohol spice in the finish.

O- This is very tasty. The big bourbon barrel has some softer support from dark fruity esters and a nice alcohol spice to balance it out. Not what I would traditionally consider an Old Ale but a tasty sipper for sure.

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3.5/5  rDev -12.1%

4/5  rDev +0.5%

4.25/5  rDev +6.8%

4/5  rDev +0.5%

3.75/5  rDev -5.8%

3.94/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22 picked up at the Boise COOP sometime last week... shared tonight with reinheitsgematt

1/2" tan/dark yellow head dies back pretty fast atop a sorta hazed dark walnut brew... lacing is spotty at best.

Nose is vinous fruity esters... dark fruits and something that makes me think of soggy tobacco.. sweet leather.

Flavors are pretty akin to most Olde Ales... plummy/cherry notes.. some background leather.. a bit wine like or even like tawny port... the barrels add a nice envelope of connectivity that ties things together.

Body is a little light with too big carbonation at this point and makes for a disjointed brew ... I think it will get a bit more homogenized with 6 months or so in the cellar.. right not it is a little abrasive.

3.75/4/4/3.5/4

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4.04/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark brown, appearing black in the glass with a fine half finger tan head with great retention and lots of lacing. Aroma of caramel malt with light toastiness, lots of bourbon and vanilla, enticing. Flavor is bourbon, caramel malt, vanilla and oak, sweet and lush. Medium body, lighter than expected from the color and style, but a good mouth feel from creamy head and active carbonation. Not for the bourbon averse, but hit the spot for a very warming, bourbon forward ale with good dark caramel malt to support it and pleasant vanilla barrel notes. This really hit the spot. Really glad this hit Seattle again after missing III and having the drinkable, but odd II. This is more like I expected and wanted.

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3.17/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

3.5/5  rDev -12.1%

4.25/5  rDev +6.8%

3.5/5  rDev -12.1%

3.75/5  rDev -5.8%

3.5/5  rDev -12.1%

4.22/5  rDev +6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

The beer pours a fairly dark brown color with pretty decent head retention and light lacing. The nose is attractive in this beer, though it's hardly earth shattering. There's a hint of bourbon and vanilla, along with some noticeable chocolate, brown sugar and light coffee. The flavor profile is just more of the same in this moderately sweet beer. Also, while I wouldn't call the beer thin, Oakshire's take on the style is a bit lighter then what you normally encouner in a BBA RIS. Still, the beer is quite smooth on the plate, and the finish is long and seamless. Alcohol is very well integrated into the flavor profile, and it's easy to deceive youreslf into believing that the abv. is not all that high.

While hardly in the same class with beers lke Super Nebula or the Abyss, this is still a pleasant, easy to enjoy BA impy stout from Oakshire.

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3.5/5  rDev -12.1%

3.68/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle opened on 5.8.14

A - Pours a dark brown-amber with a fluffy dark tan head that fades slowly.

S - Caramel, toffee, roasted malt.

T - Bourbon, then a light toffee.

D - Good carbonation with a medium body.

O - Caramel and toffee, lots of bourbon, lighter then expected body.

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3.25/5  rDev -18.3%

3.87/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

22oz into a tulip. Pours a translucent brown w/ a 1-finger khaki head.

Aroma is sweet and boozy. Brown sugar, caramel, bourbon.

Taste likewise is sweet and boozy. Brown sugar, molasses, chocolate, a touch of vanilla.

Mouthfeel is pretty heavy. Good carbonation keeps it from being syrupy.

Overall a good barrel-aged old ale, perhaps a little too sweet for me.

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4.53/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

This is drinking really well right now. After almost a year in the cellar the vanilla flavor has really started to come out. This is much more mellow and enjoyable than I remember at the hellshire release last February. If you've been holding on to your bottles waiting for the right time to open, I wouldn't hesitate to give it a try now.

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