Works Of Love 2013: De Molen
Hill Farmstead Brewery

held up incredibly well

 

 

 

 

 

Thought it would be a shame to crack a beer that has been aged for 20 months and not review it... Bottle cracked on a beautiful fall night. Poured at cellar temp and let sit to room temp.

Look: Deep midnight black brew, very little foam that quickly disappeared. The beer looks a little thin.
Smell: So much bourbon!
Taste: Wow! The beer has been totally corrupted by the barrel but it in a very good way! It's basically like drinking bourbon without the burn. The taste is complex bourbon barrel, caramelized sugar and old oak.
Feel: Slightly thin and slick.
Overall: I like bourbon, I drink Eagle Rare and 4 Roses, so this beer appeals to me. If you were not a bourbon fan it might be hard to appreciate this - as it's so one sided towards bourbon. I would be interested to know the ABV as it's hard to tell. The thin and slick mouthfeel tends to make me think the ABV is around 11 to 12.

 

Its food but not as good as others of theirs

 

Didn't know what to expect from this, as I've never had a hf stout and haven't had a de molen stout in a minute. And collabs suck more often than not, IMO. Really pleased, though, after drinking the 375 bottle. Aroma and appearance remind me of rare 15. It pours a little more clear and kicks up a little less head than I'd like. Similar to rare, you can smell the age on the barrel and imagine it plays a part in sucking some of the chewiness out of the beer. Flavor follows--a gnarled old barrel note--not sour at all, but, as others have said, wine-like. reminds me a bit of the derivations in the complexity of the melanoidin/leather/toffee/Barrel flavors (and lack of head). Less satisfying than derivation 3 in my opinion because it's thinner in the middle, but I'd take it over most high grade Ba stouts--incl rare 15, which I like very much, because it's danker and less sweet.

 

 

 

 

 

Being a fan of de molen, I can honestly say this is the only HF beer I strongly desired. Thank you Brandon for sharing. The brew pours black in color with a very thin head that is quickly gone.

Nose has a heavy wood influence smelling of cedar-like spiciniess, bourbon, caramel and other burnt sugars.

The taste is quite woody like that previously mentioned cedar aspect before giving way to bourbon, caramel, booze and toasted coconut.

This is medium in body with very light carbonation. A solid stout that you can easily tell has spent quite a bit of time resting in barrels. I enjoyed this quite a bit but doubt id ever shell out the asking price to have it again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours black, no head. It looks pretty still. Aroma is a lot of dried fruit, some rubbing alcohol. I get a lot of that dried fruit up front, some heat in the middle, before finishing with some chocolate and coffee. In the end, this is a very nice BA stout, but the heat detracts from its overall character.