Beelzebub's Jewels 2010
Holgate Brewhouse / Keatings Hotel

A little over a year old so why not open this up.

750 ML into a tulip

A-- poured a deep, dark, slightly hazy ruby color. Short lived half finger of light brown head. Went to light brown film. Head retention is good. Got a finger of head on whirling. Visible alcohol legs on the sides of the glass.

S-- Like the smell. Like a thick, rich spiced rum cake. Not so much rum but a lot of stewed dark fruits with touches of candied sugar. Slight amount of alcohol to this but reserved. Smells like an English Barley wine or a Belgian Strong Dark Ale than a US style one. No smell of wood at all in this. Thought this was barrel aged??

T-- Big, thick and rich again. Very jammy tasting. Get strawberry jam, plumbs, rum, some spices, wood (finally) and touches of wine.

M-- Some hops in the mouth. Just a small bit of tingle but not much else. Lots of malt with this. Has portions of a lot of thinness and then over the top in just being almost pure alcohol. More it warms up the more the alcohol is pronounced and the fruit really drops off.

D-- Great nose, great look but as it warmed it just became total booze with small flashes of what it should be. Really liked how jammy it was and just oozed of big bold juicy flavors. Drinking wise just a lot of booze. Bummer. Could have been very good.

Looked great as it poured. Massive head retention and a bit of lacing when it finally settled.
Smelt boozy from the outset and was exactly the same upon tasting. This beer does not do a very good job of hiding the alcohol and is totally in-your-face!
It was relatively chilled when poured but as the beer reached room temperature this one opened up a little. More Belgian Strong Dark Ale in style than Barleywine with a bit of phenol & spice in there. Slightly sweet on the finish but the big let down, apart from the alcohol burn, is the price. At $40-50 you would expect this to be something a little special but this is far from it.

Pours a burnished brown colour, head is modest but sinks to a very thin film, specks of lace being left here and there. Beige-coloured head, yeah pretty nice. Slight haze, mostly clear. Good-looking beer.

Smell is fairly roasty, with lots of hoppy notes coming through as well, touch of rosewater. Some mint as well? Very floral, quite earthy, and a very slight milky edge as well. Pleasant, not mind-blowing.

Taste is quite robust, fairly medicinal actually with fair phenols, hints of herbs all over that with rosemary and sage. A lot of thick, malty characters with hints of light coffee and some boiled sweet notes. Hint of musk and a definite alcohol warmth at the back, slight brandy edge. Yeah, a strong beer, can't say I'm overly enamoured of this though. Lots of sweetness, lots of phenols, just a strong beer without the complexity I love in other barleywines.

Definitely a lot of body to it, quite thick with a soupy character. Leaves fairly well but with a powerful alcomaholic warmth to it.

Flavour is enjoyable, but the noticeable alcohol heat on this makes it less drinkable.

Pours a very heavy deep red colour, with an almost bright yellow head of sudsy foam. Good deep body. Decent lacing, although not as great as I might have expected from a heavy barleywine.

Slight marzipan note on the nose, with some decent American hops. There's a slight oxidised note to it like wet cardboard. It's ok, but not exciting.

Palate is smooth, with some round and spicy barleywine characters on the back. Slight grass and banana skin characters come through, but the finish is quite phenolic and big with heat and booze. Rather simple palate, without a whole heap of complexity, but tasty enough.

It's a pretty decent beer, even if it's missing something. I don't think it's huge, exciting or experimental enough to warrant the special release or the price tag, but it's a nice brew. I wish Australia's huge special release beers matched America's. This is nice enough, but wouldn't cut it with the best in the world.