Golden Sabbath
Big Island Brewhaus

FRom the 12 ounce can, it pours an ever so slightly hazy light amber color with a mdoest white head that diminishes to a nice ring. The nose gets some light scents of sweet honey and possibly rock candy. The mouth gets a nice malt with notes of honey and rock candy.

 

 

 

 

these guys are making some wicked beers, and the use of cool local ingredients set them apart, we had a great session in here full of inspired beers, and this was up there for me, a belgian golden ale with honey. dangerous too, not that there isnt a bit of alcohol to it, but that its so light in color and in body, sneaky for what it is, and interesting enough with the esters from the yeast and the floral fruity character of this honey that its hard to set my glass down. cool art for this one too. blonde to just a shade darker than that with a not quite belgian high white head, but plenty lively from the tap. the nose is not as sweet as anticipated, especially for being as honey forward as it is, clover and orange, white wine and white wine grapes, light love and white pepper but more fruity than spicy from the yeast to me, golden raisin, white bread, rock candy, subtle caramel. the flavor is cool on this, belgian all the way but never close to phenolic, there is richness with it also staying light, and the honey is lovely, springy and uplifting, minor tones of jasmine and grass to it, integrated super well. the carbonation rules, the malt is way back, and it drinks a little vinous in a good way. they had a barrel aged version in a mix of chardonnay and bourbon barrels that i wish i had tried, i could see that bringing out the best of both the yeast and the honey, and seems kind of genius. nice on its own too though, and cool that its packaged in six packs, so little beer like this is anymore. i liked the dark version just as much if not more! nice execution of an often untouched style, not to be missed when on the big island, buzz sets in right away too...

 

On tap at Rebel Kitchen in Kealakekua. Like many other Big Island offerings, I first had this years ago at the brewery in Waimea. Not as much of a standout as a I remember it. But if you are looking for a local Belgian or Belgian adjacent option this is about as close as you will get.

Like anything Big Island Brewhaus, I always recommend having it on draft, for there is way too much variance (and cost) with the bombers.

Heavy malt, Hawaiian honey, and a drying tinge of white wine...enjoyable as long as you aren't expecting the world from it.

 

Poured from a 22oz bomber into a shaker pint

Look: Crystal clear pale amber with a thin white head

Smell: Notes of floral honey, greasy baked bread and quite bitter.

Taste: Bready upfront with some bitter hopes. Smoothed out to a clover honey body with a being of bitter hops. Fades out with malt toast.

Feel: Sticky and a bit heavy on the palate. Medium bitterness. Mild alcohol. Fine carbonation.

Overall: It really missing that sweet note from sugar or more honey. It’s just too bitter for what I was expecting in the style. Just fine.

 

 

On tap. White head. Golden color. Clear.

Love the honey here. Sweet and malty. Plums, molasses, figs, but also has a fruity flavor. Stonefruit and a bit of citrus. Very belgiany in terms of yeast and spice profile. Very complex, enjoyable, and surprisingly easy drinking. Well done.

Look: Golden yellow with a creamy, white head. Poured from 22 oz. bottle into pint glass. Nice lacing and retention on the glass.

Smell: Malts and bread, barely getting any hops or honey. Some spices but they just don’t really hang for long.

Taste: Getting some honey on the taste despite the absence in the smell. Also hints of floral and citrus, spices, cloves. Pretty solid taste for the style.

Feel: Medium bodied and true to the style. Alcohol is masked fairly well in my opinion. Good sipping ale for a summer night.

Overall: Outside of the bland smell this was pretty good. Hefty price tag but I’d probably buy again just to compare aromas. Strong ales are pretty scarce so it’s nice to see the effort from a Hawaiian brewery and the execution was decent.

 

 

 

 

It has that Belgian Strong Ale look, not the thin straw look of beer. Smells fairly light, a bit of caramel and a hint of sweetness. It tastes delicious up front but washes out quickly and has a hint of bitterness. Mouthfeel is slightly thin and easy to drink. Overall it's a fair brew and I was fortunate to have it hand delivered fresh from Hawaii to Texas from my aviator friend. I would drink it again. Shared from an undated 22 ounce magnum bottle into Chalices. From Hawaii's highest Brewery at 2764 feet above sea level. SHARE THE ALOHA.

Bottle from the the ABC in Wailea, packed & settled home in BK. Had this on tap eventually, but no time for notes when your on vacation.

Duvel tulip. Big foamy off-white head. Clear, dark gold honey body. Simply lathery as ever sip leaves a generous bubbly trail behind.

Smells of Belgian candied sugar more then honey, malt, Cheerios, mineral water.

Taste is bittersweet. Sweet honey nut Cheerios malt, Belgian-American phenols, lingering bitter greens, lingering bold citrus rind, foamy, surprisingly light body. ABV was about right, but this is quite easy.

Good.