Holy Cowbell
Beavertown Brewery
Beer Geek Stats:
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- Style:
- American Black Ale
Ranked #202 - ABV:
- 5.6%
- Score:
- 87
Ranked #16,980 - Avg:
- 3.92 | pDev: 7.65%
- Reviews:
- 13
- Ratings:
- From:
- Beavertown Brewery
- England, United Kingdom
- Avail:
- Rotating
- Wants
- 1
- Gots
- 11
SCORE
87
Very Good
87
Very Good
Notes:
Reviews: 13
| Ratings: 46
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4.2/5 rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Pour from can into half pint glass. This is surprisingly good stuff. The hops and roasted malts combine curiously well resulting in aromas and flavours of spices, particularly cardamon. I often think that canned beers are overly fizzy but the carbonation in this is spot on; smooth and relatively creamy as stout should be. Overall a bit of a winner. Nice one Beavertown. Cheers!
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Pour from can into half pint glass. This is surprisingly good stuff. The hops and roasted malts combine curiously well resulting in aromas and flavours of spices, particularly cardamon. I often think that canned beers are overly fizzy but the carbonation in this is spot on; smooth and relatively creamy as stout should be. Overall a bit of a winner. Nice one Beavertown. Cheers!
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4.1/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
330 ml can, Three Brothers, Bristol - Pours dark brown with a medium tanned foamy head. Medium carbonation. Nice lacing. Smell - roasted malts, chocolate/coffee. Fruity hops - mango/grapefruit. Taste - sweet, roasted malts as well - chocolate/coffee. Hoppy background, light smoky notes. Nice well balanced variation on a stout.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
330 ml can, Three Brothers, Bristol - Pours dark brown with a medium tanned foamy head. Medium carbonation. Nice lacing. Smell - roasted malts, chocolate/coffee. Fruity hops - mango/grapefruit. Taste - sweet, roasted malts as well - chocolate/coffee. Hoppy background, light smoky notes. Nice well balanced variation on a stout.
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4.14/5 rDev +5.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
India stout and not a black ipa. That's to notice because you'll notice it in the taste. It's not on the grapefruits : It's not an Ipa! It's a hugely hopped stout. I like it. Coffee, grass and a bit of pine. A bit light on the mouthfeel but it's make it suite drinkable
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look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
India stout and not a black ipa. That's to notice because you'll notice it in the taste. It's not on the grapefruits : It's not an Ipa! It's a hugely hopped stout. I like it. Coffee, grass and a bit of pine. A bit light on the mouthfeel but it's make it suite drinkable
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3.73/5 rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
First had poured from 330-ml. (11.2-oz.) can, purchased with several other selections to take away from pub, into water glass. At time, I read "Stout" on the label, skipping over the "India," and made a note that Holy Cowbell is not a very stout stout, but a pretty nice black IPA. Well, yeah.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
First had poured from 330-ml. (11.2-oz.) can, purchased with several other selections to take away from pub, into water glass. At time, I read "Stout" on the label, skipping over the "India," and made a note that Holy Cowbell is not a very stout stout, but a pretty nice black IPA. Well, yeah.
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3.89/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
• Look – 3.75 – but couldn’t see it, drank from the can.
• Smell – 4.0 – Roasty and sweet smell.
• Taste – 4.0 – Nice dark and hoppy. Bitter in a quasi – roasty sense but not as strong as a porter or stout. It is what it says – an India Stout.
• Feel – 3.5 – Light body, more in line with a black IPA rather than a porter or stout.
• Overall – 3.75 - OK, I’d equate it with the black IPA craze, but I’m not really into them. Don’t think I’d drink again, but glad to have tried it.
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look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
• Look – 3.75 – but couldn’t see it, drank from the can.
• Smell – 4.0 – Roasty and sweet smell.
• Taste – 4.0 – Nice dark and hoppy. Bitter in a quasi – roasty sense but not as strong as a porter or stout. It is what it says – an India Stout.
• Feel – 3.5 – Light body, more in line with a black IPA rather than a porter or stout.
• Overall – 3.75 - OK, I’d equate it with the black IPA craze, but I’m not really into them. Don’t think I’d drink again, but glad to have tried it.
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4.05/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5
330ml can into a tulip. Paid £2.80 for a single can.
Pours a pitch-black opaque body that remains unchanged when held to the light. A vast, four-finger in height, dense, dark tan coloured foamy head hangs around for an age, maintained by a huge amount of fine carbonation. It leaves layers of impressively thick, sticky lacing as it gradually dissipates.
On the nose heavily charred dark malts and bold resinous piney hops dominate but also noticeable are notes of mild roast coffee, sweet milk chocolate and caramel. Similar to the aroma, burnt malts and grains lead the heavily roasted flavour profile upfront, trailed by a touch of sweeter malts, tangy fruit, milk chocolate and lightly roasted coffee. Hops enter towards the middle providing balance with a mild piney bitterness that fades slowly, lingering long into the finish. Medium to full-bodied with exquisitely fine carbonation the mouth-feel starts out luxuriously soft and creamy, before transitioning to chewy, prickly and fairly astringent as the hop and yeast profiles become drying towards the back end. Intense roasted dark malts combine with bitter hops and robust earthy yeast to provide a long and smooth finish. Dry, complex, smoky, woody, leathery notes linger to leave the palate with an interesting tobacco-like impression.
Overall this is a great beer. At only 5.6% ABV it expertly balances drinkability without compromising on flavour, complexity or character. This little beer packs a punch! Recommended.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5
330ml can into a tulip. Paid £2.80 for a single can.
Pours a pitch-black opaque body that remains unchanged when held to the light. A vast, four-finger in height, dense, dark tan coloured foamy head hangs around for an age, maintained by a huge amount of fine carbonation. It leaves layers of impressively thick, sticky lacing as it gradually dissipates.
On the nose heavily charred dark malts and bold resinous piney hops dominate but also noticeable are notes of mild roast coffee, sweet milk chocolate and caramel. Similar to the aroma, burnt malts and grains lead the heavily roasted flavour profile upfront, trailed by a touch of sweeter malts, tangy fruit, milk chocolate and lightly roasted coffee. Hops enter towards the middle providing balance with a mild piney bitterness that fades slowly, lingering long into the finish. Medium to full-bodied with exquisitely fine carbonation the mouth-feel starts out luxuriously soft and creamy, before transitioning to chewy, prickly and fairly astringent as the hop and yeast profiles become drying towards the back end. Intense roasted dark malts combine with bitter hops and robust earthy yeast to provide a long and smooth finish. Dry, complex, smoky, woody, leathery notes linger to leave the palate with an interesting tobacco-like impression.
Overall this is a great beer. At only 5.6% ABV it expertly balances drinkability without compromising on flavour, complexity or character. This little beer packs a punch! Recommended.
1,489 characters
4.31/5 rDev +9.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Pours black with a small head.
Nose shows heavy piny and resinous hops with a whack of roasted malt behind.
Similar flavours, lots of dry roast and a hint of smoke followed by big piny, spicy and resinous hops.
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look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Pours black with a small head.
Nose shows heavy piny and resinous hops with a whack of roasted malt behind.
Similar flavours, lots of dry roast and a hint of smoke followed by big piny, spicy and resinous hops.
210 characters
3.49/5 rDev -11%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
From zombier. In Duvel glass. Playing KB Dark Side. Pretty good for a black beer. Nice hop flavor, not only coffee but something more soft and tasteful.
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look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
From zombier. In Duvel glass. Playing KB Dark Side. Pretty good for a black beer. Nice hop flavor, not only coffee but something more soft and tasteful.
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3.81/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
A 330ml can with a BB of Dec 2015. Purchased a little while back from Trembling Madness in York. The label calls it an India stout.
A: Poured into a Duvel tulip. Can conditioned. A very dark reddish-brown hue that appears pitch black in the glass. Yields a huge head of creamy light-brown foam that lasts for a few minutes before subsiding to a patchy surface layer. Nice lacing.
S: Aroma of dark, roasty malt with hints of burnt grain, coffee, mild cocoa, pine, weed, citrus peel, earthy yeast, subtle molasses and stewed hops. Plenty of dark malt and hop notes - good stuff.
T: Tastes of intense roasted malt with a hoppy character and a powerful bitter finish. Notes of burnt grain, coffee, cocoa, mild molasses, pine resin, dank weed, peel, grapefruit, citrus, earthy yeast and stewed hops. Faintly sweet, followed by a muscular hoppy bitterness upon swallowing.
M: Mouthfeel is smooth and tingly, with spritzy carbonation and good body. Hop oils stimulate the palate. Pretty astringent, accompanied by an aftertaste of bitter roasted malt, coffee, piny hops and earthy yeast.
O: Tasty - a nice hoppy stout. Confusing for the senses but enjoyable. Looks good, while the aroma and flavour are seriously stuffed with roasted malt, coffee and pine-laden hop notes. Earthy yeast lurks in the background. Decent body. Long on flavour - worth sampling if you like dark, hoppy brews.
1,385 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
A 330ml can with a BB of Dec 2015. Purchased a little while back from Trembling Madness in York. The label calls it an India stout.
A: Poured into a Duvel tulip. Can conditioned. A very dark reddish-brown hue that appears pitch black in the glass. Yields a huge head of creamy light-brown foam that lasts for a few minutes before subsiding to a patchy surface layer. Nice lacing.
S: Aroma of dark, roasty malt with hints of burnt grain, coffee, mild cocoa, pine, weed, citrus peel, earthy yeast, subtle molasses and stewed hops. Plenty of dark malt and hop notes - good stuff.
T: Tastes of intense roasted malt with a hoppy character and a powerful bitter finish. Notes of burnt grain, coffee, cocoa, mild molasses, pine resin, dank weed, peel, grapefruit, citrus, earthy yeast and stewed hops. Faintly sweet, followed by a muscular hoppy bitterness upon swallowing.
M: Mouthfeel is smooth and tingly, with spritzy carbonation and good body. Hop oils stimulate the palate. Pretty astringent, accompanied by an aftertaste of bitter roasted malt, coffee, piny hops and earthy yeast.
O: Tasty - a nice hoppy stout. Confusing for the senses but enjoyable. Looks good, while the aroma and flavour are seriously stuffed with roasted malt, coffee and pine-laden hop notes. Earthy yeast lurks in the background. Decent body. Long on flavour - worth sampling if you like dark, hoppy brews.
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4/5 rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Canned and My first canned stout since Mackeson's and first craft canned stout
treading a very fine line between stout and Black IPA
Coffee & Cocoa & hops & confusion
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look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Canned and My first canned stout since Mackeson's and first craft canned stout
treading a very fine line between stout and Black IPA
Coffee & Cocoa & hops & confusion
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3.67/5 rDev -6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 3.5
The colour is black (100 EBC), the four finger head is pale brown, uneven and airy. It sinks slowly leaving thick lacing on the glass.
The smell is bitter and burned. Creamy notes of dark chocolate and citric hops. Liquorice, banana peels and burned steak. Hints of chloride in the background.
The taste is bitter and dry with floral notes. Growing roasted notes – charcoal and some chocolate. Green plants and tree sap. Medium body. The aftertaste got clean bitterness, some creamy coffee and hints of coconut and more tree sap. The finish is a bit harsh and heavily roasted.
The carbonation is medium strong, the mid-sized bubbles are long-lived and fresh. The liquid is smooth.
I like the style “India stout” much more than “black IPA”. And I like this beer quite a lot, but not the tree sap flavours.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 3.5
The colour is black (100 EBC), the four finger head is pale brown, uneven and airy. It sinks slowly leaving thick lacing on the glass.
The smell is bitter and burned. Creamy notes of dark chocolate and citric hops. Liquorice, banana peels and burned steak. Hints of chloride in the background.
The taste is bitter and dry with floral notes. Growing roasted notes – charcoal and some chocolate. Green plants and tree sap. Medium body. The aftertaste got clean bitterness, some creamy coffee and hints of coconut and more tree sap. The finish is a bit harsh and heavily roasted.
The carbonation is medium strong, the mid-sized bubbles are long-lived and fresh. The liquid is smooth.
I like the style “India stout” much more than “black IPA”. And I like this beer quite a lot, but not the tree sap flavours.
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3.75/5 rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Can from Systembolaget, Sweden at the release day, march 3 -2015.
Dark brow-black beer. A two finger high, brownbeige head.
Nose: Red berries, coffee, pine, oak, roasted malt, sweet chocolate and syrup.
Taste: Roasted malt, grass, pine, resin, chocolate, wood and a little bit of licorice.
Body: Medium body. Medium carbonation. Hoppy and bitter end.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Can from Systembolaget, Sweden at the release day, march 3 -2015.
Dark brow-black beer. A two finger high, brownbeige head.
Nose: Red berries, coffee, pine, oak, roasted malt, sweet chocolate and syrup.
Taste: Roasted malt, grass, pine, resin, chocolate, wood and a little bit of licorice.
Body: Medium body. Medium carbonation. Hoppy and bitter end.
356 characters
3.76/5 rDev -4.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
CAN
Cola black body with pitted umber foam that hangs around but weird floaties on the last pour. 3.75
Straight chocolate malted milk ball nose. 4
Kola nut, chocolate extract, tar, and ash then cola bottle sweet-sour and some rosin, evergreen and orange rind. 3.75
Carob finish and earthy linger.
Almost medium, chewy, fizzy. 3.75
“India Stout” - East London hipster BS or somehow actually different from both a CDA and a hoppy porter? There are some sticky hops there (which get more piney as it warms) but there is no particular tropical fruit or citrus to make this put “India” in the name. Some cocoa, some dank, and a MOR strength to make this weirdly in between, a purposeless (with a Black IPA already in their core range) beer. ABV 3.75
*from notes
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look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
CAN
Cola black body with pitted umber foam that hangs around but weird floaties on the last pour. 3.75
Straight chocolate malted milk ball nose. 4
Kola nut, chocolate extract, tar, and ash then cola bottle sweet-sour and some rosin, evergreen and orange rind. 3.75
Carob finish and earthy linger.
Almost medium, chewy, fizzy. 3.75
“India Stout” - East London hipster BS or somehow actually different from both a CDA and a hoppy porter? There are some sticky hops there (which get more piney as it warms) but there is no particular tropical fruit or citrus to make this put “India” in the name. Some cocoa, some dank, and a MOR strength to make this weirdly in between, a purposeless (with a Black IPA already in their core range) beer. ABV 3.75
*from notes
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Holy Cowbell from Beavertown Brewery
Beer rating:
87 out of
100 with
46 ratings
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