King's Head
Holy Mountain Brewing Company

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From:
Holy Mountain Brewing Company
 
Washington, United States
Style:
American Brown Ale
ABV:
11%
Score:
92
Avg:
4.18 | pDev: 7.42%
Reviews:
15
Ratings:
83
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 21, 2022
Added:
Oct 07, 2014
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  9
Double Oatmeal Brown Ale Aged in Bourbon Barrels

King's Head is our double oat brown ale brewed with a large portion of malted and unmalted oats, Maris Otter, and specialty English chocolate and crystal malts. It was fermented with an expressive English ale strain, and then transferred into fresh Kentucky bourbon barrels, where it continued to age for 1 year.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Eddiehop:
Photo of Eddiehop
Rated by Eddiehop from Texas

4.3/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Apr 30, 2017
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.89 by westcoastbeerlvr from California

Feb 21, 2022
Photo of Alieniloquium
Reviewed by Alieniloquium from Florida

3.78/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
500 mL bottle. Black. Smells of bourbon, strong oak, light nutty malts. Tastes of strong bourbon, nutty malts, light toasted bread, oak. Medium heavy. Boozy, but not all that sweet. Pretty good.
Jan 09, 2022
Photo of maximum12
Reviewed by maximum12 from Minnesota

4.13/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Thanks to davey for this 500ML bottle with bronzed wax that was pleasingly easy to remove without endangering my fingers.

The pour is very dark with brownish reddish visible only around the margins. The nose is sweet bourbon, as the barrels overwhelm the meekly smelling beer beneath.

King’s Head is an interesting experience. The oats distinguish this from the pack, with a mouthfeel as smooth as a marble slide (but the splinters….ouch). Slick & chocolatey & those soft oats up front before the bourbon kicks in to make it nearly frictionless. Hazelnut, earth, oak, with roasty bitterness on the end. Complex yet easy going, this is a beast that goes down easy.

The rare brown ale tossed in a barrel that can stand up to it – and I think we must give the oats an award for that. An excellent beer that stands in a category by itself.
Dec 16, 2020
Photo of MaltsOfGlory
Reviewed by MaltsOfGlory from Oregon

3.88/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
500ml bottle

A super smooth pour yields nearly two fingers of light brown head into my snifter, noticeably dense. Retention is pretty good, after a few minutes a half finger still remains. Initial lacing looks thick and wonderful. Body is pitch black, even when held up to light. Looks like a beast so far.

As with nearly all barrel aged beers, all I can smell is soy sauce and cloying sugars. Maybe a little chocolate. Not enjoyable, but past beers give me confidence that the flavor will be better.

Flavor is massive, I can start off with that, fills your mouth up. A little soy sauce at first, but not terrible. Pretty spicy, notes of cinnamon seem to be flirting throughout. Maple syrup. Leads way to a nice woody oak, and a little whiskey in the finish. Noticeable desert-like chocolate at the end as well. Hard to pull all of the flavors out, but this is pretty nice.

Mouthfeel is huge as well. Sugars are pretty pronounced, and flirt heavily with being too high; this is to be somewhat expected, but you could kick up the attenuation a bit. Pretty warming, but does not drift into an alcohol burn, hides the 11% very well. Body is thick as all hell, on one hand this makes the sugars seem more cloying, but it also makes for a beastly beer, which is perfectly fine. Carbonation is definitely on the lower side, which is not really here nor there, but I could see a bigger carbonation being distracting. Bitterness is pretty noticeable when you look for it, but not what you remember when drinking the beer, and only necessary to balance this monster. With the exception of the sugar, this is a pretty great mouthfeel.

Despite the aforementioned sugar, this goes down pretty damn good. Just remember to drink water.

The appearance turned out quite nice. The head eventually cleared out, but was solid. Lacing was a little patchy, but pretty good as well.

Overall, far from perfect, but it’s got a huge flavor and a mouthfeel that makes for a meal in a bottle.
Jul 16, 2020
Photo of hops_for_thought
Reviewed by hops_for_thought from New York

4.29/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a bottle (Dec2019) into a tumbler

L: rich black brown with a thick brown head and matching lacing

S: very chocolaty nose, lots of caramel and bourbon barrel. Chocolate chocolate chip brownies, fudge, nice bourbon warmth

T: lots of chocolate, caramel brownies and fudge soaked in bourbon. Roast coffee, especially towards the finish (gets a little bitter). Medium finish, again that bitterness comes through here - as it warms find it more than I’d like

F: medium body (could be a bit thicker), medium carbonation (could be a bit less)

O: nice, rich brown ale with a great nose and flavor, plus good bitterness but becomes too much for me as it warms. Body could be thicker, but regardless solid
Jun 14, 2020
 
Rated: 4.4 by khoff5 from Connecticut

Jun 07, 2020
Photo of Roguer
Reviewed by Roguer from Connecticut

4.5/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Good head production; OK retention. The dark tan foam doesn't last particularly long in earnest, but long after the pour, there's still a thin film remaining along with some scattered bubbles. Body is very dark brown, a cross between ebony and mahogany.

Initially, strong bourbon on the nose, but the more I savor the aroma, the less strong it comes across, instead smooth and rich. Along with the bourbon are notes of dark fruit, red grapes, dark bread, cream, coconut (admittedly from the bourbon), chocolate, brown sugar, and piney and earthy hops.

The year in bourbon barrels lends not only a strong bourbon presence to the aroma, but also results in a beer that comes across perhaps more as a barleywine than a brown ale - at least by the nose.

This beer throws a complete change-up on the palate, however. Up front, it's quite bitter and dull, with plenty of earthy, piney, and neutral hops blending with the oak to completely shock the system. This is followed by quite a bit of chocolate and coffee, as well as building bourbon strength, reaching a peak around the transition to the back third, where coconut flavors take over as the dominant tone before yielding the stage to an incredibly oaky finish.

Throughout, in various stages and strengths, are notes of figs, dates, prunes, raisins, red grapes, caramel, brown sugar, and green leaves. While it's not devoid of sweetness, particularly in spots, overall it's a brashly bitter, oaky, and leafy brew - and definitely more in line with the brown ale style, with moderate hop bitterness but fairly neutral hop flavors.

Super thick and creamy, really quite chewy, on the palate. While there's plenty of liveliness and sting around the gums, you can still savor the brew as long as you'd like. The moderate bitterness but fairly low roastiness, along with less sweetness than an imperial stout or barleywine, makes this supremely drinkable despite the barrel aging and high ABV.

This is a really lovely beer. It's probably not for everyone, as I suspect most people grabbing a BBA 11% ABV dark brew are looking for a stout or barleywine. I find this a wonderful change of pace, with enough familiar to remind you of its size, but enough different to make for a refreshingly different experience.
Apr 06, 2020
 
Rated: 4.28 by jmbeerdude91 from Arizona

Mar 05, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by drstalker from Illinois

Feb 26, 2020
 
Rated: 4.39 by Bunuelian from Minnesota

Feb 20, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by BEER88 from North Carolina

Feb 15, 2020
 
Rated: 4.21 by 7irondave from Massachusetts

Jan 11, 2020
 
Rated: 4.27 by Uconnelmo from Connecticut

Dec 29, 2019
 
Rated: 4.5 by Old_Dead_Oak from Wisconsin

Aug 31, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by denver10 from New Mexico

Jul 21, 2019
Photo of asaxon08
Reviewed by asaxon08 from Washington

4.5/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A deep, dark brown ale. Very reminiscent of a stout with its copious amounts of oats. That gives it a bit of a creamy body and dry finish. Very dark in color, rich of caramel, toffee, and chocolate, with prominent bourbon flavor.
Jul 14, 2019
Photo of kemoarps
Reviewed by kemoarps from New York

4.29/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Pour yields a beautiful obsidian structure capped with a frothy brown cap about a finger high. Good retention, though minimal lacing.

Initial impression has a warming bourbon flush initially, though the strength of this fades as it sits. Backing this up there is chocolate and oats, along with a heavy roasty character. You don't really see this combo (a brown ale combined with either barreling OR oats for that matter), and already this bottle makes me wonder why that isn't the case. It doesn't have the big sharp notes or quite the luxuriant aspect of a stout, but it does make just a really fuzzy inviting thing.
The bourbon by this time has retreated to a warming finish... not a burn, but like the residual warmth that some liquors leave behind. I'm into it.

Many of the same impressions listed above for nose could go here for taste. Milk chocolate and a touch of oak, lots of fuzzy roast and some chestnut. 11% is well integrated. You can tell you've got some abv in the glass, but it's not overwhelming or distracting or anything.

Bright carbonation pierces a body that has almost negative weight. It's like fluffy light. Like whipped soft and airy light, not thin. Like a good mousse.

I dig it. Is good.
Jul 10, 2019
 
Rated: 4.98 by Vylo from New Jersey

Jun 05, 2019
 
Rated: 4.44 by Wisconsin_IPA_Lover from Wisconsin

May 17, 2019
King's Head from Holy Mountain Brewing Company
Beer rating: 92 out of 100 with 83 ratings