Hand Of Glory (2017)
Holy Mountain Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vintage 2017. Consumed on 12/24/29.

 

2018 bottle. The beer pours a chestnut brown with a thin head that recedes quickly. It smells of raisins, peaches, cherry, tobacco, bourbon, and brandy barrel. The beer is incredibly light and smooth with flavors of raisin, tobacco, peaches, apricots, cherry cola, light pepper, and brandy barrel. One of the best barleywines I have had to date.

 

 

 

A heavy presence of cognac on the swallow, accompanied by notes of salt, licorice, and caramel.

Hand of Glory certainly breaks the Top 5 Barleywine list and would be a star at most tastings, but I feel it will always fall one or two steps short of the Gold Medal podium in any side-by-side G.O.A.T barleywine share.

It lacks the expanse of flavors and full mouthfeel offered by greats like BCBW '13, Aaron b1, and ADWTD.

standard barelywine light brown coloration with slight tan head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is a mild pleasant standard barleywine. Taste is a very smooth and traditional barleywine. a little thin.

 

Excellent, the tasting group had it blind against the likes of Aaron, Great, ADWTD cognac and double oak, Brew 2000, Anabasis ----- this was hands down the best barleywine of the night, the best I've ever had. so much toffee/caramel- barrel complexity for days!

 

 

Bottle at share. Super smooth, flat pour. Aroma is strong and sweet. Taste is hard, dark, sweet. Tobacco, leather, brown sugar. Smoothness blends it all together.

 

 

 

500ml bottle, 2017 release, poured into a 12oz snifter glass. Enjoyed on 9.17.17, reviewed from Tasting Journal.

The beer pours a dark burgundy color, very opaque with garnet and cola brown hues with a thin bone colored head that has no retention other than a thick film atop the beer and yields only a few spots of clingy lace. The aroma is incredible, super smooth barrel character, charred oak and warm bourbon melds so well with soft and sweet cognac which brings out a really decadent grain, beautifully developed stone fruits, caramel, toffee, nougat with some raisin and lingering cherry. The flavors are wonderful, super smooth with loads of caramel forward bourbon, nice subtle spice and charred wood notes while the cognac plays so well with the grains and the stone fruits, bring out layers and layers of flavor. There is a touch of acidity that comes from a cherry like quality that helps keep the beer, along with the more aggressive bourbon qualities, from being too sweet and cloying, sets out the perfect balance. The mouthfeel is excellent, thick, coating, full bodied without being too heavy and it's so smooth and gentle and finishes with grace.

Verdict: A really stunning beer from Holy Mountain. Easily one of the best and most complex, yet expressive and well balanced barleywines (or beers for that matter) that I've been fortunate enough to try. This is the definition of a world class beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L: pours dark brown with no head and looks dark brown in the glass with light passing through around the edge.
S: big barrel, rich and smooth. It has that caramel covered raisins aroma I love.
T: the cognac comes alive here....it starts with sweet caramel notes which linger in the background the entire time. Then sweeter fruitier notes that leads to the wine/cognac notes. Very complex and delicious with rich and smooth barrel throughout.
F: very thick, sticky and oh so smooth. No abv present, so drinkable.
O: it's amazing. The best babw I've ever had

 

 

04/29/2017 @ Anchorage Brewing Co fundraiser/tasting.

 

 

thanks jay for my first holy mountain beer!

500 into a fw tulip

awesome concept, name and design

looks good on the glass. much more brown than expected. dark and murky with a pinkie head

cognac up front, really good malts and bourbon soaked dark fruit. heat present slightly in the back

here we go. big cognac darkfruit up front. subtle bourbon, vanilla oak and more dark fruits. immediately remind me of deal with the devil, really good cognac in the flavor. no alch heat but definitly warming. as the beer warms the flavor gets a bit muddled but the nose gets even better!

mouthfeel is excellent! really helps deliver the big body. good carb and hidden alch. i've had my fair share of brewery but after one glass this one hs be buzzing hard

overall this beer is excellent. it's definitly different than any other barleywine and that's a very good thing. flavor is definitly good. i actually didn't find it too sweet as others have stated. i think dwtd might actually be sweeter. b2 definitly is. this still isn't as good as the likes of anabasis and leon, but it's definitly world class! i think i'd might have enjoyed it more just bourbon

thanks for the hook up jay!

Had this on tap at the release. I generally don't like barleywines, but this was amazing. I think that the addition of the cognac barrel aging really made this shine.