Hand Of Glory
Holy Mountain Brewing Company
Beer Geek Stats:
| Print Shelf Talker
- Style:
- British Barleywine
- ABV:
- 13%
- Score:
- 93
- Avg:
- 4.64 | pDev: 4.31%
- Reviews:
- 7
- Ratings:
- From:
- Holy Mountain Brewing Company
- Washington, United States
- Avail:
- Retired (no longer brewed)
- Wants
- 34
- Gots
- 11
SCORE
93
Outstanding
93
Outstanding
Notes:
English-style Barleywine brewed with Simpsons Finest Golden Promise and hopped with EKG. Hand of Glory was fermented with a traditional English strain and transferred into 13 year old bourbon barrels to age for 6 months. It was then transferred into French Cognac casks, where it continued to age for an additional 14 months.
Reviews: 7
| Ratings: 35
4.6/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
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.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
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.
423 characters
4.8/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
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!
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
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!
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4.25/5 rDev -8.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
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.
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look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
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.
162 characters
4.82/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
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.
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look: 3.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
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.
1,417 characters
5/5 rDev +7.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
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
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look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
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
557 characters
4.39/5 rDev -5.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
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!
1,178 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
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!
1,178 characters
4.84/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
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.
168 characters
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
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.
168 characters
Hand Of Glory from Holy Mountain Brewing Company
Beer rating:
93 out of
100 with
35 ratings
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