Hand Of Glory (2018)
Holy Mountain Brewing Company - Interbay Brewery + Taproom

Thanks to the moon & back to intecwrx for this 500ML gold-waxed bottle, which I am going to put down single-handedly tonight to celebrate the beginning of the 2019 over 35 baseball season. Not sure how much longer I can play with these young punks.

I win a sixty second struggle with the wax & out comes a ruddy, unclear dark red. The nose is rich, sweet caramel with an undercurrent of apple brandy & currants. Nice start.

Hand of Glory (2018) – two sips & I already want another. The caramel, native figs, rich malts, & slow, steady assault of booze in the base is complemented in otherworldly fashion by the bourbon & apple brandy, the latter of which has the upper hand. While I could blather on further, that’s it. I mean, would you rather watch Byron Buxton run or hear about it on the radio? Mouthfeel: beautiful. Drinkability? Should come in faucets. Out of faucets.

One of the best barleywines I’ve ever had. Borderline perfect.

Many thanks to @NWer for sharing this beer with me the other day.

The beer pours a slightly hazy, solid brown color with good head retention and decent lacing. On the nose, I'm picking up considerable brown sugar, toffee, butterscotch, light chocolate, light fig and a hint of licorice. There's some light bourbon as well, but it's fairly subdued on the nose. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely in this fairly sweet BW. There's very little noticeable hop presence in the English style BW, and the light bourbon blends in seamlessly with the base beer. Mouth feel is fairly full, with a long, softly creamy, endless finish. Alcohol is very well integrated into the flavor profile, and this beer really does not drink like a 13.5 abv. beer.

Impressive beer for sure. Thanks for sharing this beauty Larry!

 

 

 

 

Appearance is dark muddled brown, but it has clear red edges that glow when held up to light. A short tan head quickly fizzles out to a smooth, fluid surface.

Up front it's caramel chews and sweet woody bourbon. Then cocoa dusted date and Werther's develop before hard orange candies come out on the exhale. As it warms, roasted walnut and a hint of maple emerge.

The smooth medium body is almost viscous, but is then broken up by a crackly carbonation that brings with it the heat of whiskey before a semi-dry, numbing finish.

Not the knockout stunner The Great Beer Trading Republic made it out to be, but a wonderful barleywine all the same, presented with a badass label and killer wax job. Maybe I should have had b1 instead *sigh*

Day one of clean living and wellness in 2020, kicking off the New Year with a little self-care encouraged by my friend #bil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aged for a couple of years in the bottle. Dark brown appearance with slight tan head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is a nice standard barleywine. Taste is a strong standard barleywine flavor that is somewhat smooth.