Nieuw Ligt Grand Cru Vintage 2005
Stadsbrouwerij De Hemel

 

 

 

 

 

From 10/30/11 notes. Poured from an 11.2 oz bottle into a tulip. The number 248 is hand written on the bottle; no idea if that is from the store or not. Picked this one up at the Liquor Locker in NJ.

a - Pours a hazy mahogany brown color with very light carbonation evident and very light head, less than an inch.

s - Smells of bready malts, musty notes, caramel malts, toffee, alcohol, and molasses. Somewhat sweet and seems oxidized, and the alcohol is still pretty prominent.

t - Taste musty again, of bready malts, earthy notes, light caramel malts, alcohol, sugar and sweet dark fruits. Again, sweet and a ton of alcohol; bothers me more here than it did in the nose

m - Medium body and very low carbonation. Alcohol heat and not enough carbonation hurts the mouthfeel here.

o - Overall not a great barleywine that seems to have not held up too well. Very hot still after 6 years and very sweet, not something I'd seek out again.

Nieuw Ligt Grand Cru 2005 Vintage

Appearance: Opens with a slight pssst of carbonation. Pours a hazy, murky brown. Surprisingly a quarter inch of head forms and dies away.

Smell: Aroma of fig, dark fruits, very much a barleywine. Some alcohol and notes of oak show up as well.

Taste: First off I must say this beer has held up VERY well. Delicious toffee like malt, paired well with an ageless English ale yeast with fruityness still viable. A touch of anise like spice, which the bottle suggests was picked in the garden of Eden (where the brewery supposedly stands, a tall claim). Some alcohol is there, understandably. Subtle notes of oak and woodsy tannins. Caramelized sugar and booze come out more as it warms.

Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied. Carbonation is perfect, more than moderate, actually alot more than what I was expecting. Warming alcohol can be felt, and ultimately, this would be a perfect brew for colder months. Has an impressive, drying finish full of oaky mildy astringent tannins. Near perfect.

Overall: Very tasty and has stood the test of time. This beer makes me want to start collecting barleywines. Aged to perfection (and well kept during this time), I feel this beer can hold up for several more years. To say this has peaked would be unfair. As it is now, what a delight.

Bottle purchased at West Lakeview Liquors. Served in a Darkness snifter.

A - A hard pour yields some wispy quick-dissolving bubbles and a thin ring. Murky and turbid sultana raisin brown body.

S - Burnt sugars, dried fruits, apple skins, some nice caramel, spicy alcohol, and a bit of sherry-like oxidation. A first I thought the spice was from the alcohol esters, but as it warms up I'm starting to think there's nutmeg and cinnamon added. Alcohol seems excessive for a 6-year-old beer - I'm guessing this was a monster when it was fresh.

T - Taste is a bit more oxidized, with paper, leather, and lightly bitter finish. Less sweet than the aroma suggests, with a not insignificant amount of toffee, kola nut, molasses, and bready malts. Alcohol is significantly more mellow to taste.

M - Very low carbonation, thick chewy texture, full body, definite alcohol heat. Surprisingly dry finish. Quite appropriate for the style.

D - I didn't care for this initially, but as it warmed up it grew on me. I found this surprisingly drinkable. The brewery suggests it peaks at five years, but I'd be more inclined to think 3-4 years might have been the sweet spot. I'd be interested in trying the 2009 vintage in the near future.

Somehow this odd bottle landed in an excellent local shop (Blue Max, a must-stop Twin Cities destination) & my beautiful wife picked it up & bought it for me for my birthday ten months ago. Looked appealing tonight. 11.2 oz, bottle dated 2005, so it already has good time on it.

Pours a very light brown with a nearly invisible reddish halo, plenty of suspended sediment, & hardly any froth even on a hard pour. Swirl, & the odors of caramel & soda pop greet me. Not Coke or Pepsi, but the kind your mom used to buy (if you're old) by the case. Shasta. As it warms the rich, amazingly deep malts come out to tantalize. Yum.

Niuew Ligt brings a brown sugar, alcoholic sting to the genre of English Barleywine. Caramel piles on top & loosens the grip of the booze, along with a big malt grin, but the combination leaves a bizarre, almost dentist-like numbness to the palate. Single spruce needles were likely tormented over the boil to produce what I'm tasting. Big alcohol finish washes over the beach of other tastes & blasts them out to sea. Even after five years, this one still carries the big ABV stick (my bottle says 12% ABV, for the record). Nonetheless, the intriguing mish-mash of tastes means this is a fast sipper that's slipping rather quickly out of my little cup. And once again, the warmer this gets, the better, as the tastes integrate & complement the fine nose.

Excellent beer from a brewery that's truly obscure here in the states. Making a massive brew like this that invites the lips as frequently as this one does is an accomplishment in & of itself. Love to find something else from this brewery, very nicely done.

Reddish glowing fossilized amber, spotty ring of lace, glassy surface. Crystal clarity.

Spicy dried apple fruit leather aroma. Fruitcake or spice cookies. Despite the waxed bottle it seems a bit oxidized, but obviously that's expected, and even a positive trait in a vintage barleywine.

Flavors of sweet toffee, burly rich malts, orange peel, musty leather, cloying sweetness. Somewhat dry with low carbonation, lots of residual sugars in the aftertaste. Syrupy. Smooth with no hint of the abv, surprisingly. Knowing this would be hit or miss, it wasn't terrible, but is best shared. This was split 3 ways and that was plenty.

Almost no "hiss" when I opened the bottle. Here goes nothing.

A- Pours a murky ditch water brown. Zero head. A few clear bubbles surround the edges.

S- Candied sugar, caramel, Belgian yeast and a hint of alcohol. Faint overall.

T- Reminds me of a jack and coke thats been sitting in ice way to long and now a watered down mess. Faint alcohol and caramel and brown sugar.

M- Very thin, basically no carbonation.

D- A disaster overall. Couldn't finish.

Purchased from Toronado's bottle list. Poured into a 4oz tasting glass.

A-Pours a hazy auburn color with a thin ring of off white bubbles. No head.

S-Candied citrus skins, burnt sugar,sherry, a trace of oxidization,lemongrass.

T/M-Caramel sweetness at odds with citrus fruit acidity and booziness. There's a good beer in here somewhere, but ultimately, it suffers from being too boozy. The alcohol dries out the back palate and distracts from some of the more appealing aspects. I would've saved this another 2 years, but reviews of the '03 seem to suggest that it is oxidized. Full bodied with very little carbonation.

D- Drainpour. Couldn't finish more than one glass.

Pours a lifeless cola brown. Uhh.

The aroma is sweet caramel, dark fruit, floral hops, sweet sweet sweetness.

The flavor is cola, raisin, dandelion, sweet maltiness, more cola, some banana, and a final dose of cola.

The body is medium and flat for the most part, but not inappropriate for the style.

This one wasn't horrible, but there was just too much cola sweetness and combined with the body it was like drinking a flat can of Pepsi. I don't think I would drink this again if it was offered.

Bottle shared by Lee - thanks!

Pours a slightly hazy dark copper color with a half-finger off-white head. The head recedes into a thin layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of muted caramel malts with hints of deeper chocolate malt aromas. Also present are large amounts of winter spices - nutmeg and brown-sugar-dusted orange peel.

Tastes similar to how it smells, although the spices aren't quite as intense. Sweet caramel malt flavors with mild amounts of toffee and butterscotch kick things off. Midway through the sip mild spices enter into things - again they serve more as a supporting cast member than in the aroma. The ending is mildly sweet.

Mouthfeel is OK. It's a bit on the thin side with moderate carbonation.

Drinkability is good. I didn't have a problem finishing my glass and could have another.

Overall this was an interesting beer but I can't say that I was terribly impressed. I could see this being one of the few beers that benefits from serving at a warmer temperature, although I probably won't try that due to the high cost. Don't avoid but don't seek out.

Thanks to someone for opening this brew. Pours a clear light brown with faint copper highlights. The head is white. It has a light aroma that hides its complexity. I get mild notes of spice, fruit and vague sweetness. The flavor attacks the palate with sweet dark fruit like plums, raisins, hints of grapes and also smooth blended spices. Then I get caramel hard candy sweetness cut by hints of alcohol, mild tartness mixed with cherries. It really dries out approaching the finish leaving a mild caramel and cherry dark fruit flavor behind.

The last beer of my beer drinking evening with PapaEugene. It slowly becomes a tradition that we end our sessions with a vintage beer. This time a beer from one of my favorite Dutch breweries. Poured this beer into a Rochefort glass. The beer pours an amber color with no head, which is not surprising for an almost 5 year old beer.

Smell: sweet caramel, brown sugar, clove and very strong alcohol

Taste: alcohol, alcohol and oh, wait, did I mention alcohol already? What a pity, it tastes like the brewer added pure laboratory ethanol during bottling. Besides the alcohol, there is some very well hidden taste of dark fruits, caramel malts and sharp spices.

Mouthfeel: Medium-low carbonation, which is surprisingly high for a vintage beer. Soft and somewhat medium-thin bodied.

Overall: Simply too alcohol, spoils everything. Like PapaEugene mentioned, maybe it needs another 5 years....

Last beer of the second beertasting with rvdoorn.

A: Poured into my Urthel glass. A nice amber color with no head. Small bubbly ring of foam.

S: Alcohol, alcohol and alcohol. After that dark fruits, cloves and caramel.

T: A huge alcohol afterburner that takes away the attention of the rest of the palette. Raisins, plums, malts and some spice. Comes close to a barley wine.

M: A medium body with a low/medium carbonation

D: I really wanted to like this beer.... great bottle design, great brewery and a true vintage beer, but the alcohol spoils it all. Maybe if stored another 5 years...

Bottle purchased from Liquid Solutions 1 year ago and aged in a temp. controlled cellar since then.

Appearance: Borning flat iced tea with no head, lacing, or retention. Of course this is a 4 year old 12.00% abv brew so that is not uncommon.

Smell: Beautiful nose full of sweet sugar, ripe fruit (actually smells like Japanese Yuzu fruit to me!) raisin rum cake, and sweet malt.

Taste: Surprisingly different from the nose! Touch of Yuzu in the beginning followed by a quick splash of hop bitterness, then a candied sugar / malt blast, and a medium finish.

Mouthfeel: A bit thin.

Drinkability: Not bad for a brew of this abv. Gotta love what some age can do to some bottles.

I'd say give this one a go anytime btw now and 3 more years from now.

Sampled on 04/15/2009
11.2oz. bottle into Snifter glass
2005 Vintage

Pours a deep brown color w/ ruby red accents. Thin tan head w/ beautiful lacing - this brew has held up well over the last 4 years. Smell is of raisins, plums, dates, figs, and candied sugar. Taste is a nice malt fruitiness w/ a finish of medium hop bitterness and a medium amount of alcohol warmth. Not overwhelmingly sweet as would be expected by the smell. Clean on the mouthfeel. This is a definate sipper as ABV @ 12% is pretty present. Overall, this a nice brew but I am somewhat disappointed - would have actually preferred this to be a touch sweeter and more malt dominated - IMO it was a touch too hoppy for the style.

2005 edition is around in places. Pours a bit medium brown, with many drops of lace.Smells like an aged barleywine. A little tingly on the tongue. Above average in volume of mouthfeel. Boozy warming, a little cognac, actually well integrated barleywine. Fairly good drinking, and like a great aged conditioned beer, to the very last drop.