Pecking Crew
Holy Mountain Brewing Company in Seattle, Washington, United States 🇺🇸
Collab with: Horus Aged AlesMild - Light / Pale Special
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Score
6.78
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Introducing “Smallywine”! To craft Pecking Crew, crews at Holy Mountain and Horus Aged Ales took the second runnings of a big Barleywine they brewed together, diluted it up to volume, and gave it an extended boil for a bit more body. Then they oak fermented the brew exclusively in second-use Kentucky bourbon barrels, introducing nuances of whiskey caramel and woody vanilla, before adding fresh yeast and sugar prior to canning for natural carbonation.
Tasting Notes
Enormous bourbon aromas perfume the air with every cherry wood-hued pour. The sip follows with all the signature flavors of a barrel aged Barleywine — chewy date, sticky toffee, spirit-soaked custard, and balancing whispers of char. But with a soft sip like a Mild, a dry finish, and an obscenely approachable 3% ABV, this is one Barleywine you can easily enjoy all day long!
Tasting Notes
Enormous bourbon aromas perfume the air with every cherry wood-hued pour. The sip follows with all the signature flavors of a barrel aged Barleywine — chewy date, sticky toffee, spirit-soaked custard, and balancing whispers of char. But with a soft sip like a Mild, a dry finish, and an obscenely approachable 3% ABV, this is one Barleywine you can easily enjoy all day long!
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6.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Undated can drunk 8/8/26.
Moderately-rich, buttery oak with soft vanilla and gentle caramel. They seemed to have matched the barrel treatment to the gravity, which is the biggest worry when barrel aging a, checks notes, 3% abv beer....Just a bit of pepper and spice from the bourbon, growing a bit more prominent as it warms/breathes. Basic mix of bread and caramel from the mix of base and caramel malts is amply supportive. No alcohol noted ;)
Earthy anise and vegetal flavors abound with massive umami. Tastes like chewing on a fresh bolete. Maybe you could make a case for it being tea-like, but I can't find the bourbon. Malts are thin, maybe not too thin for its size, but there are many more richer 3% beers out there. I realize this is the second runnings so it's unlikely to come off as deeply malty, and there's gonna be weird tannin and stuff, but I just can't get past the mushroomy umami (despite loving mushroomy umami flavors). Just not what I was expecting or wanted from a BA mild ale.
Moderately-rich, buttery oak with soft vanilla and gentle caramel. They seemed to have matched the barrel treatment to the gravity, which is the biggest worry when barrel aging a, checks notes, 3% abv beer....Just a bit of pepper and spice from the bourbon, growing a bit more prominent as it warms/breathes. Basic mix of bread and caramel from the mix of base and caramel malts is amply supportive. No alcohol noted ;)
Earthy anise and vegetal flavors abound with massive umami. Tastes like chewing on a fresh bolete. Maybe you could make a case for it being tea-like, but I can't find the bourbon. Malts are thin, maybe not too thin for its size, but there are many more richer 3% beers out there. I realize this is the second runnings so it's unlikely to come off as deeply malty, and there's gonna be weird tannin and stuff, but I just can't get past the mushroomy umami (despite loving mushroomy umami flavors). Just not what I was expecting or wanted from a BA mild ale.
Tried
from Can
from Tavour
on 08 Aug 2026
at 18:36
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
16 oz. can, pours a cloudy dark orange amber with a small off-white head. Aroma has toffee, bready malt, and small hints of bourbon barrel. Flavour is sort of like a lightly bourbon-tinged English mild, with soft bready malt and essence of toffee. Decent enough for what it is.
Tried
from Can
on 19 Jul 2026
at 07:43
7.3/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 7
Flavor 7.5
Texture 7
Overall 7.5
Can from Tavour. Pours clear amber with a moderate, transient tan head. Aroma of toffee and bourbon. Arguably medium body. Fairly dry and somewhat bitter. Flavor of toffee, bourbon and wood. Sessionable! I like it!
Tried
from Can
from Tavour
on 29 Jun 2026
at 01:18