Holy Smoke
BramBrass in Heestert, West Flanders, Belgium 🇧🇪
Brewed at/by: De MeesterStout - Imperial Special
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Score
7.92
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nathanvc (6963) reviewed Holy Smoke from BramBrass 11 months ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8
Bottle from Stacks. Jet black, stable, small, foamy, dark beige (almost brown) head. Intense aroma of peated whisky, peat & iodine, soy sauce, tobacco, fondant, pecan, shoe polish, praliné, vanilla bean, espresso. Taste has sweet dried fig, prune & pear in a thick dark-chocolatey, pecan-nutty (as in pecan pie) and hazelnutty malt body; thin layer of umami soy and bitter espresso. Peppery hoppy finish, lingering coffee, touch of liquorice, very slightly metallic for some reason (but could be also be the medicinal effect of the peat, not disturbing anyway), tobacco and evidently a warming alcohol glow of peated whisky. Full body, (thick) oily texture, soft carbonation. I always expected a decent standard given the other examples in Brambrass's broad range, but this one even exceeds that level. Lovely stuff and of course I'm a peat fan.
Bierridder (4318) ticked Holy Smoke from BramBrass 1 year ago
Edwgallo (6795) ticked Holy Smoke from BramBrass 1 year ago
jefverstraete (7489) reviewed Holy Smoke from BramBrass 1 year ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9
Pitch black colour, brown foam, syrupy texture. Lots of roasted malts, coffee, ashes, along with a delicious layer of peaty whisky. Slow sipper, very well balanced. Great BA stout!
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Holy Smoke from BramBrass 1 year ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
One of countless interesting imperial stout variations by BramBrass, this time aged on Caol Ila barrels (peated Islay whisky). Medium thick yet frothy, membrane-like lacing, mocha-brownish head on a jet black beer, no light passing through – looks good. Strong aroma of indeed pronounced Islay whisky (clear actual whisky plus moist peat, even iodine), melting black chocolate, pipe tobacco, roasted walnuts, nutmeg, coffee grounds, black pepper, toffee, wet leather, molasses. Dense, sweet, ‘candied’ onset, candied date, fig jam, dried blackberries, softly carbonated with very full, oily, almost somewhat syrupy mouthfeel – certainly thick enough for the intended style; massive layers of toffee, dark chocolate molasses, pecan nut paste and eventually coffee ensue, very mouth-filling, with leathery, peppery and bayleaf-like elements. Lovely bittersweetness with full roasted bitterness in the end, paired with spicy hops and of course the return of that iodine-like peat, very tightly associated with Islay whisky – and well-incorporated here, because of the sheer full, ‘clean’ and streamlined thickness and bittersweetness of the base beer. Whisky-like alcohol for sure, but again well-integrated and not disturbing. I had many a good to excellent beer from this zealous brewer and this one certainly belongs up there with the best of his range: very powerful, robust and intense, a dense tapestry of bold flavours, but matching well with each other. Oddly elegant and sophisticated too, in a sense – seemingly contradictory with the sheer power and ‘bulk’ of this style, but then this is what characterises only the best imperial stouts. International class.