Alengrin (11609) reviewed Thorlákur from Brouwerij de HopHemel 1 month ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7
Coffee flavoured barleywine in an already endless series of one-offs by Limburg's HopHemel, named after the Icelandic patron saint as a nod to the collaborating, Iceland-themed Puffin 'brewery'. Thanks tderoeck for sharing the can! Thin and open, pale yellowish beige, shred-lacing, dissolving head on a clear amber robe with beautiful deep copper glow - the exact colour I want to see in any kind of barleywine. Aroma of 'green' coffee beans rather than actual coffee, dry biscuit, caramel, (cheap) whisky, dry straw, old teabags, dried prunes, rusk, dried persimmon, white pepper. Cleanly fruity onset, smooth dried apple and persimmon with a touch of raisin, sweetish but nowhere sticky, softly carbonated with oily mouthfeel (actually feeling thinner than the ABV would suggest). Biscuity and rusk-like malty middle, a bit on the meagre side for the intended style, though; soft bitterness follows, initially established by this whiff of coffee - but the 'real' coffee aroma I was hoping for, sadly remains almost mute. Its bitterness fades quickly too, making room for a more 'peppery' and floral bitterness of hops, highlighted by warming, vaguely whisky-like but generally well-hidden alcohol. If you are going to do a coffee barleywine, then I think there should be a warm, aromatic coffee presence at least in the nose: the coffee is there, but in an all too subtle, too 'green' and raw kind of way, an aroma I have encountered in many other (non-stout) coffee-flavoured beers before - yet usually stronger (!). Not too bad, in all, but needs a lot more 'oomph' for a barleywine in general and certainly a coffee-flavoured one; another proof that a collab is sometimes - and in my personal experience even quite often - less than the sum of its parts, as both HopHemel and Puffin have produced more enduring barleywines than this one.
Icedwarf (4896) reviewed Bartolomé from Brouwerij de HopHemel 1 month ago
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Helder geel bier zonder schuim. Smaak is licht bitter droog als een cava met wat druiven, wat citrus en wijn. Jammer dat het niet "bubbelt" want anders zou je het idee hebben een soort champagne te drinken in plaats van een bier.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6.5
Aside from the ABV, which is low, this is a decent approximation of WCIPA. Nice sun-baked pale malts, but if bitter pine, grass, candied citrus, orange peel, semi-ripe tangerine. Fairly bitter finish but it doesn’t quite seem earned. Enjoyable enough.
Benzai (24515) reviewed Lili from Brouwerij de HopHemel 2 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6
Can shared at home. Clear blonde color, average sized white head. Aroma and flavor are malts, yeast, some sweetness and some bitterness. Okay.
Bierridder (4318) ticked Stout Kroontje from Brouwerij de HopHemel 2 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8
Apparently the third version so far of a barleywine created by HopHemel in Hasselt aged on calvados barrels - and one of the two components of the "American Heaven" I had at a private tasting last week, so I was really happy to find this in my home collection, for comparison and for enabling me to reminisce about that lovely day in the outskirts of Ostend. Thinnish but stable and regular, off-white, beautifully 'Brugse kant'-like lacing, breaking yet generally well-retaining head on a clear(ish) deep and pure orangey-amber robe with coppery glow and a suspension of minute yeast particles floating around everywhere - generally, the most classic looks one can associate with the intended genre. Aroma of dry caramel, (real) pecan nuts, bubblegum, green banana, calvados indeed but in a somewhat generic kind of way, quince, red apple peel, unripe pear, biscuit, subtler notes of yellow raisins, cognac, vanilla (oak wood of course - more clear warming up), clove, hard-boiled egg (still warm), dried basil, honey, very vague chicken soup somehow (but so faint that most consumers will probably miss it). Dried-fruity, yet only subduedly sweet onset, hints of dried fig, medlar, raisin but more green banana and green pear to be fair, sweet but less so than usual for this style; medium carb in a slick, vinous, 'full' body consisting of layers of hard-caramelly, hard pecan-nutty and dry-biscuity malts, again perhaps even lacking a touch of 'candied' sweetness but showcasing the calvados effect convincingly, with an impression of slick, hard apple peel left behind along with a peppery, warming alcohol glow, becoming a tad tiring and wry in the end. Notes of woody tannins become stronger after swallowing, even a tad astringent; phenolic clove and ginger effects appear too, almost adding a slight 'Christmassy' feel. Not sure if I should have kept this can any longer - I normally prefer my barleywines at a certain age (one year or more) but I doubt if this one would benefit from such a treatment. Lacks a bit in structure and content for what was intended - but for a 'Belgian barleywine', something I keep standing behind as a (sub)style concept with Bush and Stille Nacht in mind, this one certainly qualifies. Not bad at all, but I miss the depths of flavour a truly successful barleywine can offer - once again I must applaud Bart Vanpoucke for combining this with De Meester's barleywine, because the blend was more than the sum of its two parts, that much is clear now that I had both parts separately.
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Can from Stacks.
A: clear golden, quickly thinning, off-white head.
A: musty grape, plum, apricot, old white wine, sourdough.
T: sweetish-sour plum & grape, citrus, breadcrust.
F: bitter grassy hops, citrus peel & grape skin, touch of sherry.
P: medium body, slick texture, average carbonation.
Somewhat dry & bitter but lacks that touch of 'nobility' for a Brut.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Can from Stacks.
A: clear amber, thin, off-white head.
A: grapefruit peel, orange, rusk, pine resin, winegum, vague grilled fish (weirdly enough).
T: sweetish apple, mango, bitter grapefruit, pine, rusk.
F: piney hops, bitter grapefruit peel, earth, toast.
P: medium body, slick texture, soft carbonation.
Some off-notes here, can't put my finger on it. Moving on.