Going Barrel Crazy Part 2: De Molen Sally & Swain
Time for more BA's!
So I came back from another visit to my favorite place to drink in Rotterdam, the Fenix Food Factory, and of course I could not come back empty handed. So I decided to check out the store and grab a few bottles to write some reviews. Then I came across a whole selection of new Barrel Aged beers from de Molen, and so I had to do the honorable thing and grab another 4 of them. Welcome to the first of four reviews of these amazing beers!
The New Batch:
So for my new selection I have chosen the following bad boys (from right to left):
- Sally & Swain
- Bommen & Granaten (Bombs & Granades)
- Triple Gold BA
- Verdeel & Heers (Divide & Conquer)
Today I will review the first of the four: Sally & Swain
The Stats:
Sally & Swain is a mixed grain Imperial Stout with 12% abv and aged in Bowmore Whisky barrels. The recipe uses Barley, Wheat and Oatmeal, as well as Apollo (15-21 Alpha) and Zeus (13-17% Alpha) Hops. Great beer on paper, time to try it!
The Review:
- Color and Aroma:
The beer is an intense black with caramel brown foam which forms a decent head for a beer this potent. The aroma is of caramel and cherry notes embodied by the dominating peat from the Bowmore barrel.
For Color and Aroma I give it a score of 8/10 - Flavor and Body:
Smoky with dark chocolate roast and good malt presence. Surprisingly low amount of the Bowmore in the flavour, in contrast to the very intense presence in the aroma. The body is medium for an Imperial Stout, could be a little heavier for more impact, and the carbonation is light as one would expect. Low alcoholic presence despite the high abv content, which always scores high marks with me.
For Flavor and Body I give it a score of 7/10 - Finish:
The aftertaste is dry and smooth but doesn't linger too long, with the smoky roasted aromas dissipating last. Once again no high presence of alcoholic taste. Very nice.
For the Finish I give it a score of 8/10
OVERALL SCORE: 7.7 - Highly Recommended!
Hope you have enjoyed this review and that you have an opportunity to try this great beer.
Cheers, and see you next time!
Great review! That beer looks fantastic and I love the opening photo. As soon as I saw "Bowmore" I was curious. It is a little disappointing to hear about the body and lack of the Bowmore presence in the taste, but I'd still love to give it a try.
If you ever have access to Avery Brewing, out of Colorado, they also have a very solid barrel aged series with some rather unique brews.
Thank you very for the comments and the suggestion. We have some really massive beer shops here that might have Avery Brewing and I will keep an eye on it.
Cheers.
Absolutely! I will say they are not all stouts, but they are certainly creative. I have personally had their Nuttiest Professor, a BA Imperial Peanut Stout, which is quite tasty and comes in at 15.2% ABV. But they also have BA blondes, BA sours, BA dark sours, BA porters, BA quintuples (that's right, QUINtuple) etc. And the types of barrels they use range from bourbon, to tequila, to rum, to Islay Scotch, Cabernet Sauvigon, etc.
Sadly, some of these can only be acquired at the brewery... At any rate, they seem rather interesting and Avery makes some excellent brews, so it may be worth it to give them a shot if you see them.
That looks like a fantastic beer. I’ve started to experiment with a few stouts myself and have been really impressed so far.
I find that Stouts are the last level after one's gone through their belgiums and their IPA phase.
Ehh, I'm not sure I fully agree with that. I do agree in the sense that the Belgians and IPAs tend to be more popular and thus get greater exposure, but I got my wife hooked on Stouts and Porters before she ever really tried either of those. She still dislikes 90% of Belgians to this day, though she's a big fan of IPAs. Same with my father-in-law, more or less skipped the Belgians and IPAs, right to the Stouts.
I find it easier at times to introduce someone without a lot of beer exposure to an easy drinking stout than a Belgian or IPA, especially an IPA.
I think your wife and father-in-law just know their stuff when it comes to beer right from the start hehe. But sure to each is his own but I tend to notice that people who enjoy beer casually tend to avoid the darker stronger beers and focus more on the belgians and when they have an IPA they seem to feel like they are having an adventure.
Haha, fair enough. I can agree with that. It's like there's a fear of it just because it is dark and doesn't look like what they consider "beer." IPA's CAN be pretty exciting...
Stouts are fantastic! What have you tried so far? There is such a wide range in stouts, from bitter to sweet, light to heavy, flavored, unflavored, barrel aged, sour, etc. I know a lot of other styles do this as well, but I believe stouts provide the most flexibility (personal bias here).
I tried a couple at Lobethal Bierhouse yesterday which were fantastic. One was a Licorice Stout and the other was their Christmas Ale. Both were very different but really enjoyable. I’ll be doing a write up on them soon. :)
Excellent, I'll look forward to reading it! I'm quite partial to Christmas Ales myself. I've yet to try a Licorice Stout, but it definitely sounds right up my alley.
I have tried dozens and dozens and I always find myself going for the Barrel Aged ones with stronger than 10% abv, because they are the pinnacle of great beer and take master skills to make, not to mention a lot of patience! So no wonder I'm aiming for making a stout next, it must be done!
When I was starting my adventure with craft beer, De Molen was one of the legends. Already established, brewing awesome Imperial Stouts and Porters. Since then, not much has changed, they still brew great stuff. I especially like De Molen beer when matured for some time, in a way they are predestined for this as some have was on the cap.
I agree and I really need to stock up on some of these BA and mature them for at least a year and then go back to this review and compare. There is an idea for a post!
Sounds like a tasty stout, good job on review.
Cannot wait to try one now!
@fabrews You make me jealous! Look at all of those delicious beers! I really want to try that triple B.A!