AleWerks Brewmasters Reserve Grand Illumination Ale
Celebrating the Grand Illumination of Williamsburg each year, our Barleywine style ale is a massive 11% offering that takes us over 5 hours to boil. The long boil time creates a bold caramel tone and is balanced with our signature Amarillo/Cascade hops blend. Limited edition of 2007 bottles.
3.6
197 reviews
Williamsburg, United States
Community reviews
Nice pour with a foamy head and amber cloudy body. The diminished quickly. Taste was crisp refreshing with a typical Heferweizen wheat and yeasty aftertaste. After continuous drinking the aromas switched slightly delivering a unique citrus-juniper note.
Bottle - Pours deep amber with a ring of tan head. Real bold malt with light caramel sweetness and a bit of sharp booziness. Taste is sweet, malty, a bit of yeastiness. Real solid and warm on the finish. Medium and slick with medium carbonation.
Bottle at home with my wife. 2011 Vintage. Pour is murky brown with a small tan head and good lacing. Big toffee, caramel, sherry, dark fruity, figgy, woody, almost port like aroma. Taste is definitely more oxidized, raisins, cherries, fruity, brown sugar, caramel, bread, and orange peel with a lightly bitter finish. Medium body with soft carbonation. This one has definitely held up better than I thought.
22 oz. bottle. 2012 vintage. Dark amber, light thin head retention. Nose has a large hop profile with caramel and syrupy toffee. Toffee and caramel are on the real syrupy texture. flavor really borders on cloying. If you like big overly sweet barley wines this is your brew.
Backlog bottle thanks to so many good ratebeerians. The smell is sweet, caramel, malts, barf, and toast. The look is brown in color, thin off white head. The taste is sweet, alcohol, malt, and toffee.
Fresh on tap 2013, pours murky brown with nice head. aroma is rich sweet malt and pine resin hops. Taste is sweet malt up front with a nice grassy bitter finish which dries it out nicely, love this brewery
5/29/2010. 750 ml. bottle. Dark brown with a tan head. Dried fruit aromas with roasted malt. Brown sugar, caramel, and malty flavors with alcohol burn on the finish.
Bottle at Cecil Late Fall Monster tasting… It pours light murky dark brown with a small bubble …. toasted malt, fruity, caramel, hoppy, full body, citrus, brown sugar…
Bottle at Cecil Late Fall Monster tasting. Pours hazy amber with a creamy light beige head. The aroma is sweet caramel, loads of malt, light fruit, toffee, ripe fruit and biscuits. The flavor is sweet barley, biscuits, alcohol, light hops and sweet malts. Some alcohol in the finish.
Bottle from Bim, thanks! Color is a deep ruby red. Small tan head. It looks sticky sweet. Aroma is strong malt, burnt sugar, with some dark fruits. No hop presence. Taste follows with dominant malt and burnt sugar flavor. It’s warming, but not that overpowering alcohol. Overall a nice barley wine.
Extra from thubderroad, thank you!
Smell of caramel and malt, bottle poured a deep brown with tan soap y head.
Flavor was sweet, caramel, light hoppiness, suttle chocolate notes
Mouthfeel was thin but warming
Overall this is a damn good barleywine
2011 vintage picked up off the shelf at CBX. Clear tawny pour with a small beige head. Aroma was big time caramel and toffee with notes of faded American hops and sweet fruit. Flavors were slightly sweet and bitter, lots of caramel, apple and toffee. Rich, slick mouthfeel with moderate carbonation. Overall this was a straight forward example of an American Barleywine. Well executed and enjoyable.
Rated in April 2012 (Backlog) - Deep amber in color wih a small off-white head. Aroma is of light veggie, herbal and spicy hop notes. Taste is of caramel, pine and bitter herbs.
A very strong ale tasted at Denise’s party. I can see now that most of the beers we tried had an ABV of over 10% - some paid the price for that. This was a strong ale, and unfortunately, a little harsh, with a sharp espresso flavor.
22oz bottle from ksurkin. Rating #167. Thick brown color with a beige head. Sweet toffee and caramel aroma with some brown sugar as well. Bitter up front, followed by caramel and toffee, pretty good. (2831)
Bomber from the brewery thanks to PJs parents from 2012. Dark mahogany with a creamy dark biege head that fades to a thin ring around the glass. Booze, bit plum, nice boozy somewhat wet hops, semi sweet malt with a bit of caramel. Mild carbonation with a moderate body, bit sweet with a bite, slightly dry, tasty.
22 ounce bottle poured an orange light amber color with aromas of booze, caramel, light fruit and some subtle cherries. Flavors are caramel booze with a hint of fruit. Decent beer overall.
Bottle shared by the AZ crew during the obscenely generous tasting they invited me too. nose of toffee, brandy, and dark fruit. tastes of deep cherries, berries, brandy, Madeira, toffee, and rubbing alcohol. i’m just now seeing the abv of all the brews i drank on that day good lord... no wonder my head hurt.
Orange-brown with a white head. Aroma is cherries, alcohol and caramel. Flavor is caramel, cherries, bitter pine, oak, tobacco and leather. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.
Pours reddish brown in color with a white head. Flavors of caramel and hops with a mild alcohol backbone.
Bottle at RBJG#2 - Grand Tasting Tim’s Place. Cloudy red/brown - white head. Barley, fruity, some spices, mouldy, sweetness, oxidation, alcoholic, fruity notes, light citrus, medium carbonation.
Bottle given to me as an extra by GT, thanks! Perfectly clear red pour with light orangey hue and a few spirals of white foam. Lots of sherry oxidization in the aroma, I could certainly feel the age here but it aged with tremendous grace. Notes of honey, burnt toffee, madeira with just the right level of booziness to convince you you are drinking a fine strong beverage.
Overtly sweet, lots of forest berries and jubes. Candi floss. Caramel. Just too sweet for mine.
RBJG2. Brown red colour, small bubbly gold Head. Aroma is boozy, stewed fruit, marzipan. Taste is sweet and boozy. Fruit again. Nice.
Ar 8 t 8 o 15
Bottle at RBJG 2 Grand Tasting, thanks Travlr. Clear light brown colour with no head. Aroma of peach fruit with some alcohol. Mild fruit flavour.
Bottled. Reddish amber with lace. Fruity, alcoholic nose, with citrus, cherry, and paint thinner. Dry fruits, cherry, gum ball, still alcoholic hot flavor. Interesting, dry, but needs aging.
Light brown color, Sweet, brown sugar, brandy, raisin, but the body is too thin for the ABV. Overall enjoyable, but a bit heavier body would have helped.
Pours a dark brown with a modest light brown head. Nose is typical barleywine mix of booze, bitter hops, and barley malt. Flavor is fairly potent and again in-line with the style; alcohol is strong but doesn’t ruin it. Hops aren’t overly bitter but certainly push back against a big bready malt. Finish is modest and bittersweet sticky. Solid barleywine.
2012 vintage in a tulip with a bunch of d00ds. very hazy and dark amber / oragen. Nice hoppiness and bitterness on the nose. Semi-sweet. Big bitterness, lemons, corn and very earthy. Insanely sweet and loaded with hops.
Bottle shared at Chris’ pad. Light brown pour with a tan head. Another uber hoppy American barley wine that turned my off right from the start.