Brooklyn Hand & Seal - Bourbon
In the 20th season of his reign, the year Anno Brooklynius 26, our Brewmaster brought forth a new wonderment for the People. Barleywine-style ale, once the exclusive drink of British nobility, would be produced anew in Brooklyn. Linking together their twin brewhouses, the Brooklyn brewing team toiled a great many hours to create the most robust beer they had ever produced. Then it was set to rest for months in casks of Bourbon oak, and finally refermented in the bottle.
The result is one of the richest, tastiest beers to ever emerge from our brewery. The deep flavors of floor-malted Maris Otter barley shine through layers of vanilla, coconut, toast and floral notes given by aging in Four Roses bourbon wood. Hand & Seal is complex without being perfumey, subtly sweet without becoming cloying. Its naturally gentle carbonation suits a contemplative drink. The size of the bottle connotes a spirit of generosity, for it is an ale to be shared with friends and family.
At dinner, you will find it a fine partner to pates, game meats and sausages and a wonderful accompaniment to cheese. And if your evening should involve much laughter around a fireplace, all the better. Hand & Seal is ready to enjoy now, yet good things shall also come to those who cellar it. Hereupon witness our Hand and our Seal, both of them demonstrations of our promise that this fine ale shall be worthy of your table and all the brilliant times you bring to it. So say we all.
The result is one of the richest, tastiest beers to ever emerge from our brewery. The deep flavors of floor-malted Maris Otter barley shine through layers of vanilla, coconut, toast and floral notes given by aging in Four Roses bourbon wood. Hand & Seal is complex without being perfumey, subtly sweet without becoming cloying. Its naturally gentle carbonation suits a contemplative drink. The size of the bottle connotes a spirit of generosity, for it is an ale to be shared with friends and family.
At dinner, you will find it a fine partner to pates, game meats and sausages and a wonderful accompaniment to cheese. And if your evening should involve much laughter around a fireplace, all the better. Hand & Seal is ready to enjoy now, yet good things shall also come to those who cellar it. Hereupon witness our Hand and our Seal, both of them demonstrations of our promise that this fine ale shall be worthy of your table and all the brilliant times you bring to it. So say we all.
3.9
193 reviews
Brooklyn, United States
Community reviews
10th July 2017
Bodney Towers Bottleshare. Big thanks to Leighton for this pricey barleywine. Blend 001. Hazy amber beer, small cream colour head. Smooth light palate, modest fine carbonation. Smooth creamy malts. Lovely fruity bourbon which resolves into some a rawer bourbon. Mild spice and mixed berry fruits. Traces of wood and vanilla. Light finish. Wow! Really drinks easy for it's massive abv. Delightful.
Håndverkølfestivalen 2017. Red amber color with a beige head. Aroma is sourness, fruit, malt, caramel, vanilla. flavor is malt, caramel, sourness, alcohol, fruit, vanilla, sugar, floral. Full body. Warming nice beer.
Slowbeer bottle(1-Oct-17) Sweet spirit plum malt aroma. Cloudy amber,low head and suds lace. Spirit plum herbal flavour. Bitter spirit berry plum finish and herbal spirit aftertaste.
July 2017 - Cork and cage bottle shared in Hackney, with many thanks to Leighton. As ’Brooklyn Hand & Seal’, blend #1, 13.3%. First BQE date I’ve seen. Pours dark orange, translucent, foamy light brown head leaves light lacing. Aroma has lots of coconut, bourbon, vanilla and more coconut milk. Body is smooth with soft carbonation. Taste is pretty sweet, lots of vanilla and coconut, bourbon, oaky, resin. Very drinkable for a 13% beer. (8-4-7-4-15=3.8)
Pours deep amber into a tulip. White head with little retention recedes to hug rim. Caramel and rum aromas. Soft with coconut and hot caramel upfront turning to dried pit fruit and vanilla in the lasting finish.
Sweet red berries, other red fruits, caramel, sweet grain malts, some oak flavours. Hazy reddish, tiny, creamy, reddish head. Medium sweet. More sweet, red fruits, oak flavours, caramel, molasses, soft carbonation, medium bodied. Great Barley Wine, intense and complex. Bottle shared at Leighton’s - thanks to Leighton!
Bottle shared at Leightons place, 10/07/2017. Many thanks to Leighton for this one. A sticky amber brown coloured pour with a thin beige head. Aroma is sweet brown malts, mint, cola cubes, little dried fruit,. Flavour is composed of medium sweet, brown sugars, cola cubes, little aged, mint, big fruit cake. Smooth. Hides the abv very well. Palate is medium sweet, sticky viscous, velvety. Really nice.
Bottle shared in Hackney - picked up at New Beer Distributors in NYC way back when. Blend 001. Pours unclear ruby with a small, creamy white head. Big meaty aroma, toffee, butterscotch, toasted malts, berries. Medium to heavy sweet flavour with only mild oxidation, some toasted wood, vanilla, toffee, raisins. Full bodied, oily and chewy, with fine carbonation. Warming finish, a little sticky, some brown bread, lots of creamy toffee, vanilla. Pretty great stuff overall. (July 2017)
Bottle thanks to LKS. It pours hazy red - brown with a small off white head. The aroma is big boozey bourbon action, oily, sticky, brown bread, baked goods, dried fruits and oak. The taste is rich, slick, oily, heavy sweetness, sugary, oak, vanilla, bourbon, fudge, dried fruits, chewy, cake and warming alcohol with a slick finish. Full body and moderate carbonation. Rich, slick and filthy, works pretty well.
Pours murky brown and cloudy with a small light tan head. Aroma is beautiful malts, vanilla, caramel, bourbon, oak...nice. Taste is beautifully balanced everything above with molasses sweetness and bourbon for the finish.
Best barley wine I’ve ever tastes. It’s a very hearty beer, full of texture and unbelievable taste. I’d give this beer 10 star if I were able to. By far the best beer I’ve ever had. 👍👍👍👍👍👍
Brooklyn tasting at Verkstedet october 19th 2016. Hazy copper body with a small tanned head. Aroma is wooden, spicy , dark fruit, biscuit. Sweet and spicy taste, oaky barrell notes, caramel and raisin. Nicely balanced, complex layers of sweetness and fruit, with a shy bitterness. Very nice!
Beautiful murky amber color. Aroma: Bourbon, oak, dark fruits and vanilla. Taste: dark cherries, toffee, caramel, brown sugar and fresh bread. Goes down smooth as silk, and leaves a warming feeling in the belly. Outstanding brew
Taster at En Öl och Whiskymässa 2017. Dark brown color, beige foam. Lots of bourbon and vanilla, caramel and fudge. Very sweet and smooth with a nice thick mouthfeel. Wonderful barley wine.
Strong barley wine with grainy malts, bourbon, oak, burnt caramel, vanilla and floral notes. Nice color and full bodied.
At the Barleywine event. 2014 vintage. Aroma is caramel, booze, toffee, nice. Appearance is amber, light tan head, slight haze. Taste is caramel, sweet, toffee, slight booze, balance. Mouthfeel its medium to heavy body, light carbonation, sweet caramel booze aftertaste. Overall, I’m a fan.
Flaska från SB, vintage 2014. Något mörkare mahognyfärgad med halvfinger högt beiget skum. Fin doft med nötiga inslag, konjaksdränkta och inlagda bär, sherry, brunt socker, torkad/övermogen frukt, ekfatskaraktär, kokosolja och brödsirap. Stor, oljig kropp som lämnar en lite klibbig känsla i munnen. Smakmässigt ligger den nära doften med nötiga toner, bränt socker, än mer lönnsirap och bra ekfatskaraktär. Sött och en del värmande alkoholtoner, men inte så det stör. Välintegrerad. Kaxig och potent barley wine. Bourbonkaraktären nästan så välintegrerad så att den överhuvudtaget inte märks av. Ekfatskaraktären är märkbar, men lite svårare att urskilja bourbon (till skillnad från tidigare fatlagrade öl jag druckit från Brooklyn som enbart blivit spritiga). Har nästan genomgående blivit besviken av Brooklyns större öl, men denna var jag mycket nöjd med. Kul att bli överraskad.
Light brown with a pale head. Aroma is dark fruits, bourbon, brown sugar. Full bodied, sticky mouthfeel, sweet on the palate with a lightly boozy finish. Taste is dark fruits, caramel, bourbon, brown sugar.
Bottle - Vintage 2014 - Lots of caramel and some heat. Clear copper with a small white head. Light oxidization, sweet caramel and a touch of heat on the thrift. Solid English style barley wine.
Murky, mahogany color. one-finger thick, off-white head. Aroma of caramel, toffees , dark fruits and oak and vanilla. Sweet taste with bourbon notes and hoppy bitterness at the end. Full body. Warming finish with some alcohol.
Bottled. BEST Q3 2014. bought this the day I got into med school. Finally cracking it now almost 2 years later on a snowy night. Pounds murky caramel brown. Ring of off white head. Aroma is lots of fig, plum, dark fruit, toffee, caramel, vanilla, bourbon, coconut, toasted malt and biscuit. Plenty of complexity. Very nice. Flavor is plum, caramel, fig, very fruity in a pleasant way, some citrus, bourbon barrel character, some bright notes, vanilla, coconut, toffee. Lots going on, and it’s very pleasant. Booze is well hidden. Maybe not everyone’s favorite, but it is for me, and it will always have a special place.
750ml bottle thanks to Rick. Pours out a copper caramel color topped with a sand head. Nose is big sweet malts pit fruit notes caramel. Taste is more of the big sweet malts caramel toffee some a nice note.
Hazy orange, beige head, aroma of toffee, vanilla, wood, dried fruits, fun, flavor of toffee, vanilla, wood, dried fruits, pleasant, medium+ bodied.
Bottle - 750mL corked and caged. Back label shows "BQE Q3 2014" and "Blend #2", so I can only assume this is a 2014 vintage. Copper pour with a short, fading tan head. Aroma is boozy but sweet with vanilla, caramel, soft hops and candy. Taste is big caramel and vanilla, faint toasted coconut, sweet malt, candied fruit, faint floral hops, soft oak and booze. Body is medium and dense with a soft prickly carbonation. Moderate boozy warmth and sugary stickiness to this. Ends with more caramel, vanilla, cocoa, faint coconut, booze and fruit.
brown beer with a plethora of chocolate, dark ripe fruit, vanilla and booze in the nose. Flavor has a touch of oak as well as those things. Decadent, bordering on hot, but oddly with a lot of carbonation. Pretty good, but at a steep price.
Brown pour with a larger head. Sweet aroma, almost candylike. Fruit up front, apple, barrel, sweet malt, but it all dissipates to a huge blast of caramel. Medium body. My teeth were actually tingling after this one. I like Brooklyn but my dentist is gonna love them after this one.
Sampled at Oliver G. master class at SBWF 2015.
Small and fluffy light brown head. Metalic and fruity aroma. A bit of chocolate also present in the aroma after the others. Sampled beer aged for 1 year in cognac barrels, the commercial release aged in bourbon cask. Wort is boiled for 6 h. Big sweet taste but no madrification after 2 years.
on the style. alex’s bottle. not so drinkable. big head, too sweet. sweet aroma.2014 edition i had again 6 years even better. smooth.
Bottle from Systembolaget. Sweet fruity smell, candy, dried fruit, Similar taste, some oak and vanilla. Very sweet. Well hidden ABV.
Flaska från SB. Hasselnöt med smutsbrun skumkrona. Stor, smörig doft av bourbon- fat. Väldigt söt kropp. Smak av torkad frukt, fikon, bourbonfat, portvin och knäck. För söt för min smak, men god.