De Molen Hemel & Aarde (Bruichladdich BA)

Smoked Imperial Stout – 10% vol.
Hemel & Aarde barrels filled with
single malt Bruichladdich for the first
time in 1972.

12% ABV for later versions

283 reviews

Bodegraven, Netherlands

Community reviews

4.4 2011 0,33l fles gedeeld met lion. Zwart zonder kraag.geur cacao en maggi. Smaak Is vol cacao en koffie alcohol en whisky ook duidelijk aanwezig. Volle Body en afdronk

5.0 Smokey aroma of motor oil. Black with brown head. Smokey dry taste. Medium body & average carbonation.

3.4 Tap @ Borefts Beer Festival 2015. Pours pitch black with a small brown head. Aromas of smoke, wool, malt, chocolate, vanilla, licorice. Taste is roasty, peaty, meat, chocolate, malt. Not for me.

4.1 12% ABV bottle, served in Snifter. Pours black with no head, just a film of froth on top, which is quite lasting. Aromas of roasted malts, dark chocolate, wood and whisky. The flavour is the same with a vanilla touch. Moderate bitterness on the palate along with a warm sensation, but that doesn’t mean it is buzzy at all. Full body, soft carbonation. So smooth and well balanced, probably the only weak point is carbonation...needs a little bit more.

4.8 Simply one of the best beers I’ve ever had! Pours deep brownish black with a small head. Intriguing aroma of smoke and sweets, and the Bruichladdich blends perfectly in. Not very smoky. 2012-bottle at 10%. Tried a 2013-bottle that was nowhere near the sweet smoky goodness of the 2012, so leave it in the cellar for 3-4 yrs.

4.5 Bottle @ home. Pours with a pitch black colour, small diminishing rocky tan head. Aroma is rich in malty notes, especially dark chocolate, coffee and licorice; additional hints of raspberries and vanilla; some notes of peat, too, but not overwhelming at all (luckily, I would say...); balanced and intense. Taste is medium sweet, little bitter, very little sour; very, very good. Medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation, long warming (and slightly peaty!) finish. Great winter warmer.

4.0 Bottle - Dark roast and smoke and sweet chocolate. Deep brown with no head. Peat and sweet chocolate and a long dark fruit finish. Very balanced and nice.

3.9 Bottle. Thanks Kamiel! Opaque black liquid with small to medium tan head. Aroma of smoke, licorice, pumpernickel, coffee, ash and leather. Taste is light to medium sweet and light bitter with notes of smoke, pumpernickel and licorice. Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Really nice.

3.9 Black colour, beige to mocca head. Aroma of peat, smoke, ash, coffee, milk chocolate, dark fruits. Taste is light sweet, light bitter. Medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation. 2009 vintage. I was expecting thicker body.

4.0 Bottle at home. Pours black, not overly smoky, sweet liquorice and chocolate, dry light smoky finish.

4.2 Bottle.Black colour with brown head. Roasted, peated aroma. Roasted, peated, dark chocolate, salty taste, also some sweetness. Medium to full body.

3.9 Bottle from Belmont Station, Portland. Pours a slightly translucent brown, little bit of tan head. Aroma big brash peaty, calms as it warms. Body relatively smooth, not much bite, well-balanced. Not tremendous, but very solid.

4.0 Poured from a bottle it is a dark brown with a slight head. The aroma is of bourbon the taste is of vanilla and licorice and the flavor is of bourbon. Yummy

3.9 From a 33 cl bottle shared at home, purchased at he Borefts Beer Festival 2012. Pours black with a slight tan head,. Aroma of leather. Flavors of licorice and peat. Smoky, mildly boozy finish.

3.9 Bottled. Pours black to deep brown colour with a medium, creamy, fair lacing tan head. Aroma of roasted malt, chocolate, whiskey and smoked notes. Sweet flavor that ends up with bitter notes and alcohol. Full bodied, creamy texture and soft carbonation. A great impy.

4.8 Cette grosse Imperial Stout de chez les Hollandais de De Molen est déja une tuerie en version normale, mais la, comme ça suffisait pas, les gars ont eu l’idée de faire vieillir cette bière dans des futs ou avaient vielli ce bon vieux Bruichladdich, whisky single malt de l’ile d’Islay,en Ecosse.. Bon, ce que j’aime chez De Molen, c’est que tu te fait déja pas arnaquer sur la quantité, la bouteille est remplie Ras-la-gueule, meme le dernier anneau ou vient se poser la capsule est rempli..Au service , ben pas une once de mousse, rien, nada, que dalle...on peux craindre l’infection....la couleur c’est noir ,bien noir ;ha oui, ce que j’ai oublié de dire c’est qu’en décapsulant ,on a une douce odeur de Whisky qui vient vous titiller les naseaux.. en plongeant le nez ca se confirme, pas de doute pour le Whisky,mais aussi café, vanille,ca sent le fumé aussi...vite, en bouche... J’ai pas parlé des bulles parceque j’en ai pas vu jusque la ..et en bouche ca se confirme, aucune carbonation..Infection?? non je ne crois pas, il y a pas cette acidité caractéristique, ou alors c’est la meilleure bière infectée que j’ai pu boire jusqu’ici!!si on peut encore parler de bière..pas de mousse, pas de bulle..Enfin, quoique ce soit,au fond m’en fout,c’est énorme, Whisky, puis fumé, vanille, café..dit comme ça ca pourrait filer la gerbe, mais non c’est magnifiquement équilibré, doux,la fin de bouche est comme celle d’un bon single malt,ça tombe bien,les 12° sont invisibles, la bouteille et le verre bien rempli,haaaaa s’enfoncer tranquille dans le fauteuil,et prendre le temps de s’envoyer ce truc..

3.9 Draft->snifter at Churchkey. Deep brown with small tan head. Smoke wood, whisky, coffee, choclate, peat. Complex. Quite good.

4.0 (Backlog) Bottle. Black pour with tan head. Woody, chocolate, scotch whiskey, sweet dark malts, and roasted aromas. Strong wood. roasted and chocolate flavors.

3.4 Bottle with thanks to Kraddel! Pours inky black with a bit of dark brown secondary head and miminal lacing. Aroma is burned malts, peat, smoke, anise. Flavor follows, light sweet, medium bitter, lots of anise, some peat and burned malts. Medium body, zero carbonation. Lingering bitterness. Not really my thing.

3.9 Ins Glas ergießt sich ein sehr dunkelbraunes fast schwarzes Bier mit geringer beigen Schaumkrone. Geruch intensiv röstmalzig, Kaffee, schokoladig, Whiskey, Vanille. Geschmack sehr röstmalzig, schokoladig, Kaffee, Alkohol, holzig.

3.8 4 ounce draft at ChurchKey poured into a tasting snifter. Pours black with brown hues and tan head. Aromas of peat, smoke, scotch. Tasting notes of licorice, smoke, roast, dark chocolate, coffee, peat. Medium body with a dry finish. Slick light mouthfeel, low carbonation.

4.0 18 cl. bottle. Thanks Steven! Pours almost black with a small brown head. Aroma of malt, chocolate, vanilla, and whiskey. Taste is malt, chocolate, vanilla, smoke, whiskey, and wood. Well balanced. Very much enjoyed the whiskey not dominating the beer. Excellent.

4.1 Rating #1000 on RB. Tiny little 18cl bottle, 2010 vintage, 9.5%, #1698/1776. Poured into a snifter. Black, small-ish foamy head endures. Smell - alcohol, soft whiskey, mild cheddar. Body is medium, carbonation low, slightly foamy. Taste - mild malts, nicely integrated whiskey brings a lot of peaty smokiness, no sharpness or alcohol, slightly floral. Finish is tangy, spicy, drying. There’s a nice balance to this but the flavour is mostly peated malts. A very nice beer.

4.2 Botella de 33 cl. En beni bar house. Elaborada en 08-12-2011. 12 vol. 108 ibu. Septiembre de 2013. Duelo con Hemel & Arde Bruichladich/Caol Ila. Dos Alucinantes cervezas. De color negro intenso con espuma blanca algo oscura que desaparece poco a poco. Cuerpo fuerte con aromas y sabores intensos a maltas tostadas, chocolate amargo, café intenso torrefacto con algo de dulzor (pasas) y un final de madera de whisky Bruichladich destacado. Una maravilla de cerveza. Con un dulzor más destacado que la envejecida en Bruichladich/Caol Ila. Imprescindible repetir.

3.7 Bottle 33cl, a dark beer with very low head. Nose is peated, eisbock notes. Aroma is medium sweet, bit astringent, lot of peated notes, concentrated barley and caramel notes, bit of soy sauce, kind of cooked licorice, as it gets warmer the beer has more complexity, grapes, light prunes, excellent smoked notes, fruit skin, tannic. Finish is well peated and with long duration the nose has sky island whisky touch.

4.2 Genius beer. Coffee smell. Very rich taste. 2011 bottle drank with Thijs at 21-12-2013. A bit sweet, but mostly very rich and dynamic.

4.1 Bottle at FoCo Stout Tasting 2013, courtesy of Aaron. Thanks man! deep black with a small brown head that quickly dissipated. Big smoke, peaty, light cocoa, coffee, dark fruits, and figs in the aroma. Taste is big smoke, roasted malt, dark chocolate, coffee, anise, and black licorice. Slick mouthfeel with soft carbonation. Really well-balanced beer and the smoke is used perfectly.

3.8 Bottle at armins pad. Pretty crazy, peaty and mossy, tastes and smells like scotch whiskey. a bit smokey, mildly sweet, salty, not bad.

3.9 Bottle @ Armin’s palace. Pours a deep brown/black appearance with a thin brown head. Scotch peaty, coffee, burnt charred smoky, herbal aroma. Dark chocolate, smoked peaty, swamp, burnt roasted flavor. Pretty good.

2.9 It’s a bit of an odd one. First of all there’s pretty much no foam. It’s dark brown, near black. Has the aroma of molasses and caramel sweetness with the expected barrel oak, then followed by a little weird mossy barnyard like funkiness. It all comes back in the flavor. It’s still on the good side, has a rich flavor, but doesn’t have that depth finish to balance out the sweetness and give it somewhat more character and depth you’d expect of a barrel aged beer. Maybe it needs more aging. The finish has the funkiness of barnyard and whisky that doesn’t linger as great some other barrel aged beers do. Actually quite bored me halfway. Didn’t finish it.