Hill Farmstead Birth of Tragedy

2011: Imperial version of Twilight of the Idols brewed with coffee and spices, aged in Bourbon Barrels. ABV varies by vintage.

4.1

291 reviews

Greensboro, United States

Community reviews

4.3 2016. Black pour almost stains the glass. Light head. Big boozy aroma, not overdone but leaning that way on the barreling. Honey and coffee are there but far in the background. Smooth flavor and body, sweet whiskey, honey, vanilla, chocolate. Very good, not quite elite IMO.

4.3 Dark brown. Beige head. Smells like bourbon. Super smooth whiskey. Vanilla. Honey, but not sweet. Cold brew coffee. Slight cherry. Huge thanks to Youri for this celebration beer.

4.1 *4/1/2013 500ml bottle poured into a Deschutes teku. A~ dark as night exactly like it should be! S~ bourbon bomb! with a little bit of coffee, booze and roasty malts. T~ lots of bourbon with a lot of sweetness. a little vanilla and caramel towards the end. no booze once so ever, very smooth all around. M~ very smooth, lightly carbonated. the "porter" aspect doesn’t come over well, it feels more like a thin stout. O~ definitely a treat! i usually like this style to be a bit thicker. come to think of it bourbon aged Fear And Trembling would be absolutely ridiculous! i would totally drink it again, its one hell of a dessert beer!

4.4 Rami Rami is drinking a Birth of Tragedy (2016) by Hill Farmstead Brewery at Chmielarnia Marszałkowska WOW!!! Mega beczkowe w migdalowa strone, slodkie, geste, wyklejajace, waniliowe, kokosowe, miodowe, bombonierka, suszone i kandyzowane owoce Rami Rami is drinking a Birth of Tragedy by Hill Farmstead Brewery at Czesława Niemena No pyszka, moze z minusikiem bo beczka slabsza niz pamietam... srednia z 4.6 i 4.2

4.0 Bottle shared by alexsdad06. Poured clear dark brown color with an average fizzy tan head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate to heavy chocolate malt and roasted coffee with a small alcohol aroma. Medium to full body with a smooth texture and soft carbonation. Medium to heavy balanced roasted dark sweet flavor with a medium to heavy dark sweet finish of moderate to long duration. This is a standout beer.

4.1 500 ml bottle shared with Tmoney99 and the Nine Giant crew. Pours a dark cola brown color with a small beige head. The aroma and flavor have big honey sweetness, chocolate, light roast, bourbon, wood, vanilla, brown sugar, molasses, great mouthfeel and body, solid beer as usual.

3.8 Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color porter with a deep brown color head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of coffee with some bourbon notes and nice vanilla notes. Taste is a complex and rich mix of nice vanilla notes with bourbon and rich black chocolate notes and a sweet honey-laced finish. Body is full with deep oily texture and good carbonation with hints of warming alcohol notes. Very rich porter but a bit too much honey for my taste.

4.0 500 ml bottle from an IP trade in NYC. Bottle date unreadable, probably relatively fresh. Pours pitch black with a brown head, fairly short retention. Aroma’s: from the glass it’s not very strong, a bit woody, sweet, honey-ish, light vanilla and chocolate. Retronasal it’s stronger, wood, chocolate, sweetness, vanilla, nicely balanced. Flavor is sweet, cocoa, light roast. Alcohol feel is quite strong, warming. Over medium bodied. Long finish with chocolate, light roast and bitterness.

4.3 Poured from bottle 2015 vintage thanks Willrunforbeer blackish cola with nice lacing and a mocha head. Aromas of roasted chocolate coffee vanilla caramel and bourbon. Taste is rich creamy luscious mouthfeel caramel vanilla coffee and a nice alcohol finish. Well crafted.

3.8 Bottle at tasting. Black pour. Aroma of licorice, booze, honey and cream. Taste has lots of honey, licorice, creamy chocolate, coffee and caramel. Bourbon is subtle, but present. Very balanced and tasty, but more bourbon flavor would make it better, expected even more from this. (perhaps that’s the problem)

4.7 Backlog, ocena przepisana z untappd, w ramach uzupełniania profilu na ratebeer. HFD #11 Niezwykle gęste, wyklejające, słodkie. Bourbon, wanilia, czekolada, genialny aromat.

4.5 2016 vintage, cracked during Trump’s inauguration. This is phenomenally well made. The mouthfeel is full and rich, which brings out the chocolate flavors from the malts and the added coffee, and the bourbon barrel aging adds some aroma and bite without overpowering everything else. Extremely complex, with the porter sweetness, the hop bite, the bourbon aroma, and the spices all coming together to make one mighty fine brew.

4.5 Pours a dark brown with carbonated dark brown head. A strong bourbon, coffee, oak and vanilla aroma. A strong flavor of chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, liquorice, and vanilla. A lingering dark alcohol and chocolate aftertaste.

4.2 Apparence : Presque noire au versement, beau col très foncé, crémeux, bonne rétention, légère dentelle. Nez : D’abord, les grains rôtis. Par la suite, on rajoute de la vanille, des notes de chocolat et de café. Goût : Chocolat, vanille, malt grillé, alcool, sucre brûlé. Pratiquement toutes les notes du fut de bourbon qui partent et reviennent allégrement. Sensation : Corps moyen-plus, crémeuse, léger piquant, belle chaleur en gorge. Bref : Tout est joué dans l’équilibre, rien dans l’excès. Cette bière est excessivement marquée par ce que le fut de bourbon apporte habituellement à une Stout : du chocolat, de la vanille, un caramel bien grillé, un côté boisé coupant dans le sucre résiduel; beaucoup moins par ses additifs, soit le café et le miel. C’est bon, c’est intense, jamais trop sucré. Très belle surprise après la mini déception qu’avait représenté la Twilight of the Idols. Défaut? Manque un punch peut-être?

4.0 Une bière noire sans grande effervescence ni carbonatation. Au nez, on dénote un côté sucré, avec du sucre d’orge notamment, de même que l’aspect torréfié du café utilisé pour brasser la bière. En bouche, on a vraiment l’impression d’avoir affaire avec une bière bien complexe. On remarque d’abord le café, avec son goût torréfié mais pas trop intense. Ensuite, on note les goûts plus classiques de la porter avec mélasse et sucre d’orge. Enfin le côté plus boisé est présent, avec une impression de sirop d’érable intéressante que l’on associe au bourbon. Bref, une bière complexe, bien faite. 4

4.0 Bottle, picked up at the brewery November 2016. More or less black. Noisy, tan head settles down to a thin, dense, sticky layer. Slow moving and oily. Nose has whisky truffle. Chestnut honey. Milky coffee. Dense, sticky stone fruit. Lots of date, prune and fig. Taste is stone fruit sweet, with a vinous, tangy dryness. Mouthfeel is rich and full, although a bit too fizzy to suit. Vinous, chocolatey, coffee rich finish. Very nice, if a little sweet, for me.

4.5 Tasting at Alex’s. 500ml, bottled on 21-Sep-2016 (thx, Higo V.!). Pours an almost black with a dark beige head. Aroma is bourbon barrels, some sour berries notes, roasted malt. Taste is the same with some very slight coffee. Surpusingly very drinkable with almost no boozy notes. Just perfect.

3.9 Bottle. - Sweet dark bourbon and dark bourbon. Jet black with a rich brown head, Tons barrel notes and sweet bourbon with a long fruity dark sweet finish. Better than the nose which I found a little hot.

4.4 500ml bottle shared with Sam and Julien. Pours jet black. Small light foamy mocha head leaving a small lacing. Smells of small coffee roasts, strong cinnamon and slight vanilla and sweet honey and bourbon smoothness and booziness. Love it. Tastes of vanilla smoothness and cinnamon to boot on the start and a great roastiness at the end. Really love this beer. Sweet bourbon and honey combo at the end. Wonderful full mouthfeel leaving a full and delicious aftertaste. Really, really amazing.

4.3 Birth of tragedy Pours a dark brown with a khaki lacing ap 4. Aroma: 8/9huge notes of chocolate syrup soy sauce, vanilla and alcohol F: sweet but not cloying 8/9 P: on nitro so creamy Ov 18/19

3.4 Thanks Dr. Moll for sharing the bottle! Poured into a snifter showing black center with thin coffee brown rims and half a finger of dark latte foam. The nose shows a strong mix of roasted malts and burnt black coffee. The palate is moderately carbonated and medium bodied. Caramel malt forward with a light latte with burnt and toasted bitter notes.

4.2 2015 bottle, if I remember correctly, drunk 10/21/16, thanks to Nelson. Deep, dark, impenetrable ebony body is topped by a medium-sized, tan head showing strong retention. Much less spice comes through in this than Twilight, which is good as I thought last year’s batch of that was overspiced, not terribly so, but still somewhat. Low on the barrel aging with no big oakiness and predominantly spicy bourbon notes without any sharp, boozy edges. What it certainly does have is malt. Lots of it. Rich, fudgey malts are full and aromatic with roasted barley acidity helping to balance. Light soy, maple and chalky, yeast notes with vanilla and fudge lingering. Rich, velvety and sweet, it has low but tight carbonation and low spicing. The bourbon adds spicy liquor notes which help offset this huge maltiness. Furthermore, the finish is full of roasted acidity, creating luxurious coffee flavors and balancing the beer. It still tends sweet, of course, but importantly doesn’t seem in the least bit syrupy or cloying, and I’m very sensitive to too much sweetness.

4.2 (On tap @ Warpigs HF Day, Copenhagen, May 12 2016) Pours pitch black with a pale tan head and light lace. Aroma is rich with fairly heavily roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, bourbon, toasted coconut, spicy undertones, some oak, hint of booze. Flavour is rather concentrated and sweet to begin, dark chocolate, coffee, bourbon, dried fruit, cinnamon, vanilla, toffee, rather roasted, drying towards the finish with woody notes, bitter coffee and deep roast more apparent, a touch earthy with alcohol warmth. Full bodied and silky with low carbonation. Pretty bourbon heavy but holds itself up with spices and a roasty core, really drinkable stuff if perhaps more suited to winter weather.

3.9 From tap at Warpigs. Black with a beige head. Aroma and flavour of roasted malt, oak, alcohol, licorice, dark fruit, chocolate and coffee.

4.1 500ml bottle from trade with Jeffrey shared with brother. Aroma: strong coffee and coffee, roasted malt. Oh and of course bourbon. App: dark brown, minimal brown head leaving minimal brown head. Taste and palate: medium to full body, creamy but still liquoreux, subtle bitter finish. Overall: well this is good. Really good. Like the mouthfeel quite a lot. Something I wish I would have drank during this winter. Really good and easy to drink.

4.1 2013 bottle. Pitch black pour, 1 finger of offwhite head, minimal lacing. Whiskey up front in the aroma, black coffee, honey, roasted malt. Bourbon gives way to black coffee, liquid honey, roasted malt, vanilla, dark toffee, wood. Medium body, incredibly smooth after the unintentional aging.

3.9 Tap at Warpigs, Copenhagen. Poured a clear dark brown with a thin broken tan head. The aroma is big sweet malt, spicy Christmas pudding, alcohol. The flavour is moderate sweet with a smooth rich alcoholic, earthy malt, coffee, light chocolate plate. Full bodied with flat carbonation.

4.3 On tap at Warpigs. Near black with mocca head. Aroma is roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, coconut, vanilla and bourbon. Taste is similar and has roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, coconut with a warming finish

3.8 [5/12/16] Draught at Warpigs in Copenhagen. Black. Aroma of chocolate, roast, licorice, a bit of dark fruits. Sweet flavor with chocolate, cocoa, roast, coffee, licorice and dark fruits. Full-bodied.

4.4 Draught @ Hill Farmstead Day - Warpigs Brewpub, København Pours black with a tan head. Aroma has notes of roasted malt, chocolate, alcohol, bourbon, vanilla, coffee and oak. Taste is medium sweet and medium bitter with a long warm, chocolate, vanilla, coffee, oak and bourbon finish. Body is full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft.