There were only three bottled brews available for take out when I visited the Big Island Brewhaus in Waimea Hawaii. I have included the first review of the Stout on the main page and now I will do number two.
This is Big Island Brewhaus Golden Sabbath and is an 8.5 abv Belgian style ale. This one is brewed with Hawaiian honey and I am always pleased when local flavors are included in a brew. My favorites are our famous coffee and coconut but honey is a great inclusion. This one has some great, fruity flavors and I quite like it. It is golden, slightly cloudy ale with a nice white head.
The brew master was a very nice guy who I chatted with briefly. He has worked at all three of the Big Island breweries and his craft is well represented with this fine ale. I get a hint of spice in this but don’t see it listed. I also got a bit of a shock when I asked about one of the samplers I thought was heavily spiced with a “constant comet” kinda of taste. It was the Mandarin gold and I was told it didn’t have spice but only a bag of Mandarin oranges in the batch, Oh well, when you are sampling 13 beers, some at an abv nearing 9%, you begin to doubt your abilities to discern minutia.
I have always thought going too far on trying to separate out the subtler components of beer was a bit pretentious. I do get an education when I taste something pronounced and then find it was not an incorporated element. I never take myself too seriously and just know it it was a beer I would buy again, or one I will give a pass in future. This one is nice and I enjoyed it. I would buy this, especially when entertaining friends from off island to show off our craft beer industry. Beer is best when fresh and close to home. Here is one that I can get an hour drive away and I hope they are successful in their business so I can go again.
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