Beer Review: Williamsburg Alewerks’ Grand Illumination
Posted by Edmond | Beer, Beer Review, General | Posted on November 8th, 2009
Wow, what a big beer to be tasting. First you need to understand a few things. 
This beer is part of their brewmaster series that was done back in 2007. You can still bottles for sale and fortunately most of them are big beers so the aging that has occurred won’t hurt. In fact it might even help build a more complex character. This is one I actually just picked up recently. I was kind of hesitant on what I would find especially since it had been on a store shelf for a while. I have to stay the aging hasn’t hurt this one at all. So here are my notes on this beer.
It starts off with a small amount of head from the pour. About one fingers worth and it’s a light brown color. You will notice a little lace on the glass. The color itself is a dark marroon color letting through very little light. It is some what hazy but no visible tannins. The aroma is band aid like aroma. I also get a heavy whiff of raisin in there. Tasting this beer and I am immediately hint with a doughy sweet taste. I also get a slight hot liquor after bite in my taste. The mouth feel has a mild hoppy character with it. Overall, I was actually impressed as to how well this held up. The band aid aroma is an issue with yeast and one I would expect from a beer this old So I won’t knock it for that. As I understand it, Williamsburg Alewerks has already done another batch of this beer and will release it in the next several months. I can’t wait to do a side by side of the two some time in the future.