Holy Mountain The Third Nail Belgian Pale Ale: Brewed in Seattle, WA this beer is aged in white wine barrels and was made in collaboration to celebrate the third anniversary of a local bar called The Pine Box. This release was apparently limited to 69 cases and I’ve since learned that it was their first bottle release, which occurred March 21st, 2015. All of this I learned after drinking the beer, which was obtained as a part of an annual beer advent calendar exchange I do with my father in December, needless to say I was pretty stoked to have gotten a chance to try it. I love trying beers like this without knowing, it really gives you a full impression of the beer without any expectations or hype.

Flavour: Big minerals upfront, this beer features a Perrier like mineral water taste mixed in with coriander spice, dry white wine grapes and grape juice tartness at the beginning. In the middle, the light and fluffy body and slightly prickly texture is very noticeable, showcasing hints of oak resin and a slight apple cider vinegar sourness which is accented by dried apricots and a distinctive clove finish. As the warmth from cloves wears off, a yeast and lemon pepper aftertaste lingers for some time until you are ready for your next sip.

Overall Impression: Really interesting take on this style, I’ve tried some similar beers but I can’t say that I’ve ever had a Belgian Pale Ale quite like this one yet.

Rating: I give it an excellent rating of 8.5/10, a very enjoyable bottle that encourages me to seek out more options from this brewery.

Food Pairing: It would pair up well with some locally made goat cheese on some grainy crackers.

This is a pretty interesting picture from the Holy Mountain’s Facebook Page, it looks like they are doing a lot of barrel fermenting and other crazy stuff there.