Beer Review: Hel & Verdoemenis

photo by Kevin Gibson

This dark, malty winter beer packs a punch of flavors

I love a good bottle shop, because you aren’t going to walk into your typical big box liquor store and find a beer like Hel & Verdoemenis.

This Russian imperial stout comes from Brouwerij De Molen in Bodegraven, Netherlands, and to be brief about it, the beer is just exquisite. It’s delicious enough that I want to expand upon the experience in an effort to urge anyone who hasn’t tried it to get down to that local bottle shop and ask for a bottle. Or five. It’s that good.

Translating to English as “Hell and Damnation,” Hel & Verdoemenis has won numerous awards in beer festivals across Europe, and it has done so because it absolutely explodes with flavor. It was brought to us here in the U.S. by the venerable Shelton Brothers, who riff on the name in saying, “We are convinced that not trying this ale will be a mortal sin to your taste buds and beer experience.”

Gentlemen, I concur.

The black-as-night beer is brewed with brown malts and other specialty malts, and everything about it is ramped up, resulting in a 10% alcohol by volume monster bursting with flavors of roast, coffee, chocolate and more. Pour it into the glass, and there is surprisingly little head to greet your glass, with only nominal carbonation. But bounties of aroma explode into the air, with deep notes of chocolate and roasted malt leading the way.

Take one drink, and the flavors take over from there, but with a bit of unexpected astringency—not sure why I had expected more creaminess, but I did. The beer’s bitterness comes in a persistent coffee-like current rather than settling in at the finish. Dig deeper, and the palate detects flavors beyond the dark chocolate and roast, with trickles of caramel, vanilla and perhaps even a flicker of dark fruit or even black licorice.

What surprised me most was the drinkability of such a high-alcohol beer. It’s dry, as noted, and its weight and complexity are notable, but the booze is barely detectable in the symphony of flavors Hel & Verdoemenis presents. When I poured this bottle of beer into my glass, I expected a commitment, the feel of a one-and-done big winter warmer. What I got was a delicious romp for the palate and a desire for more. Yet I know at 10% ABV, that might not be the wisest idea. Ah, the temptations of the devil.

Also, Brouwerij De Molen has created multiple variants of this beer—think Scotch barrels and Brettanomyces. I, for one, will keep my eyes peeled for more. Have to be honest: If this beer represents hell and damnation, count me in as one sinful soul.