Notes on beers brewed by
Dark chestnut pour. A few red highlights, but overall the beer is darker than most I’ve had in the style. Modest head, small ring of foam and no lace. Rich, light alcohol nose, very malty. Reflected in the initial tastes as one might expect. Plenty of malts flow over the tongue and offer a very rich experience, despite the mouthfeel being a little thin (possible contradiction here). This is largely as expected and stylistically correct. At times it tends toward a brown ale, but stays rich...
2022 Vintage. 750 mL, Tavour purchase, the usual Bruery presentation. The Bruery's marketing re: labels and 750 mLs still pulls me in - at least I recognize that fact! Hazy, appropriately enough, orange body with a short-lived, initially decent but soon fading head. Nose has a TON of orange juice. I mean it actually smells like artificial orange juice. Because of that, it's a mild surprise when the beer isn't quite as sweet as the nose might suggest. It still replicates the orange nose, and...
Turbid brown pour with a level of carbonation that was better than I thought it might be after this length of time. Somewhat surprisingly, it does meet the taste parameters that one might expect. Not only that, it doesn't deliver any cardboard either. That seems unlikely at this age, but it manages to do that. What it doesn't do (unsurprisingly) is bring a lively, fresh feel! It looks, and drinks its age. There's a little coffee, some vanilla, the cocoa nibs are there, and a mingling of dark...
2020 re-release. This is an odd one for me. The idea of coriander being added to cut the sweetness of a typical Scotch Ale I suppose makes sense (if indeed that’s its purpose), but at the same time it seems to work against what the beer might be trying to achieve. I don’t know, it seems a little bit of fractured combination of flavors to me. Black-brown body on the pour, with a somewhat disappointingly poorly retained tan head. Even when cold, the nose starts to give away a lot of the Scotch...
12.7 fl oz bottle from Tavour. I believe it was $21.99. It’s not a very attractive pour. Now, you can say, “Well, what were you expecting?”, and there would be some validity to your criticize of my comment , but that doesn’t make my statement any less correct. No head (of course at this ABV), and there’s a turbid, reddish brown hue to the beer. Light doesn’t penetrate much, but the brownish-red nature is more obvious in better light. Nose is not a great deal more than a massive amount of sweet...
Beautiful, clear chestnut red body underneath a medium sized tan head that fades appropriately quickly. Nose is mostly light alcohol even on warming. EtOH warmth is apparent immediately, and a cinnamon, Christmas spice note hits up front. The cinnamon is not my favorite by any stretch of the imagination but it works here. The finish is quite punishingly dry. There is plenty of alcohol warmth here, but the beer is immensely drinkable, and by that I mean not at all heavy. It doesn't feel like a...
Updated notes Original notes 03/06/2013 The back story to me acquiring this beer is interesting. When it first came out, I was still very active on beeradvocate. At the time, I remember doing my usual, 'this is bullshit' type rant about limited release beer and the ridiculous hype associated with it. I then received a 'beermail' from another BA, offering to send me a bottle for nothing. I gladly accepted, and a week or so later, there it was. I of course reciprocated with a big box in return....
Additional notes 08/08/2021 Aged bottle. Carbonation almost completely gone, and for this beer, that’s not good. Look, I’m not about to ding a beer for being this way after all of these years, but it’s a pretty important reminder to drink beer pretty much as soon as one can. Outside of the carbonation issue, this beer remains pretty true to the original notes. That’s all. Additional notes 12/22/2013 One year on and frankly, not much change. I was hoping for a slight tempering of the fruit and...
Additional notes 07/04/23 (Pictured) Almost 12 years old. A little fizz on opening and for a few seconds the head doesn't look too bad after av try aggressive pour. After that the carbonation drops off dramatically, but 100% as expected. Apparently a jet black body, but on closer inspection and different light we see chestnut browns and reds. Lots of the early reports of this beer 12 years ago was that it was hot with alcohol. Frankly, even after all of this time it's still quite feisty! It's...
Notes added, 10/17/21 (This is pictured) It is SO gratifying when a beer drinks like this after cellaring. Carbonation is great (always the first worry), and the pour is so good as a result. 10+ years has mellowed out the oak here tremendously, and the depth of flavor is absolutely intense and immense. Smooth, beautifully balanced, drinkability off the chart, and a beer to remember in a way that it wasn't 10 years ago. The bottle conditioning has saved the carbonation here. Subtle, fruit...
The usual Bruery presentation in the 750 mL bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. The latest Bruery offering to arrive in GA. Beautiful pour with plenty of fluffy white head that comes with good lace and retention. The color is interesting because it changes with the light more than most beers. In strong light there is a lovely, bright orange hue and in lower light it takes on a deeper, darker honey color. I like to see it in full light, but either way it looks great. It also exhibits a wide...
Happy to come across this on my recent trip to NY. This never made it to GA (The Bruery got here after this was done), so happy to hook myself up! Also glad to to see a more sensible ABV from The Bruery on this one for a change. Popped the cap on the 750 mL, usual style Bruery bottle (I do like their labels) and the pour is an impressive JET black! A few gold highlights at the extremities, but otherwise pretty solid. Carbonation is annoyingly fizzy. It detracts from the smoothness, leaves...
750 mL capped bottle. Recent addition to The Bruery line-up in GA. Pour is a resplendent, butterscotch yellow with a creamy looking white head that looks dense. The nose has some light Brett that does not really manifest itself in the tastes which suits me just fine! In fact, I'm happy that it does not come into the picture too much in terms of the palate. the nose is further enhanced with some serious Belgian yest character. VERY nice. The mouthfeel is a VERY strong part of this beer. Deep...
A very, very interesting beer to say the least, but in the final analysis a bit too much all the way around. Nicely presented, black waxed 750 mL bottle. Seemed to be doble-dipped on the wax which made it a pain to get into. Capped underneath. Pour is a very dark brown affair with one of the most interesting head colors that i have ever seen. It was almost a fluorescent yellow/gold/orange color, and was made up of large bubbles at the edge of the beer. Very odd looking. The nose and tastes are...
$9.99 for the 750 mL bottle from Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. Pour is is slightly darker than expected color with some nice looking head and lace. The beer lacks much clarity and is a darkish, honey-orange hue. (The final pour from the bottle into the Duvel tulip gets quite soup-like from the bottle conditioned sediment). Nose has a significant hop aroma, and the tastes also have quite a hop forward presence. In that respect this beer is horribly mis-categorized as a Belgian...
750 mL bottle from Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. I approach this with some trepidation since I am not the biggest fan of rye beer in general. Pour is a very good looking, chocolate brown body with a solid, dense, well formed head with good retention and lace. Nose is medicinal, clean and semi-sweet. Not a great deal of rye in the taste, which for me is a good thing. Plenty of baker's chocolate/cocoa with some mild rye in the finish. Aftertaste gives more chocolate. Mouthfeel...
750 mL capped bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is a close to colorless/pale lemon until the last pour which yielded some sediment that thickened the appearance and the body considerably. A lot of things in-line with the style here from the spritzy and lively carbonation, through to the apple-like tartness and the easy of drinking. Delighted to able able to drink a serious, American craft beer in a style that demands an ABV below 5%. That in itself was a great change of pace. Some...
Additional notes 08/06/23 Almost 14 years on, and WOW. WOW! The pour (pictured) is extraordinary. A decent pop on removing the cap, and a little gun-smoke - surprising. Head is inexplicable for the age and the ABV. I have no words. Lots of bitter licorice first. Hang on though. Rich, malty notes beyond a barrel experience and creeping into a Madeira element. In fact, the more I drink it this feels like Madeira laced with a touch of charcoal. Light roasty coal. More charcoal, but oh so gentle....
Happy to have the opportunity to drink some of The Bruery hyped beers in ATL, doubt they will live up to the hype (it would probably be impossible to do that), but I'll make my own mind up. 750 mL bottle from Mac's, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour gives a slightly burned orange color with plenty of floaties and some murky character. Nose reveals a little funk which is magnified in the taste. Head, lace and retention all poor. No gusher here as others have reported, perhaps earlier carbonation issues...
750 mL bottle, Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Having read some of the previous reviews I decided to open this over the sink and use the 500 mL Tucher Weizen glass as a precaution since I was half expecting a huge gusher and beer everywhere. As it happened, that was not necessary, however it did produce a large amount of annoying foam in the glass. "Well carbonated" I would say, but in some ways appropriate. Hazed, yellow body with great head but not fantastic retention or lace considering the...
Arrived in GA a few days ago so this is my first engagement with the much, much hyped Bruery. In many cases it's not possible for the brewery to control the hype-train, but I'm really not sure how much good all of the hysteria ultimately, actually brings. Ho hum, on to this one. label suggests a five year window for cellaring which is all well and good, but unfortunately there is no date stamp to be found on the bottle. 750 mL, slender neck on the 750 mL bottle (looks a litte like the old...