The Bruery Black Orchard

Brewed by The Bruery
Style: Belgian Ale
Placentia, California USA

THOUGHTS: It was almost a Belgian stout. A very nice beer. I didn’t really get the black wit part until the end.. This was very hard to describe. I liked it very much, but it’s hard to explain why. I’ve really enjoyed The Bruery beers I’ve tried so far. This was like a better black velvet (Guinness and champagne). This was great. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a very dark brown that was a nearly opaque, almost black color with hints of an orange glow at the edges when held to the light. It had a huge, frothy, light brown to tan head that fully diminished, leaving virtually no lacing. The aroma was moderate to heavy chocolate cake and cocoa; lighter roasted malt; moderate to heavy Bruery yeast strain; slight apple; white wine, cola, champagne and some spices. The initial flavor was sweet and rather acidic; while the finish was acidic, lightly sweet and slightly bitter. There was chocolate, oats, wheat, sour fruit, sour oranges, yeast, roasted malt, champagne, orange coffee, a little soy, slight spices and at the the end some hints of coffee. The medium to full body was a bit oily or silky for a split second, but nearly dry all the way through and also slightly sticky on the lips with very fizzy carbonation and a dry, heavily astringent and slightly chalky finish.

Poured mostly black, as it formed large foamy head. Aroma of hops, light chocolates. Flavour was of milk chocolaty goodness that has a tinge of spice.

Very dark brown pour with a tan head. Aroma is more porter like and heavier than would be expected. Mostly chocolate and sweet malts. Flavor is very smoky malts with chocolate and coffee. Finishes very dry with a nice alcohol warmth for the season.

750mL bottle. Poured deep brown with a dense, well-retained cap of beige head. The aroma picked up sweeter chocolates, brown sugar, and toasted nutty notes paired with tart orange peel, floral notes, and wheat.. there was an overriding spicy yeast presence that played well here. The flavor opened with tart floral notes, orange peel, and bone-dry yeast that imparted earth and bananas.. the core was mostly tart wheat, topped by the same sweet chocolates and nutty notes as the nose.. finished spicy and dry with more chocolate. Light-medium bodied and very well carbonated on the palate.. decent feel, but it didn’t quite flow as well as I would have liked.. overall engaging and different, but not quite great.

Bottle. Pours a dark hazy brown with a large off white head. Nose is dusty, light fruit notes with a light dry malt note. Palate is medium with a nice light fizz and a filminess. Flavors are dusty and dry with a light kind of cherry note.

Location: 750 ml bottle from Gilly’s, 11/12/09

Aroma: The nose has roasted characteristics, some chocolate and floral notes, and some wheat as well
Appearance: Pours a reddish-brown color with a huge fluffy tan head that dissipates quickly
Flavor: Taste is quite wheat-like, with some spice and smoke notes as well, medium-sweet malty flavor
Palate: It is fairly light (certainly lighter then I was expecting), with an alright, somewhat tingy mouthfeel
Overall Impression: It isn’t particularly exciting. I also noticed that the nose fades rather quickly (I probably would have gone 7 originally, but was hard pressed to go over 5 by the end - so I compromised on 6). The rest of the beer kind of felt the same way. It’s an alright brew, but it does very little to blow me away, and doesn’t really evolve at all as it warms. That pretty much covers this one.

bottle poured a deep brown in color with a thin off white head. aroma has roasted malt, wheat, some spice, and wet flowers. flavor has an odd saison meets dark beer thing. mild roast, yeast, spices, dark fruit and mild citrus.

Poured dark brown, CO2, malty, caramel, little spice, little citrus, little dark fruits.