The Bruery Black Orchard

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

Draught. Poured black with thin head. Aroma of chamomile and citrus, like a cup of herb tea. Medium body and flavour, wheatiness, citrus and that Belgian yeastiness. Unpleasant tealike finish.

On tap at The Red in Santa Cruz. Murky brown color with an ecru head that leaves some nice lacing. Aroma is peppery and toasty with a boozy tinge. Some roasted grain and nuttiness as well. Flavor is spicy with lots of phenols. Underneath are notes of charred bread, fleshy fruits, powdered cocoa, and maybe a touch of earthy hops. Mouthfeel is overly effervescent at first but it settles down with a little patience. Body is light but not watery. Not bad.

On tap at Live Wire 16th Anniversary party. I really liked this. Kind of reminded me of a mix of a Wit, a Stout and a sour ale. Easy to drink, dare I say refreshing and supremely sessionable.

Bottle courtesy of wolf. I have always wanted to try this beer and sad to say but I was a little dissapointed. It poured light black in color with a big head that overflowed. Aroma of some dark fruits and maybe some wheat. Taste was good. Sweet, but tart. Dark fuits, small amount of roasted malts, and some smoke. The carbonation level was way off, way to bubbly which made it difficult to drink. Light, and crisp but the carbonation ruined the taste. Thanks wolf for sharing a unique beer.

Bottle @ BevMo. Pours dark with a thick black color, tan head. Aroma is dark fruits: raisins, currants, dates. Flavor is nice and not overly sweet. Kind of like a cross between a Belgian Ale and a Brown Ale.

750ml bottle shared by BeerGestapo. Thanks Mike. Started foaming over as soon as the cap was cracked. Dark brown pour topped by a massive but quickly diminishing head. Coriander and earth on the nose. The flavor reminded me a lot of a farmers market, fresh produce, meaty, slightly musty. Very nice mouthfeel, carbonation has a nice zing to it. Not what I was expecting but different and pleasant.

Poured a medium brown with large white head. Funky soapy malty nose. detergent, slight citrus, roast malts. There was somehting in the nose that i couldn’t put to words, just odd, not bad, odd. Dark malt flavor, some lemon citrus tartness with nearly acidic notes. Lingering spices. Finished very dry with almost a wood flavor in the finish.

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.