The Bruery Black Orchard

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

Bottle at Mekong on 07/19/2009. Dark black body with a large rocky off-white head. Sweet chocolate aroma with light roast and spice. Big chocolate flavor with some faint roast and a good spicy background and a dry finish. Medium body with moderate carbonation. 7/5/8/3/16 - 3.9 Bottle on 07/18/2009. Hazy dark brown body with a large frothy off-white head. Sweet fruit, light yeastiness, and some dark malt aroma. Sweet raspberry and roast malt flavor, some dark malt. Medium body with moderately high carbonation. 7/4/7/3/13 - 3.4 Bottle on 11/30/2008 at the 3rd Annual Richmond Industry Gathering. Murky dark brown body with a medium tan head. Big spice and fruit aroma. Sweet caramel and dark fruit flavor with some light chocolate. Medium body with moderately high carbonation. 7/3/7/3/14 - 3.4

Bottle shared by Dickinsonbeer. Big peanut brittle aroma with light euro hops. Malt sweet flavor with no sugar. Mellow marshmallow and peanut. Dryish and balanced. A bit fizzy.

G.A.B.F. 2008: Murky deep brown with a creamy tan head. Mild cocoa and roast in the aroma with dark wheat as well. Creamy feel on the palate. The flavor is interesting- a mix of subtle crispness from the wheat accompanied by soft roast/cocoa character, making it very drinkable. Unique and tasty! This is a great brewery that I finally got to try at the 2008 G.A.B.F.

[2602-20091127] 1pt9.4floz bottle. Nice fresh hay malt aroma with some grape-like fruit. Dark dark brown body with a medium-lasting foamy off-white head. Roasty grape-skin malt flavour. Medium body. Nice balance, drinkable.
(c/o GregClow, w/ him, blankboy, garthicus, HogTownHarry, jerc)

Sampled at Stone World Bistro on tap; June 2008
Arrives with a hazy, murky, dark brown color and is topped by a thin, frothy and brown tinged, tan colored head. The aroma has the characteristic Wit notes of orange peel and coriander; the coriander is nice in the aroma as it is not overly sharp / earthy-herbal like some Wits and it melds in quite well with the citrus notes. This is also fruity smelling with notes of fermented plums, rum-soaked raisins that are a product of esters and higher alcohols. The nose is actually very ester and phenolic driven; producing ample spiciness and fruit notes beyond the typical orange peel and coriander character; aromas of pepper, ginger, lots of clove, bubblegum notes, banana and phenolic resin are all found here. There is also some dark malt notes here in the nose, it is more of a light roast / light toasted grain character than anything.

The taste is quite dry and tart, yet it still has an ample fruitiness to it as well as a noticeable, background, dark malt character. This is very light on the palate, quite quaffable, almost thin even, but the ample carbonation provides lots of texture to this beer. This is very spicy and phenolic tasting from the fermentation derived character; flavors of light plastic, big clove, higher alcohol warming notes in the finish as well as a peppery bit that couples with a slight hop bitterness in the finish. This has a surprising fruitiness to it despite by quite dry; flavors of plum and light raisin notes are quite noticeable, especially the former. This gets a touch vegetal in the finish, it is nothing major and might just be a bit of the coriander note coming through. Flavors from the dark malt, while not over the top, have a profound influence on the flavor of this beer; it definitely mutes the spice notes; provides a touch of soft, dusty cocoa; and contributes a toasted, even lightly roasted flavor that is especially noticed in the finish.

This is quite an interesting beer; tasty, complex, but somehow almost too much. The flavors are at times a bit too cacophonous and almost, though not quite, jarring. I would guess that this was fermented at just a smidge too high of a temperature; the high heat is good because it boosts complexity via fermentation by products, but seems to have gotten a touch too hot. Still I like this quite a bit and will definitely be looking to get a bottle of this brew.

Pours wtih a dark brown body topped by a thick, fizzy head with disappears quickly and leaves little lacing. It look liked I just poured myself a coke. It’s kinda malty...umm...well, it actually kinda reminds me of a malt liquor with a little added spice. Light bodied and fizzy.

750 mL bottle from Whole Foods Market, Bowery NYC. Brought back by a friend. Thanks! Shared at Immy’s Backyard Throwdown. Pours a dark brown color with a large head. Good head retention and lacing. Aroma is bread, dark chocolate, caramel and coffee. Taste is dark chocolate, bread, spice, coffee and nutty notes. Full bodied.

Bottle from SL. Totally not what I expected, as this thing was nothing witbier-like, much more a Belgian type stout. The malts were far more than toasted or lightly roasted, we’re talking full roast. The pour was dark brown, big head, lots of carbonation on display. The body was airy and light for a stout, but bigger than most Belgian-style ales, period. There was some coriander in the aroma and flavor, but the chocolate elements dominated and felt quite out of place with the Coriander and advertised base styl. Meh. Have I mentioned before my dilemmas with this brewery? I just can’t get a consistent opinion of them. That Saison de Lente and the Trade WInds worked so well for me!