The Bruery Melange #3

Brewed by The Bruery
Style: American Strong Ale
Placentia, California USA

Tap at RattlenHum. Very bold, overthetop.. and pretty damn delicious. Pours near black. Mouth is brown sugar, grape (very strong), coconut, bourbon, oak... and a smack in the face. I sucked down a full pint of this, makes ugly girls looks prettier. Incredibly unique, boozey but for 15% it’s impressively hidden

Tap at RnH. Yikes, what a punch in the face this one is. Huge and powerful, almost overwhelming, with a knock-your-socks-off sweetness and head-spinning I’m-going-to-have-a-hangover-tomorrow bourbon, I can’t say this one is really for me. Grape and pine notes show up in the aroma, with the flavor exhibiting rich maple syrup and brown sugar. Outlandish and experimental, and very out of character for The Bruery; a fun effort none-the-less.

Draft wow what a heavy beer. Pours a garnet brown body with a tan head. A flavorful explosion of chocolate, vanilla, oak, spices, etoh latent fruits, bourbon, and toffee. Butterscotch and coconut to round this one out. What a wild beer.

Crushed with Jakebra at BSAF. Now THAT is some bourbon. Dig it. Complex, robust and awesome. Strong and packed with flavor. One of the highlights of the tasting.

Tap at EBF. Pours a deep amber with a thin head and some spritzy carb. Aroma is vanilla, oak up front, with some sharp sweetness, nutty chocolate, and dough, with a strong raisin, pear, mango, and tangerine ester profile. More vanilla, and chooclate malts up front in the flavor, caramelly butterscotch bourbon, burnt toast, sharp toffee and apricot sweetness, dry acrid and sharp roasted malts, and more fruitiness. Mild alcohol burn in the finish. Lots going on here, but it seems to work for the most part, just seemed a little too harsh for me.

On tap at BSAF. Poured a deep, murky brown color with garnet highlights and a quarter-inch light beige head that faded to a layer. Sweet, moderately chocolaty aroma with some strong, spicy bourbon, vanilla, oak, and some soft fruity undertones (berry). Sweet, smooth entry with some undertones of bright fruit (orange and berry) that leads into a sweet chocolaty maltiness with some caramel paired with vanilla that finishes with a bit of oak and some noticeable alcohol. Low carbonation, full and smooth on the palate. Overall, a very sweet beer that is decent in small doses. Bourbon dominates in this one, muddling other flavors that could provide more complexity. Still promising, although there is no sign of balance.

Tap at Rattle N Hum... holy crap, this stuff is big. Deep brown ruby tinted beer. The aroma is incredibly intense. Rich sweet aroma with loads of character. Dried plums and cherries mixed with a big shot of molassess and lightly oxidized sherry character. Apricot and hazelnuts add to the chewy fruitiness. Flavour is very intense as well. Sweet toasted malts, dark chocolate and bourbon. There is a kiss of caramel and toffee on the back. Rich vanilla and sweet plumminess. There is a little bit of saltiness as well. It’s big and brash and quite boozy with an unctuous texture, but in spite of that it has an integrity that works pretty damn well.

Draft. Pours pitch black with a thin, creamy off-white head that fades quickly. Even in a narrow glass, the beer might as well be obsidian it’s so black. Nose is incredibly rich - Big, bold, vibrant bourbon note leaves notes of vanilla and oak to wrap up the underlying sweet, rich notes of brown sugar, cocoa... wow. Taste is stunningly rich and decadent - bourbon, oak, vanilla shine through prominently. Boozey. Incredibly rich, sweet notes of cocoa (fudge), brown sugar, caramel, coconut - cake like. Lightly roasty towards the finish, a bit of spicy alcohol also works to reign in the richness. Holds together so well, though an 8 oz pour lasted me near to two hours of sipping. Thick, viscous body, soft but active carbonation. Drinkability suffers from the sheer size, but honestly, this is better judged as an after dinner drink than as a beer. Fantastic.