The Bruery Melange #3

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

Growler from Whole Foods. Pours dark brown with a tan head that was initially light brown. Smells of oak, chocolate, bitter hints, dark fruit, caramel, some booziness. Tastes chocolatey and sweet with lots of fruity character and some alcohol hints on the finish. Enjoyable.

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.

Umn. Super bourbon, cocoa, vanilla, nougat, nuts, rum and bourbon all over this thing. Nose reminds me of rum balls. Hugely sweet nougat and vanilla up front, overly sweet bourbon throughout with a slight alcohol burn.. definitely a high octane dessert beer that I’d love to have a few nips of for cold winter nights.

This stuff was made for me. Tap @ Rattle n Hum. Opaque with a thin off-white head. Bold and complex aroma. Notes of bourbon, grape jam, vanilla, fruity, prunes and chocolate. Big fruity flavor with big vanilla. The first sip showed coconut like an mounds candy bar. Full bodied and sticky. Big warmth. Coconut finish.

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.

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 Boulder Strong Ale Fest poured a hazy brown with a small lingering tan head. Aromas of bourbon, dates, plum, carmel, vanilla and toffee. Palate was medium bodied and smooth with a lightly syrupy finish. Flavors of brandy, plum, raisin, toffee and carmel with a smooth warming lingering sweet fruity finish.

Draught at Boulder Strong Ale Festival. Pours black with an average, rocky, light brown head, somewhat lasting with good lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (toffee, caramel, bread), average hops (flowers, perfume), average yeast (dough, earth) with notes of vanilla, alcohol, figs, prunes, dates, and brown sugar. Full bodied, creamy texture, lively carbonation, and a sticky texture. Long duration, heavy sweetness, acidity, and bitterness. Please God bottle this and send it all to me!