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Featured Review – Still Black Tuesday from The Bruery

We have reached the final fun beer from The Bruery. Still Black Tuesday a “plain” barrel-aged version of the classic. This is literally a still beer while definitely in the realm of Black Tuesday. More wine in character.  A fascinating counterpart to the bourbon barrel-aged version. Wood and oak are not particularly present but the beer is still very layered. Almost to the point of soured stout. A vinous near licorice flavor profile. It is a beer that doesn’t reveal the very high alcohol content until you have been drinking a bit.

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Featured Review – Spritz This! from the Bruery

We go from passion fruit to grapes with Spritz This! from The Bruery.

This sparkling golden ale pours a dark purple with lovely mauve bubbles. You can’t see much in the way of carbonation through the dark color in the glass. Slight tartness followed by a really nice grain flavor that leads to a final touch of grape notes.  I know a touch about Pinot Noir grapes but nada about Alicante so I can’t fully say if the grapes are expressing in tandem or one has the lead but it is the malt that is the lead here for me, it is the brightest flavor. 

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Whose Zombie?

The Bruery will be doing a series of cocktail beers leaning into tiki especially this year and the first one is here, Mai Zombie.

“Mai Zombie begins with a Tiki-inspired base beer as the foundation for the spirited nuances enkindled by the rum barrels it rested in for over a year. Inspired by one of our favorite island drinks, we used lime and grapefruit zest, orange flower water, almonds, allspice, and hints of cinnamon and ginger for a unique Tiki beer experience. Exotic, tropical, and like nothing you’ve tasted before.”

What is cool is that the base beer was created to be rum -esque so that when put into rum barrels it would double up that spirits taste.

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Featured Review – Frucht Passion Fruit

Try as I might, I cannot remember having a beer from the Frucht series that The Bruery has been making. Now I remedy that situation with passion fruit.

Pours into my Bruery tulip a vivid orange color. Oh boy, this is tart and the video said it had been dialed back.  That aroma tells you instantly that this is German Sour territory.  Oddly the passion fruit is fairly muted.  The label for this sorts looks like sea creature suckers and lemons. 

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A Dent in 2021

Remember when we thought of years in terms of the special anniversary beers? and not ranked them as better or worse than 2020? Hopefully, the new Bruery anniversary beer will put our heads back into nicer thoughts. Plus, if you still have a Black Tuesday or your tasting notes on them then you can see which you like better.

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Distance Christmas Beer # 2 – The Bruery Barrel-Aged Twelve Days Collection

Day 2 of our keeping distant but staying in the holiday spirit is a big ol’ box of barrel-aged beers from The Bruery.

“12 years, 12 beers. This limited edition collection includes a 2019 version of all twelve of our original 12 Days of Christmas Series releases. From Partridge to Drummers, we’ve got you covered. We took the original recipes and created a fresh version for you to taste in this collectible box. Finish your collection, or try side by side with your original. Creating this box was no small feat, but conversely this release is extremely limited and available only once, every 12 years.”

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3 on 3

Since I had three Black Tuesday variants from The Bruery, I thought it appropriate to have instead of just my line opinion, three total. So, here goes…

Guest reviewers Jennie and Richard and I cracked open the Vanilla double barrel and the initial reaction was not good. Overly sweet and masking the bourbon barrel of the original while being 1.2% higher in ABV. I found it unbalanced and overly sweet.

The Maple double barrel got better though still mixed reviews probably due to the fact that the maple was less pronounced and was in better balance with the base beer. It too was 1.1% higher in ABV. I liked it better than the vanilla getting a pancakes and syrup vibe.

The Port Barrel variant was the most complex. Different adjectives flowed which was a good sign. Considered overall a sitting by the fire with a snifter beer. I thought it showed off the barrel better and had Belgian and cider characteristics.

Not great was the main takeaway with Maple and Vanilla a distant 2nd and 3rd overall and the Port version winning mostly because it wasn’t as sweet as the other two.

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Black 2020, sorry, Black Tuesday

When I saw that the classic Black Tuesday was going to be put in 16oz cans, I was happy. I will be even happier when they come in adorable little 10oz bottles.

So, I typed that intro before I received a mega bounty of Black Tuesday 2020 which included cute little 10 ounce cans of three different variants!

You’ve got your maple, vanilla and Port barrel-aged versions but those will wait until November. Can’t rush a beer that hasn’t been rushed.

First, let’s talk the original. Almost drank it straight out the can like a libertine. It is boozy. But not as hot with alcohol as I feared. There is a burn. At 19+%, there is going to be one. But this drinks smooth and might well smooth more with extra aging. I get raisin and fig and big bourbon notes swirling. I can totally see why other flavors would appeal as additions to this.

It may be passé to say that we as beer fans need to hew close to our roots but there are relatively few beers that I believe need to be tasted each year. Black Tuesday is one of those beers.

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Rad

Seltzers may be all the rage but I have yet to find one that is so much better than the N/A versions I buy at Trader Joe’s. I wish that the Radler was being talked about as much.

So let’s talk So Radler from The Bruery. Their pastry beers and Offshoot Hazies are leading their charge currently but they have a quartet of Radler that you should try. Grapefruit might be the best start to simulate some of the hop flavors but I lean towards the tangerine myself.

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Bruery Trio

The folks over at The Bruery have another collaborative effort with Chef Brooke Williamson, a trio of beers that focus on an element each. There is “a beer-wine hybrid with one of Chef Brooke’s oldest inspirers, Andrew Murray, of Andrew Murray Vineyards. A huckleberry fruited tripel, inspired by the love of tripels shared by both us and Chef Brooke and a thyme spiced stout that showcases Chef Brooke’s love of gardening and growing her own herbs with our love of brewing stouts.”

These three became available on Thursday, 7/16.