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I do not think that American breweries will ever tire of making Elvis beers that harken back to his favorite food combo. But each time that I see one, I think to myself that a taster would be enough. But with Black Tuesday as the big, burly base, maybe The Bruery is on to something.
Certain fruits are beer workhorses. Peaches and nectarines are in practically every sour beer. Apples, not so much, so this Saison duet between The Bruery and Cellador Ales looks interesting to me.
I have never heard of a cocktail called the Manky Panky but if you say gin barrel, I will come a running. Add Fernet barrels and now I am all in. I wonder how the three powerful fruits will combine with that barrel power that the Bruery is harnessing.
Coconut and a big burly pilsner. I think anyone on a ship would like this. Especially I feel you saw The Last Cruise on HBO. I also applaud The Bruery for the font choice.
Our final March Review from The Bruery is….
It is very weird to pour a craft beer from a clear glass bottle. I mean, isn’t everything in 16oz cans now? But I will give The Bruery the benefit of the doubt here. This sour pours a bright red. Grape and a touch of vinegar hit the nose. First sip screams wine more than beer. Some raspberries hit the taste buds. Has a tart initial edge to it and not getting the beer portion so much. Says 12.2% but I am not feeling that warmth in my cheeks or any burn on the palate. I know that an “orange” version is on the way which might show off malt more. The wine to beer balance is off to me.
Next up from The Bruery is the fabled White Chocolate…
This wheat wine pours a lovely orange color with nice white foam. I find it is better drunk a little warmer. Both velvet smooth and spiky with carbonation. Lovely spirit aroma to this. Mellow but easily evident. It is a nice interplay between bourbon and light chocolate notes. Sometimes simplicity is the best avenue. ABV is masked extremely efficiently. Zero burn.
Next up in the dual Bruery reviews are a Sticky Bun and chocolate and strawberry.
Bakery: Sticky Bun – Starts with a creamy foam at top. Loads of maple syrup with the cinnamon coming in right behind it. More like pancake syrup to me. Does not taste over 10% abv. The bourbon barrel flavor aspect is far in the back. The beer isn’t creamy but there is a nice viscosity.
Love Bites – Big foamy tan head with a glint of red in the pour with loads of chocolate covered strawberry aroma and that berry note continues hard into the beer. As it warms up some of the stout comes into play but nary a smidge of bourbon barrel to be found. Almost tastes like a sour stout if it weren’t for the milk chocolate that is the second lead on this beer.
Both beers basically deliver the main flavors advertised but the Sticky Bun worked better for me, which might be due to maple being more in tune with imperial stout than strawberry.
The Bruery have a couple Tiki inspired beers out now and here are my thoughts on them….
Seahorse – right out of the gate, this beer is great. Big, juicy pineapple aroma and flavor. Super tropical. Light malt taste slides in for a second. Quite tart but that fades a notch not less acidic territory as it warms. The only minus is that the bourbon barrel character is missing as is the citrus for me. Those two added would have made for an even more complex sour.
Mai Zombie – pours an amber red color. Quite a multitude of ingredients here and boy is it almond dominated to me. The orange flower water adds a twist but the spices, lime and grapefruit are not to be found. Tastes a bit hot as well. Maybe dialed back in ABV would soften that edge. No sugary rum texture found either. More cocktail oriented.
The clear winner was Seahorse. Both beers could have delivered more of the flavors on the labels but the sour was more balanced and maybe the Zombie cocktail is not for me.
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.
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.