Beer Review: Rue D'Floyd (The Bruery version)

Reviewing Rue D'Floyd, an imperial porter aged in bourbon barrels with cherries, coffee and vanilla beans added brewed by The Bruery out of Placentia, California in collaboration with Three Floyd's Brewing Company out of Munster, Indiana. This beer was unintentionally infected with lactobacillus, meaning that it is apt to develop off/unintended flavors over time. The Bruery, in their mea culpa email about the infection, asserted that it would be best by June 30, 2014 (i.e., no infection flaws apparent if drank by then).

Score: 93

March 2014 vintage bottle served in a 2011 Surly Darkness chalice and enjoyed on 07/19/14.

Appearance: Pours a dark chocolate color with a thin layer of khaki head that settles to a thick ring around the glass. Okay lacing, average retention. 4/5

Smell: Vanilla bean ice cream, coffee, brown sugar, light roast, bourbon, cherry and a hint of chocolate. The cherry (and bourbon) is much more pronounced in the nose of The Bruery brewed version of this beer than the Three Floyd's brewed version, but it is still pretty subdued overall. The aromatic mix is nice, and the vanilla is quite lovely, but it is not quite as marvelously integrated as the Three Floyd's version was. 4.5/5

Taste: Bourbon-forward flavor followed by ample chocolate (much more so than the nose). Oaky vanilla on the finish. Not getting much cherry right out of the fridge, but as it warms up, a little bit of restrained cherry flavor comes through on the back half. Long-lasting finish of bourbon and oak. A bit of alcohol heat and more sweetness comes across than I recall in the Three Floyd's version. No off flavors present in this bottle as of late July 2014. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel: Similar mouthfeel to the Three Floyd's version, but with more alcohol heat. Full bodied, minimal carbonation. Viscous, chewy and a little creamy mouthfeel. Sweeter than I recall the Three Floyd's version being. 4.75/5

Overall: Very good, but it's not quite the robust beast that the Three Floyd's brewed version was -- whether that be because of slight differences in the brewing process or the coffee element or otherwise.

Cost: $20 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Rye D'Floyd (Three Floyd's version)

Reviewing Rue D'Floyd, an imperial porter aged in bourbon barrels with cherries and vanilla beans added brewed by Three Floyd's Brewing Company out of Munster, Indiana out of their facility in collaboration with The Bruery. The Bruery version, which also has coffee in it, was reportedly infected with unintended lactobacillus (it still tasted good fresh, but the infection likely means it will develop off/unintended flavors over time). However, this version was brewed and aged separately by Three Floyds and thus does not share the same concerns as (or the coffee in) the Bruery released version.

Score: 98

May 2014 vintage bottle served in a stemmed 2013 Midwest Belgian Beer Fest tulip and enjoyed on 06/01/14.

Appearance: Pours a dark chocolate color with minimal head that totally settles. No lacing or retention, but nice browning effect from the swirl. 4/5

Smell: Rich, desserty vanilla and chocolate cake, bourbon, brown sugar, molasses and light cherry. Wow. Smells incredible. The cherry character is not very prominent on the nose, but it is there. This is one of the best stout/porter noses I have encountered in a while. 5/5

Taste: Much more cherry in the flavor. Upfront is a nice mix of cherry, chocolate and a vanilla flavor that tastes like a donuts glaze. Bourbon and cherry flavor on the back half, with a big, lasting chocolate-vanilla flavored finish. The bourbon character comes out more and more as it warms up, and the longer you let the beer sit on the tongue. Lovely integration here. No real booziness. 4.75/5

Mouthfeel: Full bodied, minimal carbonation. Viscous, chewy and a little creamy mouthfeel. Sweet, but not cloying and very balanced. 5/5

Overall: Incredible. Viscous, decadent and robust, without being cloying. This is one of Three Floyd's and The Bruery's best barrel aged stout/porter releases. Heck, this is better than over half of the Barrel Aged Dark Lord releases to date.

Cost: $30 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Wineification

Reviewing Wineification from The Bruery out of Placentia, California. This beer is Black Tuesday with Syrah grapes aged in French Oak barrels.

Score: 86

2013 vintage bottle served in a stemmed Mikkeller taster and enjoyed on 05/13/14.

Appearance: Pours a jet black color with minimal head that quickly and totally settles. No lacing or retention. Okay legs. 2.75/5

Smell: Tannic oak and winey Black Tuesday. Chocolate, vanilla, dark fruit and booze. Nose-apparent sweetness. 3.75/5

Taste: Wine/grapes infused with chocolate. Less sweet than Black Tuesday, and not cloying. Nice chocolatey finish. Hint of vanillla. Ashy roast, dark fruit and licorice too. 4/5

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, minimal carbonation. Sweet and tannic, but not as sweet as most Bruery stouts. Light alcohol warmth and booziness. 3.75/5

Overall: Solid and tasty, but nothing too special or can't miss. Mocha Wednesday was better, but this was probably more drinkable.

Cost: $40 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Mocha Wednesday

Reviewing Mocha Wednesday from The Bruery out of Placentia, California. This beer is Black Tuesday imperial stout with coffee and cacao nibs added.

Score: 91

2014 vintage bottle served in a Hill Farmstead stemmed glass and enjoyed on 02/22/14. Review is from iPhone notes. Thank you Moe for sharing this brew with me!

Appearance: Soda pop brown in color. Virtually no head off the pour. Decent oily legs, but no head or retention. 3.5/5

Smell: Milk chocolate, fudge, roast and a little vanilla. Big booziness, but not a ton of bourbon aroma relative to the alcohol esters. Simple and boozy, but effectively appealing. 4/5

Taste: Milk chocolate, vanilla, and mild coffee flavor with a nice light bitterness that's refreshing relative to most diabetes-inducingly sweet Bruery stouts. Still, despite this bitternes, this beer is still awfully sweet. Boozy, but more bourbon character than the nose and less sheer alcohol. I thought this was tasty, but it is a sweet sipper that is probably best enjoyed in small doses. My four ounce pour was sufficient for a lifetime. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel: Full bodied, low carbonation. Not cloying or nearly as sweet as Black Tuesday, but its on the sweeter side of stouts. 3.75/5

Overall: A really solid stout, but certainly not as good as its reputation would indicate. I prefer Chocolate Rain to this, but felt Mocha Wednesday was better than Grey Monday.

Cost: $40 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Melange 8

Reviewing Melange 8 from The Bruery out of Placentia, California.

Score: 84

2013 vintage bottle served in an Upland snifter glass and enjoyed on 07/03/13.
Appearance: The color of the beer is a yellowish-green-brown caramel color that kind of looks like a melange of the colors on the label. Pours a thin ring around the glass of off-white head. Poor lacing, OK retention. 2.75/5

Smell: Coffee is the first thing I notice upfront, but it is ultimately not the most prominent or lasting element of the aroma. Immediately after the coffee is sweet caramel, sweet vanilla, toffee and a little oakiness. Nice medley of sweet aromas with some coffee to balance. The coffee is not very roasty, but it is appealingly pleasant. 4/5

Taste: Tastes just like it smells with substantially less coffee and more sugary sweetness. Quite malty. Some alcohol warmth and a little booziness too. At first, I thought the barrel and malty sweet flavors made for a nice mix, but the sweetness really layers and grows on you in a negative way. This beer quickly borderlines cloying. 3.25/5

Mouthfeel: Full bodied, quite low carbonation. Unnecessarily sweet, but this is The Bruery. Sticky on palate. 3.75/5

Overall: Even by The Bruery's standards, this beer was a sweet mess. There was not nearly enough roasty/bitter coffee to offset the overbearing sweetness of the brew, and none of the people present when this bottle was opened could finish more than a few ounces before giving up. It is not a bad beer, but it's one that gets undrinkably sweet as it layers, and nearly a third of this bottle was ultimately donated to the drain at the end of the night. If you own a bottle, I would recommend trading it away. I wish I had my forty bucks back.

Cost: $40 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Hottenroth

Reviewing the Hottenroth from The Bruery out of Placentia, California.

Score: 70

2013 vintage bottle served in an upland snifter and enjoyed on 05/07/13. Review is from iPhone notes

Appearance: Pours a murky dull peach color with a finger of white head. Good lacing and retention. Has a light and delicate appearance. 4/5

Smell: Tons of cereal grain, wheat, a little sweet citrus and apples. 3/5

Taste: Has an offensively flat cereal grain flavor upfront with a very faint tartness on the back end. A little buttery too. Wheaty finish. Has a better citrus tartness if you swish the beer rather than let it sit on the palate, but its very grain heavy when it sits on tongue and the wheat lingers. 2/5

Mouthfeel: Light bodied, low carbonation. Dry finish with a little prickliness. 3.5/5

Overall: I have not had very many berliner weiss, but this is the most "grainy" one that I have sampled to date. Not a fan.

Cost: $7.99 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Smoking Wood (Rye Whiskey Version)

Reviewing the Smoking Wood (Rye Whiskey Version) from The Bruery out of California. This beer is an imperial smoked porter brewed with rye malt, beachwood and cherrywood smoked malt, and then aged in rye whiskey barrels.
Score: 92

2012 vintage served in a Duck-Rabbit snifter and enjoyed 07/01/12. Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: Black coffee color. Pours a finger of creamy milk chocolate head that settles to a thin layer atop the glass. Good lacing, excellent retention. 4/5

Smell: Milk chocolate, rye and a huge amount of wood. Ample smoke too. A little bacon, subtle whiskey caramel malt. Hint of molasses. 4.25/5

Taste: Smoked and slightly salty bacon. Lots of oak flavor. A little chocolate on the midpalate. Increasing "spiciness" and a soft rye kick towards finish as the beer warms. Mild caramel flavor in the background too. ABV absolutely hidden. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus bodied, made to feel lighter from smokiness. Creamy mouthfeel. Smooth and smoky finish. Subtly bitter. 4/5

Overall:Smoke beers are quite polarizing -- you either love them, or you hate them. I am personally a fan of smokey beers. For a smoke beer, however, I found the smoke quality of this brew to be more subtle than most, but still quite pronounced.

Recommendation: Smoke beer fans are encouraged to seek this one out; it is better than the bourbon version.

Pairings: Bacon and eggs.

Cost: $20 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Chocolate Rain (2012, fresh)

Reviewing the Chocolate Rain from The Bruery.
Score: 98

2012 vintage bottle (batch 2) served in my brand new Kate The Great balloon glass and enjoyed on 05/12/12.

Appearance: Pours a jet black color. This looks like motor oil. Completely opaque. A thin layer of brown/milk chocolate head quickly and completely settles. Minimal, oily lacing and minimal retention. This nearly 20% ABV beer is intimidatingly heavy on appearance. 4.5/5

Smell: Rich milk chocolate, vanilla beans and lots of modestly sweet raisin/dark fruit. Smooth molasses. Sweet on the nose, but not Dark Lord sweet. There is a little alcohol heat, but not nearly as much as you'd expect from a 19.5% ABV beer. 5/5

Taste: Sweeter taste than the aroma, but this beer is still far from cloying, "diabetes-inducing" sweetness (or even Dark Lord-like sweetness). Sweet and creamy vanilla and milk chocolate throughout. Ample warming alcohol heat on the midpalate, but no "booziness" flavor in conjunction with this palate sensation. Plenty of bitter cocoa, bourbon and molasses flavors to boot. As the beer layers, I detect a little sweet dark cherry flavor akin to the Black Albert. Just a little bit of oaky/wood flavor.

Mouthfeel: A little short of full bodied. Minimal carbonation. Has a slick mouthfeel that falls between syrupy and oily. Sweet and warming finish. 4.25/5

Overall: Sweet, rich and decadent. This beer is incredibly/surprisingly smooth and drinkable for the ABV. In my opinion, Chocolate Rain absolutely lives up to its hype. I can see why some think it's too sweet of a stout, but I did not think it was. I personally prefer this brew to Bell's Black Note. I doubt I could drink a whole bottle of Chocolate Rain -- be it because of the ABV or the layering sweetness -- but I probably could and would regularly knock this one back during the winter months if it was readily available in 12 oz bottles.

Recommendation: Everyone should seek a bottle of this stuff out to share with a small group of friends.

Pairings: A cocoa-nib rubbed filet.

Cost: $40 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Cuir

Reviewing the Cuir from The Bruery. I reviewed the 100% barred aged version of this at the end of last year.
Score: 79

2011 vintage bottle with bottle number 16598. Served in a wine glass and enjoyed on 03/31/12 with my good friends Adam Kaplan and Bryan Hernandez in the elegant W Hotel in River North.

Appearance: Pours a deep and hazy amber color that fades from a deep mahogany at the top to a reddish amber color at the bottom. Two fingers of creamy tan head at pour settles to a decently thick later. Amazing lacing, superior retention. 4.5/5

Smell: Barnyard funkiness and caramel. There's a sweet grape flavor that Hernandez described as "Sherry-like." I am not a wine connoisseur, but he is, so I'll take his word for it. There is barley malt, dried apricot and a light blackberry fruitiness as well. I detect a hint of rose petal, but no one else seems to agree. There is a light alcohol heat in the nose, and it grows as the beer approaches room temperature. For all the complex nuance to the nose, though, you really have to fight through the funkiness in the aroma to detect it. 3.5/5

Taste: Sweet caramel and funky malt throughout. The alcohol is decently hidden at first. The funk seems to subside a little as the beer layers, but as it warms it gets less balanced and more boozy. Bitter barley and banana yeast on the midpalate. Some dried fruit and apricot in addition to modest berry notes. The fortified wine/grape from the nose is in the flavor too. Bitter barley finish and linger with a warming effect on the palate. The funkiness is really detracting. 3/5

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, medium carbonation. There is too much carbonation for how acidic and malty this beer is. Acidic finish. 2.5/5

Overall: Complex, but marred by a funkiness that overshadows the better qualities of this beer. It gets less balanced as it warms, and is too carbonated for how acidic and malty Cuir is. I do not like to throw the infected label around very often, but I did not see any other reviews that described the funkiness experienced with this beer. Maybe we just got a bad bottle. I have had the 100% Cuir before and it, in addition to tasting divine, tasted quite dissimilar to this (with a much heavier mouthfeel). I could not finish my glass once this beer hit room temperature.

Recommendation: This beer gets re-released every year, with a slightly different blend of base beers, with a new title. The 2012 version is called Fruet. I'd recommend waiting for a bottle of that, which will be easier to get, instead of seeking this one out.

Pairings: A nutty white cheese like gruyere.

Cost: $20 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Melange 3

Reviewing the Melange 3 from The Bruery. This is a blend of Black Tuesday, White Oak and Papier. This is only the second beer that I have ever tried from The Bruery, the other one being 100% Barrel Aged Cuir -- which was divine. The Bruery is probably best known for their highly sought after Russian Imperial Stout -- Black Tuesday. I should have a bottle of all three arriving in the mail soon!
Score: 97

Red waxed 2011 vintage bottle served in a Surly Darkness snifter and enjoyed on 01/19/12.

Appearance: Pours a deep brown color with caramel highlights at the top of the glass. One finger of frothy off white/cream colored head that settles into a ring around the glass. Light lacing -- leaves behind some oily brown residue on the side of the glass that slowly drips back down -- but that is to be expected from a 15.5% ABV beer. 4/5

Smell: There's a ton going on in the aroma. From the first pull I get tiramissu, vanilla and brown sugar. There's definitely some molasses in there too. I cannot put my finger on exactly what type, but there's a distinct type of cake aroma here. I wish I could pin down which cake I'm thinking of. Further whiffs reveal raisin/dark fruit and some chocolate. There's a smooth leathery bourbon aroma in there too, but no real "alcohol" booziness in the nose, which is surprising because this one is a 15.5% ABV beer. 4.5/5

Taste: Wow. The flavor to this is divine. Upfront I get some vanilla flavored cake of sorts with alcohol warming, but no alcohol flavor/bite. There's some brown sugar and molasses here, as well as bourbon soaked raisins. Lots of sweet malty flavors present, but this beer is not overly sweet -- it is very smooth, balanced and complex. There are some other dark fruit flavors and some chocolate in the background as well. Lots of creamy vanilla. Lingering finish of bourbon and dark fruit. I cannot get over how smooth the bourbon flavors in this beer are. They are very mellow (rather than aggressive) and "palate soaking" at the same time. There is no "boozy sting" to the flavor at any point. I'm surprised so much alcohol can be so well hidden. 5/5

Mouthfeel: High-medium bodied, no carbonation. Mouthfeel is viscous, sticky and a little chewy. Finish is sweet. 4.5/5

Overall: An excellent blended beer -- probably the best blended beer that I have ever had.

Recommendation: Everyone needs to seek this one out.

Pairings: Digestif. Could go great with some buttery nuts like cashews or peanuts or almonds.

Cost: $35 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: 100% Bourbon Barrel Aged Cuir

Reviewing the 100% Bourbon Barrel Aged Cuir from The Bruery. A hearty thank you to BeerAdvocate user FrankenBrew for sharing this one with me!
Score: 97

2011 vintage bottle served in a CBS snifter glass.

Appearance: Cuir is a dark caramel, mostly opaque color with yellow-brown highlights at the top of the body. Pours a thin foggy layer of cream-colored head that quickly settles into a thin bubbly ring around the glass. Minimal lacing. 4/5

Smell: Oak, red grapes and maple. Bourbon and vanilla too. A little boozy. 4.5/5

Taste: Very complex and sweet, but not overly sweet. This is a very balanced brew. Brown sugar and red grape hit up front. Then lots of bourbon flavors without the alcohol bite coat the mid-palate. Yum! As the beer layers, dark fruits flavors gradually grow, with lots of fig and raisin on the mid-palate. Lots of raisin flavor! A little oaky too. The finish is bourbon without the alcohol bite, raisins and a twist of vanilla. This is absolutely one of the most delicious tasting beers that I have ever had and it is surprisingly smooth and balanced for a barrel aged beer -- especially one that is 14.5% ABV. The alcohol was apparent in the nose, but is hidden in the flavor. 5/5

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus bodied, minimal carbonation. Thick and tasty. Finishes sweet. 4.5/5

Overall: An absolutely brilliant beer -- possibly the best Old Ale that I have ever had. Cuir is a bit pricey, but it is well worth the cost.

Recommendation: Even casual beer drinkers will be able to appreciate this brew. Beer geeks need to seek this limited-release brew out and wallow in its robust complexities.

Pairings: Chocolate and caramel brownies.

Cost: $35 for a 750 ml bottle.