Chronology:12 | The Bruery
Brewed by:
The Bruery
California, United States
thebruery.com
Style: English Old Ale
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 16.70%
Availability: Limited (brewed once)
Notes / Commercial Description:
Chronology:12 is the second in a 4 part experiment with barrels and time. They brewed a beer rich and malty with undertones of brown sugar, toffee and toasted French bread and set it to age in bourbon barrels. Every six months they take a quarter of the barrels, blend them and bottle them.
This beer is retired; no longer brewed.
HISTOGRAM
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Ratings: 77 | Reviews: 14
4.66/5 rDev +10.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 5
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 5
4.14/5 rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
4.08/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Nice and boozy, but this is very sweet, which kind of detracts from the flavor. I get a good amount of barrel. Nice body. Overall, its a great beer, but just wish the sweetness was a bit muted.
196 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Nice and boozy, but this is very sweet, which kind of detracts from the flavor. I get a good amount of barrel. Nice body. Overall, its a great beer, but just wish the sweetness was a bit muted.
196 characters
3.75/5 rDev -10.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
4.35/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured from 750 mL bottle into snifter.
A: Pours a nice caramel-cola brown with 2 inch head with tight bubble formation that quickly recedes.
S: Soft, sweet bourbon hits first, followed by caramel, dark dried fruit, leather, brown sugar, vanilla, and a hint of charred wood.
T: Wow...quite the rollercoaster. Soft caramel malt, brown sugar, and fruit leather hits first, quickly followed by sweet bourbon, vanilla, charred wood, leather, and an interesting red wine note. The alcohol note bursts forth in the finish with a warming burn. Love how this plays different notes across the palate. With warming, a note of red berries emerges too.
M: Medium to medium-heavy body...surprising light on the palate given the hefty ABV. Initially sweet, then the alcohol kicks in with a decent burn burgeoning in the finish.
D: This one started solidly, then grew on me the deeper I got into it. Perhaps I was influenced by the ABV... Nice complexity of taste that had excellent progression across the palate.
1,007 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured from 750 mL bottle into snifter.
A: Pours a nice caramel-cola brown with 2 inch head with tight bubble formation that quickly recedes.
S: Soft, sweet bourbon hits first, followed by caramel, dark dried fruit, leather, brown sugar, vanilla, and a hint of charred wood.
T: Wow...quite the rollercoaster. Soft caramel malt, brown sugar, and fruit leather hits first, quickly followed by sweet bourbon, vanilla, charred wood, leather, and an interesting red wine note. The alcohol note bursts forth in the finish with a warming burn. Love how this plays different notes across the palate. With warming, a note of red berries emerges too.
M: Medium to medium-heavy body...surprising light on the palate given the hefty ABV. Initially sweet, then the alcohol kicks in with a decent burn burgeoning in the finish.
D: This one started solidly, then grew on me the deeper I got into it. Perhaps I was influenced by the ABV... Nice complexity of taste that had excellent progression across the palate.
1,007 characters
4.72/5 rDev +12.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.41/5 rDev +4.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75
4.68/5 rDev +11.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
2015 vintage; drank 10/15/15 @ Fischman's.
Poured from the bottle into a glass.
Brown appearance.
Khaki head; minimal lace.
Marshmallow, burnt caramel & milk chocolate notes in the nose.
Thick mouthfeel.
Raspberry, marshmallow, milk chocolate & vanilla flavors; no booze heat at all. Dessert perfection; bravo!!
322 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
2015 vintage; drank 10/15/15 @ Fischman's.
Poured from the bottle into a glass.
Brown appearance.
Khaki head; minimal lace.
Marshmallow, burnt caramel & milk chocolate notes in the nose.
Thick mouthfeel.
Raspberry, marshmallow, milk chocolate & vanilla flavors; no booze heat at all. Dessert perfection; bravo!!
322 characters
4.24/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.21/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Bottled 5/21/15
A: Brown slimy gunk on the underside of the cap. Interesting. Pours a dark brown with a good sized brown head that fizzes out in a few seconds. No lacing, appears practically still.
S: Heavy caramel, molasses, figs and raisins. Brown sugar too I'd say. Pretty sharp alcohol too but not as bad as I was expecting.
T: Yup, more of the same. Huge, bold old ale flavors. Tons of caramel and vanilla with a toffee, molasses and fig undercurrent. Heavy bread in the middle. Brown sugar on the back end with oaky vanilla. Pretty big alcohol sting and belly-warmth afterwards.
M: Heavy and boozy.
O: Beer was aged for a year and then in the bottle is another 1.5 years. Could definitely use a bit more, it's quite boozy but it's also almost 17%. Quite sweet with huge barrel and malt flavors. Bruiser for sure, share this bottle because it'll put you under otherwise.
881 characters
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Bottled 5/21/15
A: Brown slimy gunk on the underside of the cap. Interesting. Pours a dark brown with a good sized brown head that fizzes out in a few seconds. No lacing, appears practically still.
S: Heavy caramel, molasses, figs and raisins. Brown sugar too I'd say. Pretty sharp alcohol too but not as bad as I was expecting.
T: Yup, more of the same. Huge, bold old ale flavors. Tons of caramel and vanilla with a toffee, molasses and fig undercurrent. Heavy bread in the middle. Brown sugar on the back end with oaky vanilla. Pretty big alcohol sting and belly-warmth afterwards.
M: Heavy and boozy.
O: Beer was aged for a year and then in the bottle is another 1.5 years. Could definitely use a bit more, it's quite boozy but it's also almost 17%. Quite sweet with huge barrel and malt flavors. Bruiser for sure, share this bottle because it'll put you under otherwise.
881 characters
3.92/5 rDev -6.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured right down the middle of a snifter from a waxed 750ml bottle. It produced a pretty decent cream colored head that you definitely don't get with a less aggressive pour, but it still dissipated quickly into a quarter thick ring around the outside of the glass. It is a chestnut brown and very muddy/murky.
Smells very rich. Molasses, carmalized brown sugar, baked bread, lots of bourbon, some sour fruit, significant alcohol, and a touch of apple cider vinegar.
For as much aroma as it has, there are probably even more flavors. In addition to everything above, I also notice the oak/tannins, some red grape skin, a touch of coconut, raisin, and a big spicy kick that I am sure isn't the alcohol, but not sure what to attribute it to. Almost rye like.
The one thing that I can't overlook is the alcohol. Yes it is almost 17%, but I swear the 6 month version wasn't this boozy. It hits you early and often, and any lingering flavors seem to be drowned out a bit by astringency.
The body is very nice. Not to thick and syrupy, but not thinned out by the barrels either. The biggest knock is the alcohol burn.
This was interesting and fun. I would love to try the 6 and 12 month side by side. I think that in a lot of ways this one might have more flavor depth if memory is correct, but the alcohol presence in this one seems much stronger even though the abv doesn't reflect it. I drink plenty of bourbon neat, so it doesn't bother me, but objectively speaking it is a bit too much for a beer. All of that being said, it still is a very tasty beer and has plenty of flavors to enjoy.
1,596 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured right down the middle of a snifter from a waxed 750ml bottle. It produced a pretty decent cream colored head that you definitely don't get with a less aggressive pour, but it still dissipated quickly into a quarter thick ring around the outside of the glass. It is a chestnut brown and very muddy/murky.
Smells very rich. Molasses, carmalized brown sugar, baked bread, lots of bourbon, some sour fruit, significant alcohol, and a touch of apple cider vinegar.
For as much aroma as it has, there are probably even more flavors. In addition to everything above, I also notice the oak/tannins, some red grape skin, a touch of coconut, raisin, and a big spicy kick that I am sure isn't the alcohol, but not sure what to attribute it to. Almost rye like.
The one thing that I can't overlook is the alcohol. Yes it is almost 17%, but I swear the 6 month version wasn't this boozy. It hits you early and often, and any lingering flavors seem to be drowned out a bit by astringency.
The body is very nice. Not to thick and syrupy, but not thinned out by the barrels either. The biggest knock is the alcohol burn.
This was interesting and fun. I would love to try the 6 and 12 month side by side. I think that in a lot of ways this one might have more flavor depth if memory is correct, but the alcohol presence in this one seems much stronger even though the abv doesn't reflect it. I drink plenty of bourbon neat, so it doesn't bother me, but objectively speaking it is a bit too much for a beer. All of that being said, it still is a very tasty beer and has plenty of flavors to enjoy.
1,596 characters
3.66/5 rDev -13.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Part of the flight from the Bruery. Glad I got to do 'em this way. Anyways, brown pour, minimal head, looks like its not all that thick. Aroma was booze, bourbon, brown sugar and oak.
Taste was boozy, sweet, brown sugar, not bitter, smooth. This one drops more of what was 6 without seeming more boozy. Molasses, syrup, whateva. Given its abv hides it well despite still being boozy, whatchagunnado when its this big. Its good, but I could see where it gets tiresome if you're drinking more than 8oz of this.
517 characters
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Part of the flight from the Bruery. Glad I got to do 'em this way. Anyways, brown pour, minimal head, looks like its not all that thick. Aroma was booze, bourbon, brown sugar and oak.
Taste was boozy, sweet, brown sugar, not bitter, smooth. This one drops more of what was 6 without seeming more boozy. Molasses, syrup, whateva. Given its abv hides it well despite still being boozy, whatchagunnado when its this big. Its good, but I could see where it gets tiresome if you're drinking more than 8oz of this.
517 characters
3.79/5 rDev -10%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
4.46/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.15/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75
The best of 6-18. The oak and bourbon are there but to not overpower and compensate for the sweetness.
103 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75
The best of 6-18. The oak and bourbon are there but to not overpower and compensate for the sweetness.
103 characters
4.15/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Chronology:12 from The Bruery
Beer rating:
4.21 out of
5 with
77 ratings
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