Mash & French Toast
The Bruery

 

750 ml bottle into a tulip snifter. Bottled 7/25/19, had 7/2/23.

Pours a semi- opaque dark amber, with a quarter inch foamy head and light speckled cling. Aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel, bourbon, vanilla, malt, some maple. Flavors of nutmeg, cinnamon, bourbon, malt, caramel, vanilla, light maple. Tastes a little spicy. Smooth, a very good medium body, well carbonated.

Thought this might be over the top, but it’s not. The maple could be a little faded at four years old, but everything else shows well. Bright aromas and flavors and the base was great, as usual. Really enjoyable.

 

 

Another one that was supposed to be a split with rudzud

Pours med frothy off white head with fair retention, little lacing, not much for legs, semi clear dark auburn to maroon color

Nose brings sweet candy and heavy malt, brown sugar, some caramel but quite a bit of maple syrup, big raw oak, toasted almost cedar like oak, hint of bourbon, light cinnamon and spice, nutmeg, little vanilla, some perfumey alcohol, raw cedar and oak dominating as it warms

Taste brings more sweetness, heavy syrup and maple, hot almost fusel alcohol, a bit of bitterness with cinnamon and nutmeg spice, vanilla, caramel and apple fruit, some generic baking spices as well, more oak and almost cedar flavor that gets strong and nagging, flash of bourbon, sticky sweet finish, some bitterness, nagging cinnamon and nutmeg spice as well as the oak

Mouth is med to fuller bod, syrupy, med foamy carb, hot mild fusel alcohol

Overall this was a mess, and nothing like French toast, very disappointed

 

Boy that really sucks when you're almost 1000 words into a review and all of Chrome crashes your tabs. Had this at the Firestone Walker Fest Pre Party 2017.

Anyways, it pours brown, with a lighter beige head 1/4". Aroma checks all the boxes that the commercial tug job about the adjuncts was getting at. Its all here. And its in amazingly great proportions. The cinnamon, the maple, the powdered sugar even, but don't forget its all wrapped in a bourbon blanket.

Taste just keeps being awesome. All those things, all in the right proportions, virtually no bitterness. Do I give a shit it doesn't taste like 'beer' as most think? Nah. Hides the alcohol as good as any beer, ever. Was kind of an experience like the first time I had CBS, just man when the maple and bourbon tandem in such a near perfect way. I think this beer was responsible for my major hangover the next day. You could crush it all by yourself, but really, you shouldn't. But I love this beer, I'll always buy at least one bottle when its made again.

 

The cinnamon is pretty strong on the nose and on the palette, but the maple syrup and bourbony vanilla come through as well. There is a baked breadiness that comes really strong in the taste and aroma once your palette gets used to the cinnamon and is looking for something else. The mouthfeel is medium-heavy bodied with a little bit of syrupiness that seems especially appropriate for the style. While I think th cinnamon is a bit overpowering, I still think that as a dessert brew it’s probably exactly what you’re looking for.

Appearance - The beer poured a deep copper color with an off-white head. Carbonation was visible amid the darkness of the pour.

Smell - The nose was a bouquet of cinnamon and barleywine sweetness.

Taste - My initial impression was the cinnamon and maple sweetness. Even after 3 years in my cellar, the cinnamon was still a bit hot. However, it was not so hot that it burned my esophagus. The barleywine backbone lended a sense of balance to the profile. The bourbon notes are but may be the source of the light vanilla notes. The beer had a dry bready finish.

Mouthfeel - The beer demonstrated staying power with a full body, that allowed the spice and sweetness to cling to the sides of the mouth.

Overall - Cinnamon is hard to balance in a beer. I believe this was well done.

 

 

750ml bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours deep brown in color, just a bit of light creeping through, with a one-finger off-white head that reduces to a ring

S- Wow, the nose smells just like maple syrup soaked pancakes, with compliments of vanilla, brown breads, cinnamon & nutmeg. Undertones of stewed figs, raisins, leather, toffee, bourbon & wood

T- sweet and malty up front with a big hit of sticky sweet maple syrup, immediately followed by spiced notes of cinnamon & nutmeg, as well as brown bread, caramel & vanilla. As it nears the finish, the barrel notes come through, adding a hint of bourbon and woody oak. It closes out with flavors of dark fruits, maple, cinnamon and bourbon

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel and a warming, almost chewy finish

O- an outstanding variant of Mash, the maple comes through like I've rarely seen in other beers, and the other spices and barrel treatment make for a delicious sipper

2019 Edition

A: Poured into a snifter to a deep brown topped by a dense and rocky two finger light tan head which fades slowly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla with a hint of bourbon barrels, along with some caramel and maple sweetness
T: Taste is sweet maple and vanilla up front with cinnamon and nutmeg, hints of oak, caramel, and a touch of dark fruits as well with just a little toasted malt. On the swallow there's more cinnamon and nutmeg with maple, caramel, vanilla, and oak with some lingering sweetness.
M: This beer has a body which is on the heavier side of medium and a slightly syrupy feel on the palate. Carbonation is on the low end but adequate for the style while the beer has a drying finish due to the ABV.
O: Overall this is an awesome beer. The flavors and complexity are fantastic but the beer does tend to lean on the sweet side which may make it cloying and tough to drink for some people. Well worth a try if you like beers that color outside of the lines.

 

Poured from the bottle into a Bruery tulip glass.

Deep mahogany red body color, a very dark brown. A classic English body barleywine appearance. Head is a very light khaki almost white/yellowish tinged and very fine. Manages an easy two fingers with a bit of bubbly snapping out of the bottle. A good pencil thin collar is always presented with a little bit of a nice top as well.

The aroma is not dissapointing in the descriptive part. Realy impressive maple syrup and sugar tones, it's practically crispy smelling like they are straight up crystals. Nice bit of warmth almost a fruity plum like quality coming off this in the nose. Some light vanilla, but the maple dominates primarily and is extremely impressive.

Palate is impressive and surprising. Light bodied but hints just a hair of oaky tones with light mixing malt and fruity quality. There is the round mouthfeel of barrel aging here, but it's a bit softer and lighter when contributing to the flavors. Warm bodied, with that crispy sugar flavor, but with a soft maple that's more hinting on warmth than it is on sugar. Good controlled boozy heat on this, noticeable but tolerable. Light waffery and crispy toffee notes of caramel mixing in with soft sugars of vanilla, and even some dark fruit prune to plum character. The maple seems to have more of a woody than sugary quality which is a real nice flavor.

Very nice light bodied aged brew, I was anticipating much more aggressive flavors but there is a lot of subtley here and nuances. It's not like a sledgehammer, or overly sweet which I really appreciate.

 

 

Thanks to Treebute for this 2017 750ML bottle, as I continue to look for the limits of my kidneys. Split with my wife.

The pour is dark red & since it’s been a while, I don’t pull out in time, & spill a little into the glass. The nose is like a battleship fired its nutmeg photon torpedoes into my nose. Wooow. Vanilla & maple brings sweetness plus a bready maltiness.

Mash & French Toast is fastball-Astudillo aggressive. Mash & Nutmeg Christmas Cookies? Nutmeg is on this like Ben Shapiro…well, he’s an idiot. Lots of nutmeg, Underneath is a sweetness that I’d I.D. as vanilla rather than maple, cinnamon (thanks for the restraint),bready malt, with a back-o-the-throat bourbon. Alcohol is present but tame. Smooth. Very smooth. Disappearing faster than it ought.

I can sense the greatness in this beer struggling to get out, but ultimately buried by a spade of nutmeg. Still a good, solid brew.

2017 mash plus French toast. Poured into proper glassware. Thanks to @2beerdogs for both.
Pours a chestnut brown with ruby highlights. Just about a finger of light tan head. Spotty lacing down the glass. The nose is decadent. Pecans, maple, cinnamon are the most prominent for me. And maybe it’s because I’m thinking of French toast but I get the white part of an egg too. It’s not a bad thing.
Starts out with with dates, strong cinnamon, maple and boozy heat. More of that white egg part. What is that called? Mellow but present bourbon and more maple goodness.
Medium bodied but expected more richness. This is very well executed beer that tastes like French toast without being too sweet.