Chronology:24 - Wee Heavy
The Bruery

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From:
The Bruery
 
California, United States
Style:
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy
ABV:
13.4%
Score:
93
Avg:
4.29 | pDev: 6.53%
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
19
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 31, 2021
Added:
Jun 08, 2017
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  5
Our second Chronology Series™ - a Scotchology, if you will - is winding down. We brewed a wee heavy - known for rich, malt-forward flavors - and set it to age in bourbon barrels. Every six months, we took a quarter of the barrels, blended them and bottled them. This fourth bottling in the four-part series represents the nuances imparted to the base beer after 24 months of barrel aging. We hope you enjoy the culmination of flavors in this final installment in our two-year long journey with a wee heavy... and barrels and time.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by dvmin98:
 
Rated: 4.4 by DVMin98 from North Carolina

Oct 23, 2017
More User Ratings:
Photo of SHODriver
Reviewed by SHODriver from North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
A:  Poured into a snifter to a deep brown beer which is topped by a finger of light tan head which fades slowly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of caramel, toffee, some hints of dark fruits and a ton of oak.
T: Taste is toffee followed up with a huge smack of oak, a little vanilla, some caramel, and a touch of dark fruits, but a whole lot of oak. On the finish there's another blast of oak, some vanilla, caramel, dark fruits, and toffee, but some spicy oak lingers the longest.
M: This beer has a body which is on the heavier side of medium with a fairly neutral feel. Carbonation is soft but it is definitely adequate for the style while the finish on this one is quite dry.
O: This is more like oak flavored beer at this point. The balance is gone and the taste of oak and barrel has almost obliterated the complexity that the base beer had to offer. It's about what I expected and it's essentially a repeat of how this went with the Old Ale they did initially.
May 31, 2021
 
Rated: 4.23 by BAsbill from California

Dec 24, 2019
 
Rated: 4.21 by jmbeerdude91 from Arizona

Oct 25, 2019
 
Rated: 4.38 by Beer21 from Florida

Oct 19, 2019
Photo of jlindros
Reviewed by jlindros from Massachusetts

4.41/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Split with rudzud
Light foamy head, little lacing, dark molasses brown color

Nose more flat, light brown sugar toffee caramel, some bourbon and vanilla barrel, syrupy fruit, meh

Taste syrupy sweet toffee, caramel, dark fruits, decent bourbon but a bit hotter, dark fruits, etc, but pretty good

Mouth is similar to 18 month

Overall good, not as the 6 or 18, better than 12, good but not great
Jul 27, 2019
Photo of rudzud
Reviewed by rudzud from Massachusetts

4.2/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Split with JLindros.

A - Poured into a Kate the Great tulip a nice dark brown almost black hue with a thin mocha head and a foamy halo.

S - Big aromas of caramel, toffee, and dark fruits. Light vanilla. Almost a little briney.

T - Taste is similar to the nose with loads of caramel and toffee. Loads of creamy vanilla, candy caramel cream. Lovely malts.

M - Mouthfeel is lightly carbonated, creamy, alcohol hidden incredibly well. Practically luscious.

O -Overall this was a very solid scotch ale. Excellent caramel and vanilla. Super easy to drink.

Serving Type: bottle
Jul 27, 2019
Photo of ThickNStout
Reviewed by ThickNStout from Georgia

4.45/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Deep sea blue wax capped 750mL bottle acquired through The Bruery’s Society. Bottled 5/6/17. Served in a Bruery Chronology teku. Enjoyed 8/26/18.

Pours a deep, fully opaque, chestnut with two and a half fingers of manilla froth. The head recedes quickly, leaving almost no retention whatsoever.

Aromas of vanilla, bourbon, oak, caramel and cake.

Flavors of bourbon, caramel, vanilla, wet wood, cereal, bread pudding and some warming alcohol.

Full, almost chalky feel with rather low carbonation. Woodsy, vanilla-infused caramelly aftertaste.

I continue to appreciate The Bruery’s various almost educational releases. As in the old ale Chronology series, this 24 month barrel aged wee heavy is fantastic. The barrel character picked up over that much time is outstanding.
Jan 30, 2019
Photo of Beersnake
Reviewed by Beersnake from California

4.5/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured from fridge temp. Pours a nice dark brown with tan head. Nose is very caramel forward, with a major infusion of sweet bourbon. Very welcoming! The taste is amazing. Tons of bourbon and toffee. Some dark fruit, bread, nuts, chocolate, figs, cherries, and vanilla. A bit of lactose comes through as it warms. The mouthfeel is super thick and viscous. Overall, an amazing barrel-aged scotch ale.
Dec 15, 2018
 
Rated: 4.95 by JamieDuncan from Maryland

Jun 30, 2018
 
Rated: 4.74 by bubseymour from Maryland

Jun 30, 2018
Photo of stakem
Reviewed by stakem from Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -15.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Bottle into a snifter appears a hazy mahogany color with a khaki head.

Nose is spicy with a wood essence thats a bit herbal and earthen.

It tastes quite woody and earthen with caramel and a medicinal backdrop.

This is medium to full in body with modest carbonation. This interation almost goes back to a blend of 6 and 12 but maybe a more intense woody version of 6. Strange how the peogression of wood character in this beer went a bit crazy from too harsh to just about right and then back to too intense.
Feb 12, 2018
Photo of Smakawhat
Reviewed by Smakawhat from Maryland

4.36/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Poured from the bottle into a wee heavy style glass.

Murky toffee colored brown appearance, almost looking like caramel in a glass. Head is only about two fingers tall, and with a faint light tan color. Fades out fairly quickly, but does leave a thin puck behind.

Nice nose. Touches of sticky caramel, not too sweet. A bit of boozy oak but also quite a fruity and estery touch that is coming out on some of their beers as a chararcter trait, a sort of blueberry purple grape like aroma. Has a little sense of woody tones almost splinter like shavings a bit too. Quite nice, with some different qualities.

Real impressive. Palate starts out with a thick rounded caramel and oak, and then really starts to surprise. Raspberry and grape jam, but with a touch of marmalade tartness and sweetness hits nicely. Slightly fizzy palate makes for a little bit of mouthfeel play, but while not entirely wet doesn't hold the richness of the style that well but is at least solid. However, the flavors also just pop. The finish is superb, with an oaky touch of caramel and toffee that is followed with a quenching bit of juicy fruit character. Rich, even a bit spicy wood in flavor too.

This is not your ordinary wee heavy, not even for a barrel aged one either. Very nicely done!
Jan 17, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by 1971bernat from Virginia

Jan 04, 2018
 
Rated: 4.2 by Kevinpitts from Illinois

Sep 18, 2017
 
Rated: 4.07 by kingjohnh from New Mexico

Aug 10, 2017
Photo of BucannonXC5
Reviewed by BucannonXC5 from California

4.29/5  rDev 0%
look: 2.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Type: 750-ml. bottle
Glass: Ball 16-oz. mason jar
From: The Bruery
Price: N/A
Purchased: N/A; Received June 24, 2017
Consumed: July 1, 2017
Reviewed as: Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy
Misc.: Bottled on May 26, 2017 at 8:58 a.m. PT; Waxed neck

Thanks, Chris!

Excited to try this one after really liking the 18 (4.26), 12 (4.13) and the 6 (3.90). Huge fan of the style and by style I mean the Barrel-Aged Wee Heavy style. Was hoping this one to be the best of the bunch, which I was pretty sure it would be.

Poured a chestnut brown color with one finger of khaki tan frothy head, which dissipated quickly. A few bubbles coming up from the bottom of the glass. Bad watery lacing. Bad retention. (Sight - 2.75)

Smelled terrific from the start. Got semi-hot bourbon, oaky leather, earthy tobacco, toffee, butterscotch, caramel, chocolate, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, dark fruits, prune and brown bread. (Smell - 4.25)

First thing I noticed on the taste was how smooth it was. Got those big oak, leather and tobacco notes, and some prune. Smooth, warming bourbon, not nearly as boozy as the nose. Also sugary toffee, sweet caramel, butterscotch, maple syrup, brown sugar, oaky vanilla and chocolate syrup. (Taste - 4.50)

Full body. Sticky texture. Average carbonation. Long, smooth, warming finish. (Feel - 4.50)

I said what I said last month when I was comparing the 12 and 18 back-to-back, but man those six months in between do wonders. Probably could have waited a bit to open this. Still think it was the best (my ratings said that, but hot damn that 18 was good). (Overall - 4.25)

4.29 | 95 | A
Jul 13, 2017
 
Rated: 3.99 by Bubbawilly88 from California

Jul 09, 2017
 
Rated: 4.19 by Lucnifter from California

Jun 26, 2017
Chronology:24 - Wee Heavy from The Bruery
Beer rating: 93 out of 100 with 19 ratings