Autumn Maple
The Bruery

 

 

 

Large (750 ml?) bottle that is not dated but which has been waiting in my cellar for at least 2 years.
Served in a Belgian snifter where the dark copper colored body displayed an excellent beige head and ample lacing.
This has a judicious use of spices that create different effects in the aroma versus the flavor. The spicing, while a major part of aroma and flavor, is mild enough to allow both the Belgian brown base and, more subtly, the yams, to make substantial contributions.
Feel. Smooth with medium carbonation and body.
Overall. An excellent gourd beer with very well hidden ABV.

Murky dark amber/brown color with a decent tan head that persists all the way down, leaving bits of lacing. The aroma is maple, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, malt and a bit of funk that must be yam.
The taste is mostly the same but the spices are more pronounced and molasses/brown sugar seem to join the maple, malt, yam background with just a bit of hops bitterness in the finish to set you up for the next sip.
The body is medium heavy, smooth, creamy. almost syrupy.
Altogether this is far better than most "pumpkin" beers and a decent winter warmer or desert sipper.

From notes 10/27/12: Gently poured from the 750 ml bottle a muddy dark amber/light brown brew fills the glass becoming somewhat clearer as it warms in the glass. The pour produces 2 fingers of foamy, light tan,somewhat lasting head that leaves blotches and streaks of lace. Aroma is roasted malt, musty Belgian yeast, sweet potato, marshmallow, maple, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, a hint of prune and alcohol. There is also a faint sourness. Taste is similar to the nose but is more heavy to sweet potato backed by sugar, maple and dark malts with cinnamon and nutmeg there too being most prominent in the finish and aftertaste. All these flavors are awash in an alcohol warmth and thin sour note. Mouthfeel: medium-heavy body, medium carbonation; smooth, a little thick/syrupy, slightly sticky, the spicy dry finish is warming. Overall a bit heavy and best suited to a small pour before the fire at the end of a long day or with the Thanksgiving meal dessert. Hell it would make a great dessert all by itself. A nice variant take on the pumpkin ale style; sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin. It has a character similar to a Strong Ale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Way too carbonated. The bottle kept flowing, which left me at half of the 750 :( Based on the taste alone, I probably wouldn't buy it again. Sticking with Bruery's BA offerings.

 

 

 

Fantastic fall beer. Imperial brown ale base spiced with cinnamon, allspice, brown sugar, maple syrup. Sweetness of the yams also comes through. Low bitterness, but enough to balance out the sweetness. Far better than any pumpkin beer I've had.

 

Pours a murky dark brown with a very thick light tan head. Head recedes slowly and leaves virtually no lacing. The aroma is cinnamon, maple syrup, cloves, and brown sugar. Flavor follows the nose, pretty sweet but not cloyingly so. Feel is smooth and a little dry. Overall a drinkable beer but not anything special.

 

 

Smells better than it tastes.

 

This beer was poured from a 750 ml. bottle into a tulip glass. The brew pours out extremely murky and ends up being almost the exact same color as a yam or sweet potato. Has a half finger of creamy, light tan crown. I'm usually not too big into this style of beers but this is by far the best I've had from the category. The balance and mix of all the flavors and spices really worked to make it great. I think a lot of it has to do with the addition of molasses and maple syrup to tame the other spices while still letting you know that they are there.

I opened this in the sink, because I've been gushed at before by some Bruery beers. This one was like a volcanic eruption.
When things settled down, the beer turned out to be a golden brown color. There was a medium-sized tan head with good retention.
It had a sweet potato and maple syrup aroma. There was a hint of spice.
Spice was much more prominent in the taste. Cinnamon and nutmeg. Sweet potato and maple syrup.
Medium-bodied, easy to drink.

 

 

Pours a murky ocher color with a finger's worth of khaki foam that settles rapidly. Very mild aroma smells of tart cherries with a touch of alcohol and little else.

The taste is much sweeter than the nose would suggest, yielding brown sugar and caramel along with a blend of pumpkin pie grade spices. Belgian yeast lends a fruity underpinning, while very mellow, warming alcohol adds a touch of heat in the finish. Medium body and high carbonation make for a smooth, luscious mouthfeel.

Overall, this is a decent Belgian style ale that strays from the typical Belgian brown with its overt sweetness that comes across a little too heavy-handed for my tastes.

 

 

 

 

 

A: Clear amber/orange pour. Not too much head.
S: Clove, yams (too much), cinnamon, maple.
T: Actually really close to the nose, but not as pleasing
M: Medium body, slightly coating. Little low on carb.
O: I am not a huge fan of pumpkin beers, and maybe I let this ago for too long, but it was 'meh' as far as Bruery beers go.