Blue Steel
The Bruery

We have almost reached the end of the March Madness 2023 reviews, hallelujah, amen, etc. . .Don't you wanna hang out with the bleach boys baby?

Again, I thought this was a stout Black Tuesday base, but no. Back to the old ale. Pours dark brown with some feel of blueberries giving a dark blue/deep purple edge to the color. Slight beige head that lacks retention. The aroma was all bourbon and blueberries.

Taste brings on a hefty dose of vanilla alongside the barreled booziness. And yet, in the mouthfeel, all that vanilla and sweetness failed to really obscure the booziness. A bitter, boozy, berry burn persists. Perhaps this is why they were so bored they were drinking bleach. Graham cracker/pie aspect seems lost on me. It seemed like a few of these adjunct dump double digit old ales didn't really hit the spot for the Bruery. Kind of a bummer, I liked the design. But overall it wasn't even a beer I was happy to have a few ounces of, much less a bottle of this size.

 

 

Pours a brownish-purple, brief fizzy 1" head that immediately disappears, no lacing. Nose is big on raisins, bourbon, oak, vanilla, booze. No amount of graham cracker or blueberry detectable. Taste is maple syrup, raisins and dark fruit, light oak from the barrel, and surprisingly moderated booze. That said, no trace of any of the adjuncts, and instead just comes across as boozy, dark fruit. Mouthfeel is rather thick with some trace carbonation. Overall, it's pretty muddled and messy and oddly fails to hit any of the main notes (blueberry, graham cracker, barrel).

 

 

750 ml bottle, 2021 edition, bottled 09/07/21. Served in a Bruery tulip, the beer pours a murky dark brown color with maybe a half inch cola-like tan head that fizzled away quickly. Not much lacing, either. The brew smells like blueberry, vanilla, dark bread and also a slightly weird herbal/medicinal aroma. Taste is similar to the aroma, but with the addition of some oak, graham cracker and toffee flavors. Unfortunately as with the aroma, there's an herbal/medicinal flavor in this brew that I don't really care for. It overpowers the other flavors after a while. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's a bit slick and creamy with a good amount of carbonation. Have to say this a a rare miss from the Bruery, I wasn't a fan of this one at all. Hope you like it more than I did!

 

Look: hazy dark copper. Slight head on the pour that entirely disappears.
Smell: hints of blueberry, vanilla, and graham cracker.
Taste: like the nose, but the flavors are more intense. Very easy drinker, no heat at all