Critical Alignment
The Bruery

Pitch black body with a khaki cap that settles into a collar. Aromas of the expected blackberries, chocolate and vanilla, but then the barrels are sneaky complex: bourbon, port and rye in that order of potency, lending molasses, brown sugar, grape, and earth. Taste has a pungency for a brief second that boosts the blackberry jammy note, very sweet though, sugary even, with the barrels pushing the sweet extraction, chocolate and more so vanilla supporting with molasses. Body is where this dessert starts to add up a bit as the sugars are strong, barrels and malt base never lose the fight completely though.

 

375 mL bottle into a snifter.

Dark brown ale yields a wispy head in a gentle pour, no lacing to speak of. Nose is of molasses, blueberry, carob.

Blueberries jump to the front on the palate, probably due in part because I’m so used to BBA Bruery brews. Otherwise, classic barrel-aged indulgence, with a lot more vanilla than the nose portends. Easy to drink for the style, long sticky finish.

12.7 ounce bottle, 2025 edition, bottled 12/12/24. Served in a Bruery Hoarders Society chalice, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch tan head that stayed around a little while. Decent amount of lacing. Aroma is nice, it smells like blackberries, cacao nibs, whiskey, vanilla, roasted malt and some caramel. I think the taste is pretty much just like the aroma, but with the addition of some burnt/charred malt, oak, dark bread and some coffee flavors. All the flavors seem well balanced with no one flavor overpowering the others. Good amount of barrel character here. Mouthfeel/body is full, it's creamy and a bit slick with a moderate amount of carbonation. I liked this one a lot, definitely worth trying if you get the chance!

12.7oz bottle procured here at the local Bruery, pours dark and opaque with a giant rising foamy mocha-colored head. Boozy heat, bourbon sharpness, barrel char, jammy dark fruits, vanilla oak, dark chocolate, mildly vinous, nice earthy dark cacao/raw bakers chocolate bitterness, blackberry, molasses, roasted malts, espresso...overall I really enjoyed it, strong offering with characteristics of both Bruery and Bottle Logic.

heady stuff here, a bourbon loaded collaboration brew with the acclaimed bottle logic, who has quite the reputation for these big dark beers too, super cool to have this on tap, a monster of a beer, but not surprisingly extremely well done, one of my favorites in awhile from these guys. cacao, vanilla, and blackberry in this barrel forward beauty. black and shiny, well refined looking with good but not scary viscosity and a short chocolate brown head. heavy bourbon in the nose, barrel char and then the vanilla bringing it up even more, a little alcohol too, bitter dark raw chocolate and nice malt layers beyond just the roast, a little toffee and molasses middle richness, dark bread offsetting some of the sweet, and late the acidic pop of the berries comes in, lightly vinous to me, toasted coconut and macaroon nuance, maple, black coffee, rich but also with some fruity sharpness. the flavor hides the fruit at first, big high end bourbon notes right away, caramel even like the actual corn mash sweetness, butterscotch, vanilla for sure, and a chocolate dipped vibe with the nibs coming up, that alone would be fire, but right before the swallow a wash of tart jammy blackberry comes along, tangy and a little tannic and grippy, kind of works to dry this out for a second and its great with the chocolate aspect too. i get dark red wine along with it, and there is more of that as it warms up a little, smooth vanilla to finish, an exhale of warm alcohol but it fits fine, wintery and complex, decadent but not diabetic, long body, forever aftertaste, great whiskey profile, something quite special here, really well done! this one is sure to age well, should have grabbed a bottle for the cellar...