Progressive Anniversary: Mizunara Oak, Mugicha
The Bruery

so stoked one of these came to boise, fingers crossed the others will, this is such a cool concept, start with a rad barrel aged old ale, and then each of the four beers adds something to it, i believe this is the second of them, which adds the famed mizunara oak and a kind of barley tea called mugicha, which i know nothing about but am already fascinated by. its a surprising beer, maybe better in theory than in the glass, but also its unique enough that there really are no bearings for comparison, so expect the unexpected with this! deep mahogany colored brew here, short head from the tap, settles to almost still pretty quicky, clear with a low shine, not super viscous or leggy for how strong it is. the nose is weird but addicting, oddly tart, like im not sure if thats the tea element, the base beer, or something else, but there is a twangy almost cherry juice thing going on, deeply toasty on the malt side and somewhat sweet too, maple, bran and dark bread, vanilla from the oak, which is sturdy in here, whispers of bourbon and bread pudding, booze soaked raisin, and subtle white pepper, maybe also a product of this special oak. the flavor has notes of plum wine, oatmeal raisin cookie, good japanese whiskey, and somewhere in all of it still some english type crystal malt appreciable, fig and date sweet fruitiness, port wine richness and tang at the end, light oxidation, and quite a lot from this wood, which id like to assess in a lighter and simpler beer at some point, but its certainly impactful in this. the alcohol is warming to very warm at temperature, this is a slow sipper to be sure, whoa. the late acidity is odd in such a rich drink, but it helps to resolve a very complex palate. a truly unique beverage overall, really hoping to try the others in this progressive run, and would like to try both this barley tea on its own and this special oak in a mellower beer. very innovative.