(512) Bruin
(512) Brewing Company

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From:
(512) Brewing Company
 
Texas, United States
Style:
American Brown Ale
ABV:
7.6%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.87 | pDev: 11.63%
Reviews:
23
Ratings:
111
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 22, 2022
Added:
Nov 07, 2009
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  10
At once cuddly and ferocious, (512) BRUIN combines a smooth, rich maltiness and mahogany color with a solid hop backbone and stealthy 7.6% alcohol. Made with Organic 2 Row and Munich malts, plus Chocolate and Crystal malts, domestic hops, and a touch of molasses, this brew has notes of raisins, dark sugars, and cocoa, and pairs perfectly with food and the crisp fall air.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by drummermattie02:
Photo of drummermattie02
Rated by drummermattie02 from Texas

4/5  rDev +3.4%

Dec 12, 2011
More User Ratings:
Photo of Agriverbear
Reviewed by Agriverbear from Texas

4.21/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
This is a solid brown. Hard to find these days. Perfect deep brown and ruby colors with tan head. Simple rich taste lot of malt. If you like browns this is for you
Jan 22, 2022
Photo of puck1225
Reviewed by puck1225 from Texas

4.26/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
This is a beer with a icy, smooth feel and taste that is very enjoyable. Pleasant surprise.

Poured from a bottle into a tulip glass. Clear dark brown color with good initial beige head and decent lacing. Smell and taste of molasses, toffee and dark berries. Cinnamon and some allspice. Nice comforting beer and is good with food.
Jan 19, 2022
Photo of turfy
Reviewed by turfy from Texas

3.79/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Poured a near jet black with a light tan head that quickly dissipated. Aroma of roasted malts, perhaps a whiff of overly toasted ones (burnt) but not displeasing in any way. Also hints of coffee. Taste was the same. Mouthfeel about right for a brown but i would have preferred a bit more heft. Overall a nice brown ale.
Jan 11, 2022
Photo of imnodoctorbut
Reviewed by imnodoctorbut from Texas

4.47/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
pours a slightly murky cola brown body with s tanned cream foam head that forms with a rush of tiny bubbles pushing upwards in a Guinness-styled fashion, yet with a higher urgency. the head has high retention, and leaves copious amounts of speckled sheets of thin sticky lacing behind as it slowly inches down from a two+ finger head to a patchy, rocky cap with a halo that naturally bowls upward around the rim of the glass.

aroma is rich thick sticky malt with earthy bitter hops. subtle, but enticing.

taste is toffee, molasses, raisin, licorice, dusty leather-bound book, earthy and dirty hop resin, and coffee tinges

mouthfeel is a medium body with high carbonation; it runs a little grainy with pillow-soft fluffy outer layers and finishes earthy hop dry with a rich molasses, coffee, and suddenly super bitter earthy hop

overall:
at first sip, it's obvious that the promise of a "double brown ale" has been delivered. where most brown ales may play with certain notes, even combining a sticky malt with pronounced bittering hop, this brew literally doubles down on all of the expected combos and brings the flavor barging forward, bold yet balanced. I would be seriously surprised if I were to hear that coffee was actually used in the making of this brew, yet as several reviews (along with mine) will tell you, coffee seems to magically appear in the notes. the malt sticks to your ribs in the way an excellent pot roast or irish stew would; there's a certain robust warming in the toffee and molasses notes that just rings through in a savory way that could simply be summed up as a meal in and of itself. by the time the hops kick in the bitterness, the coffee notes have revealed just long enough for you to wonder if this was a coffee porter portal (*TM) and perhaps do a double take at the suggestion of licorice with a certain root flair. the hop bitterness takes hold very suddenly and references certain herbal and dirty earthed laced hop factions seldom heralded by IPAs this day and age.
isn't this all *romantic* - I have to wonder to myself, yet, sitting with this fourth glass, I seem to suddenly be conversing with an old friend's soul through the avatar of some new acquaintance. as cynical and science-forward as I am, I must also admit this has seemingly happened in the physical several times, and here I have a similar feeling in this brew.
all of that being said, the #1 rated brown ale on this site is one which utilizes coffee to complicate it's profile, and yet here we have a brew which conjures something similar without the use of the actual ingredient. maybe it's natural, maybe it's alchemy. either way, I'm pumping this one up until the experience is bested.
Jan 06, 2022
Photo of Darkmagus82
Reviewed by Darkmagus82 from Texas

3.46/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a bottle into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a deep brown color with a one finger head of tan colored foam. The head fades fairly fast, leaving just a trace of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is strong of a brown bread smell mixed with notes of molasses and some brown sugar. Along with these aromas comes notes of coffee as well as some light nut and a bit of earth and herb.
Taste – The taste begins with a nice roasty malt flavor mixed with tastes of coffee and some caramel. Along with these tastes comes flavors of cocoa and a light molasses sweetness. As the taste moves forward the roastiness gets more pronounced all while the sweeter tastes intensity a bit. Toward the end a little bit of herb and some earth come to the tongue, and with the roastiness and the sweet, one is left with a dark roasty brown ale taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is moderately thick and chewy with a lower carbonation level. For the style the feel is pretty good and makes for a moderately easy to drink sipper.
Overall – An alright brown ale overall, but nothing too special.
Dec 23, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by RiceOwls27 from Texas

Aug 21, 2021
 
Rated: 2.92 by Gregory88 from California

Feb 29, 2020
 
Rated: 3.5 by zbooks from Texas

Dec 25, 2019
 
Rated: 3 by Eamartin88 from Texas

Jun 10, 2019
 
Rated: 3.59 by gilgar from Texas

May 08, 2018
 
Rated: 4.2 by Chasegator from Florida

Dec 09, 2017
 
Rated: 4.04 by ovaltine from Indiana

Jan 24, 2017
 
Rated: 4.16 by ExaltedNecrosis from Texas

Nov 15, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by DerekE4750 from New York

Jul 29, 2015
 
Rated: 3.67 by klub24 from Texas

Feb 21, 2015
 
Rated: 4.27 by Maverickdp from Texas

Feb 05, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by cam12 from Texas

Jan 30, 2015
 
Rated: 3.92 by buzzed from Texas

Jan 26, 2015
 
Rated: 3.38 by dseanv from Texas

Jan 20, 2015
(512) Bruin from (512) Brewing Company
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 111 ratings