Tonnellerie Rue
The Bruery Terreux

Bottled in 2015 so aged 7 years. Funky brett tart but not sour. Really nice, similar to Orval.

750ml bottle aged 5 years. Pours a light amber with a nose of black pepper, white wine, and biscuit. Taste is heavy on the biscuit with an added hint of orange peel and an after taste very faintly of clove and black pepper. Good beer, but i may have sat on it a little too long to give it a fair review

Bottled 2015
Has a subtle sour saison taste. Aged very well. Nice cloudy look.

 

 

750ml bottle dated 7/14/15 (purchased 6/18, not cellared). Unfortunately I won’t be drinking all 750ml because this had crazy pressure and I lost almost half. Still great after all these years. Pours hazy orange gold with a huge coarse head that settles to a thin layer. Aroma of yeast, oak, cracker. Taste of sour apple, oak, a little grass and earth. Complex, I can’t do it justice with this review. This is a great example of what I want in a farmhouse saison.

Had this at the source and was pleasantly impressed with the finished product. Pours a hazy yellow with 3/4" white head, good retention and appearance. The aroma is decadent, plenty of brett, oak, tartness, horse blanket, hay, grass, you name it, all the desired saison qualities seem to be jumping into your nose. And yet, at a substantial imperialization alcohol wise concerning style parameters, this doesn't smell at all like alcohol.

The taste is an enjoyable moderately sour. Right down the middle 5 on a 10pt scale. Keeps those light hay, pear, funk, apple, barnyard notes all in balance and stature. Even though the alcohol is amped up you can't really taste it. Carbonation is appropriate. I'm starting to think, and think back . . . you know, Bruery makes some good saisons, and really nobody is talking about that (audible mouth breathing diabeetus joke here). Good dry finish to it with lingering mild citrus notes.

Bruery Terreux "Tonnellerie Rue"
750 ml brown glass bottle, simply capped, "2015"
$5.99 @ DeCicco & Sons, Brewster, NY

Notes via stream of consciousness: It's poured a somewhat hazy golden body beneath a three-finger thick cap of white foam that's steadily reduced into a much creamier cap; and after being topped back up it's held quite nicely. I hope the lacing is just as good because given that this is a bit of a sour beer, more of a tart beer I'd guess, head retention and lacing aren't usually that good. The aroma screams of Brettanomyces which I love. It's earthy, leathery, oaky, gently mineralish, a little straw-like, fruity with bruised or rotting apples, pear, and maybe even a dried out halved-lemon. On to the flavor... It's tart as expected but mildly so, and the malt is lightly sweetish so it's nicely balanced. It's really nicely balanced in fact, with a bit of bitterness and grassiness coming out in the dry finish followed by some of that apple and pear-like fruitiness and a hint of spiciness. Very nice. The Brettanomyces character isn't as strong as the aroma might suggests it might be, which is OK although I prefer it stronger, and the balance between fruitiness and graininess is quite nice. It's very rounded and polished, but I guess that three years of aging might do that. Well, maybe just 2 years +, I'm not sure when this was released. So what have I missed, oh yes, mouthfeel. It's pretty effervescent at this point. I'm not sure if it started that way but it is now, and very fine-bubbled with a seemingly natural carbonation. The body is medium-light, or maybe even light-medium, but the gently effervescent carbonation makes it feel airy and smooth, perhaps a bit fuller than it actually is. It's quite nice with a gentle caress at first, and then a smooth and airy finish. So, overall, this is an excellent saison done in authentic fashion although with a stronger alcohol content than you'd historically find. I find it fascinating although as it's got depth but at the same time it's kind of light and easy to drink. It could be a quaffer or it could be a sipper, your choice. I unfortunately never tried this beer fresh so I can't compare it to what I've got in front of me but I'd say it's in excellent condition. Will it improve with more aging, probably not, I think it's at it's sweet point, but you never know. I think it could handle another year or two, maybe three, but I'd suggest drinking it now.
Review# 6,226

 

 

 

 

 

2015