Cordial BBLS
The Bruery Terreux

Pours black with a one finger khaki head. Nose has hints of vanilla, cocoa, and sour cherries. Taste opens with sour cherries, some hints of cocoa with light oak tannins. Body is medium with similar carbonation. Ends with a sour bite in the back of the cheeks with some hints of barrel. Overall it’s solid and balanced.

Appearance: Dark brown with a medium sized dark beige head that quickly faded. The beige head has hints of red in it. Good looking beer.

Smell: Barnyard must, some moderate fruity notes and a hint of Bourbon.

Taste: Moderate Bourbon first appears, along with some sour cherry notes, mild citrus notes, brown sugar, and mild tannic oak notes. All the elements result in a tasty, interesting, and cohesive flavor profile. The beer belies its listed ABV.

Mouth-feel: On the heavier side of medium-bodied. No real alcohol heat to speak of.

Overall: A unique and tasty beer who's unusual makeup results in a tasty and unique treat. For anyone looking for a unique craft beer, this one is a tasty and complex treat.

1952
Name: Cordial BBLS
Brewery: The Bruery
Location: Placentia, CA
Style: American Strong Ale
ABV: 16.5%
Date: 2022
Cordial BBLS is next on the review table. I served it at 48 degrees. I used tulip glass; the pour created a foamy, dark tan head with poor retention. The quick dissipation left no lacing on the glass. Examining the color, I determined the beer charts to be around SRM 38—a dark brown, nearly black, and opaque. I am rating the beer average because of the head retention. I know a higher abv may not have any head; I still wanted to see something more.
Nosing the glass, I smell chocolate, cherries, vanilla, light coffee, wood, caramel, acidic acid, and a light char. Swirling the glass around a few times and nosing again, I detect light barnyard funk, floral esters, and bready cereal grains. The cherry aromas came across as slightly overripe, lacking the tartness of freshly ripened cherries. The chocolate could have more depth. The coffee was lightly roasted with a hint of char. The malty aromas were cereal grains and toasted bread. The surprise was the sourness; it was pleasant and not overpowering. To me, it corrals aromas together in harmony.
The cherries were tart, the sourness hit, and the alcohol warmed the palate. The first sip was like cough syrup, but not like the fake cherry flavor. Swishing the beer around to taste other flavors, a pleasant chocolatey flavor pierces the tartness. Light coffee, char, and cereal grains start to add complexity. Flavors such as caramel, orange, molasses, barnyard funk, acidic acid, and floral esters begin to take shape as the beer warms up.
The mouthfeel is tart, dry, and puckering (not like a face cringe). The body is medium plus, and the carbonation is medium as well.
The surprise here for me is what the labels say and how precisely the brewers were able to recreate that. The brewery kept the harmony and balance in check. The sourness in the beer was not face-contorting but did offset any sweetness. I am a fan of this beer, a big, bright beer with minimal alcohol alcohol warming.

 

750 ml bottle, 2022 edition, couldn't locate the bottling date on this one. Label says 12.1% ABV. Served in a Bruery tulip, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch and a half tan head. Head retention and lacing are both good. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like tart cherries, vanilla, cacao nibs and some roasted malt. Taste is similar to the aroma, but with the addition of some bourbon, oak, and earthy flavors. I think the tart cherry stands out here compared to the other flavors. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's a bit coating and has a moderate amount of carbonation. If you like tart brews, this is a good one. Worth trying if you get the chance!

375ml bottle poured into a tulip

A- pours black in color with a one-finger foamy khaki head that reduces to a ring

S- dark chocolate and charred malt mix with aromas of tart cherry, prune, raisin, black currant, caramel and some oaky barrel that adds a bit of peanut to the nose, what one might expect from a Jim Beam barrel

T- slightly tart up front with a big hit of sour cherry, followed by rich malty notes of milk chocolate, cocoa nibs and caramel. Mid-palate brings out more dark fruit notes of black currant and raisin. The finish gives a subtle note of vanilla, followed by more tart cherry and chocolate, just a hint of oak on the linger

M- medium body with moderate carbonation, foamy mouthfeel turns into a warming fnish

O- lots of vinous qualities to this one, the blend of BT and ToD works well.

 

 

Thanks to Adam for bringing this lil guy to a tailgate in September 2019. Great cigar beer here.

Pours black to dark brown with beige head 2/5" but struggles with retention. Aroma of dark cherries and bourbon. I wasn't really picking up too much on the nose of 'sourness' it was more like a chocolate Duchesse in a way. That earthy sour if you will.

Taste was pretty sweet, it had a much thicker, fuller mouth feel than say, Tart of Darkness. Imagine like a sour Cherry Chocolate Rain, that is where this was going. Hid the alcohol amazingly well, great job mouth feel wise on that. Good appropriately lower than average carbonation. Then when you lit a cigar with it, oh man, totally complimentary tobacco note alongside cocoa, chocolate, cherry, bourbon, roasted malt, vanilla, oak. This was a treat. Did they make this in big bottles? I think I have a small one too in the cellar. Its not as sour as Tart of Darkness, but it is almost as good. Both have that drying sour back end which is nice. Gotta say they really did a good job with this one.

 

 

 

A: Poured into a tulip glass to a deep black beer topped by a dense and rocky finger and a half of tan head which fades slowly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of bourbon soaked cherries with chocolate and vanilla along with some nice coffee notes
T: Taste is slightly tart up front with cherries, a ton of chocolate and some smooth vanilla, nice bourbon notes with a little oak but a lot of dark chocolate going on with a hint of chocolate and roasted malts. Cherry is subtle but there and the tartness is very light. On the swallow there's more sour cherries, chocolate, vanilla, lingering barrel, roasted malts, and a hint of coffee. The acidity on the finish builds over time as the beer warms
M: This beer has a body which is somewhat full but not overly so with a slightly silky feel. Carbonation is on the low end but adequate for the style while the beer has a drying finish due to the acidity.
O: Overall I find this beer to be very enjoyable. It does exactly what they set out to do while still having some nice influence from the base beer. The beer has some great complexity and all the flavors seem to play well together in harmony. Worth a try if you can get it and like things that color outside of the lines.