Skull & Bones Oud Bruin
Bristol Brewing Company

 

2003 bottle courtesy of scray24, shared at the December iteration of the Santa Cruz tasting series. Pours a dark brown color with a fluffy khaki head. Sweet and tangy aroma, bordering on barbecue sauce. Clearly some oxidation going on here but not too bad. Acidic cola flavor, brown sugar married nicely to a lemon sourness. Light drinkable body, still highly carbonated after all these years. I dig it.

Nice rich brown color with a thin tan head. The nose has a mixture of tart fruits, candy malts, and a bit of musky funk. More of the same in the flavor. Nothing huge, just a well balanced bruin. Light crisp body goes down well. Great example of the style.

Cracking open this rare 2003 vintage bottle, I noted a rancid apple aroma (in the best sense) with crushed grape suggesting wine. The beer poured a sensuous color of sunset merlot - clear, but not crystal. The taste is berry-like with a touch of grape, mild mannered, tart but not puckering, and with an unexpected bitter chocolate closure after turning 90 degrees from its fruit elements. The lively carbonation made me belch with happiness.

A curious ale, complex and well composed. And given the incentive, it'll kick up a thick head of mousse.

Not one of my favorite styles, consumed on site.

Pours dark brown/black with 1/3" white head. Some head retention & lacing

Smell: Serious lactic sourness, leather & hints of choclate

Taste: Sourness, musty hop taste& hints of licorice & choclate. Finishes extremely dry & tart

MF: Thin to medium, okay carbination

Interesting & very close the style, probably would've went over better on a cool cloudy day. Worth a try

From what I could tell while talking to the bartender at Bristol, this may very well have been the last bottle of their initial Skull & Bones releases (Oud Bruin, Flanders Red, Cuvee, Aged Wheat), so I feel lucky to have gotten my hands on it.

Served in a tulip glass from an unmarked bottle, this was brown as brown gets in appearance--a murky mahogany with low carbonation and a big head that dissipated quickly. The bouquet was oaky to an extreme, and the strong scents effectively dulled any other aromas. The flavor too was heavy on oak, yet it had a distinct fruity (cherry) component that gave the beer a nicer balance. The length was rather disappointing, as the beer's flavors disappeared by mid-tongue. The texture also gained a strange wateriness/thinness towards the back of the mouth. Despite these flaws, this beer is still an impressive accomplishment, and like I wrote before, I feel lucky to have gotten my hands on it. I imagine that Bristol's Skull and Bones releases will only get better and better with time; lucky for us, they're already off to a strong start.

Drink it if you can get it.