Red Brick Brick Mason Series Beard Envy
Atlanta Brewing Company

Red Brick Brick Mason Series Beard EnvyRed Brick Brick Mason Series Beard Envy
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From:
Atlanta Brewing Company
 
Georgia, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
ABV:
9.3%
Score:
89
Avg:
3.97 | pDev: 10.58%
Reviews:
34
Ratings:
178
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 15, 2021
Added:
Jan 20, 2014
Wants:
  6
Gots:
  34
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.9 by Sammy from Canada (ON)

Jan 15, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by cjgator3 from Florida

Dec 28, 2018
Photo of SLeffler27
Reviewed by SLeffler27 from New York

3.63/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
This beer is gem clear, dark copper with garnet highlights. The light chestnut foam reaches one-quarter inch and ranges from tight to rocky. The head lasts a few minutes before retreating to a creamy veil, leaving a thick webbing of lace on an Antiek snifter glass.

Strong malts are complimented by caramel, toffee, and dark toast. Pecans are also strong with dates and molasses. The aromas are complex, although a bit muddled.

The flavor is sweet and malt-forward, followed by a sharp bitterness. Both quickly become muddy. Toffee is prevalent, distantly followed by dates, pecans and a light dose of brown sugar. The finish is long and moderately bitter. Warmth brings out an odd Cool-Whip flavor and vanilla.

Alcohol is as expected, followed by soft carbonation within a creamy, full-bodied beer.

Warmth dramatically helps this beer. While the muddiness remains, strong notes can still be detected. This is a good beer. It is best enjoyed on its own and has promise for refinement.
Sep 30, 2018
Photo of MonkeyBread
Reviewed by MonkeyBread from Nevada

3.28/5  rDev -17.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Poured from bottle into tulip. Amber mahogany appearance. Smell is caramel, stale hops, oxidated plastic and vague booze character. Taste is bread, mild caramel and toffee, overpowering old hops and ends in a bitter finish. Mouthfeel is chewy and viscous. Overall this is a rough beer, tempted to drain pour it. American style barleywine that feels oxidized and old. I get no oak barrel character.
May 14, 2017
 
Rated: 3.97 by Bunuelian from Minnesota

Dec 24, 2016
 
Rated: 3.64 by kbuzz from North Carolina

Dec 17, 2016
 
Rated: 3.51 by SimcoeKid from California

Nov 08, 2016
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Reviewed by Ciocanelu from Romania

3.5/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Slightly hazy amber color with off-white head. Aroma has some cloying esters, sugar and booze. Taste has toasted malt, some walnut and bitter, earthy finish. Medium body and carbonation. It’s quite boozy and I don’t get any barrel character.
Sep 20, 2016
Photo of jmdrpi
Reviewed by jmdrpi from Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
12 oz bottle, no date

clear, dark amber color - head that fades. no lacing. boozy bourbon aroma - caramel. taste has some fruitiness in there, and not a great aftertaste. thin to medium bodied - could be thicker.
Aug 14, 2016
 
Rated: 4.12 by Imperialjake from North Carolina

Jul 11, 2016
Photo of ccg
Reviewed by ccg from Virginia

3.65/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
2016-04-19: Beard Envy

Look: murky, reddish-brown color with a soapy head. 3.75

Smell: sweet malt, caramel, oak, vanilla and a little bit of funk. 3.75

Taste: More hops than malt come through in the flavor. The flavor is quite different from the smell. Some caramel and oak come through, but that's about it. I had to check the label: it's 50% ale, 50% aged in oak barrels. It is not bourbon-barrel-aged. From the smell, I thought it could have been, but definitely not from the taste. 3.5

Mouthfeel: Slick, a little bit light on the tongue, medium carbonation. 3.75

Overall: Solid. 3.75
Jun 25, 2016
Photo of mothmanscott
Reviewed by mothmanscott from Georgia

4.06/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Pours an opaque medium brown, producing almost 2 fingers of somewhat lasting, frothy beige head that leaves a 1/4-12 inch collar ring of sticky lace. Aroma is malty brown sugar, toffee, raisin & other dark fruit & woody vanilla with floral & pine hops. I don\'t pick up any bourbon in the nose & damn little alcohol but the barrel wood is there. Taste is a caramelized malty sweetness, dark fruit, vanilla with a hint of bourbon that is not well balanced with the floral, orange & pine hops present but doesn't overpower them either. The alcohol while hidden in the nose is noticeably boozy in the mouth. Aftertaste is an astringent toffee malt, bitter with alchol spice. Mouthfeel is medium-heavy bodied, low-moderate carbonation, a dry-sweet tug of war, drawing on the tongue, slick, oily & slightly chewy. Overall very nice but definitely more suited to a cold winter evening before the fire than in the hot, late May sun of a South Georgia afternoon on the deck.
May 23, 2016
 
Rated: 3.76 by 3-Ball from Georgia

Apr 26, 2016
 
Rated: 4.04 by Warren2621 from Indiana

Apr 06, 2016
 
Rated: 3.92 by AlaskaAg from Florida

Apr 03, 2016
 
Rated: 2.9 by nmann08 from Virginia

Apr 02, 2016
 
Rated: 3.94 by TheRock7755 from Georgia

Mar 26, 2016
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Reviewed by BeerDawgs from Georgia

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
L - Golden, with clarity and some minor lacing left on top of the brew and on the glass

S - Sweet sugarcane, caramel, oak, grapes

T - Like the smell, sugary sweet, the booze warms, malty roastiness. Tasty!

F - Medium body and carbonation

O - A great oak aged barleywine. A slow sipper, and enjoyable
Mar 11, 2016
 
Rated: 3.53 by zekeman17 from Pennsylvania

Feb 14, 2016
Photo of Jadjunk
Reviewed by Jadjunk from Georgia

3.31/5  rDev -16.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
No label information. Beard Envy is brewed in the style of an American Barleywine, aged in Bourbon Barrels. Available in 12 oz. bottled 4 packs and on limited draft. Initially a one-off release in January 2014, this beer has become an annual summer release starting in 2015. This review will compare the 2015 bottle to the 2014 original release.

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle to a snifter glass.

(Appearance) Pours a smooth, creamy head of a beige cream tone over a very mildly hazy cherry-amber body with ample, abundant carbonation and high clarity. Retention is average and lacing is light and spotty. 3.75

(Smell) Aromas of grain malts, lightly caramelized malt syrups, syrupy dark fruits with a touch of curious cider tang. No trace of barrel aging in the aroma. Potency is moderate. 3.25

(Taste) The flavor is a bit more solid than the aroma, surprisingly easy drinking for the style, with soft graininess peeking through, and a generally smooth caramel and bread malt base. Slightly buttery and simplistic with little malt density. Again, there is very little barrel aging flavor imparted in this beer, aside from the subtle flavors of drying oak, which may lend to the drying tang, but no bourbon or whiskey character. Very shallow at its current stage, somewhere between an ESB and a barleywine. 3.25

(Mouthfeel) Texture is slick, silky, lightly chewy, medium dry. Carbonation is moderate, generating a moderate frothiness and a medium crisp finish. Body is shy of medium for the style, medium+ overall. Balance is slightly grainy bitter and tangy over sweet. Alcohol presence is moderate. As before mentioned, this beer has a curious cider tang (light green apple) character, potentially indicative of mild infection. 3.5

(Overall) I've had the fortune of holding onto a bottle of the original release, and comparing that to this most recent vintage think there's been some shortchanging of ingredients in the second batch of this ale, resulting in a more shallow body and a less developed barrel-aging character. Also curious in this beer in particular is a mellow, acidic tang, curious but generally uncharacteristic of most beer aside from possible infection. Ultimately, this is a less-than-spectacular Barleywine, largely akin to the shallowness of the malt body going in. I'd be likely to attribute this to a general unfamiliarity with the style, but Red Brick brewed a notably superior version of this ale in the past (see below), which holds up much nicer than this fresher vintage. I also note that this vintage changed "Barleywine Ale Aged In Bourbon Barrels" to "Barrel Aged Barleywine Ale", possibly changing the source of barrels, and the impact of this beer. Buyer beware, but I am looking forward to a return to high quality, provided this is brewed again for the summer of 2016. 3.25

Vertical Notes:
2014 Batch (2 Years Aged): The pour yields a shorter-lived, thinner consistency head over a much denser and darker crimson-amber body with dense haziness and even more lively carbonation. The aroma is a much denser and more filled-in aroma of caramelized malt, toasted sugars, and fruit syrups, well rounded out, with subtle bourbon barrel notes of vanilla and soft oak. The flavor is much the same as the aroma, significantly more flavor density than the fresher vintage, more malt substance, specialty malt density, and even some subtle bourbon character, with a bit of vanilla and oak creeping in. Texture is very much the same, slightly smoother and creamier with an equally mild alcohol presence but a nice degree of balance. Incredibly accessible at its age, and vastly superior to the above vintage, there was clearly a change of ingredients for the above mentioned second batch (2015), of which did not slip by me.

Recommended vintage: 2014 (2 Years Aged-see above review for specific details).

Red Brick Brewing Company's
Beard Envy
3.31/5.00
Feb 09, 2016
Red Brick Brick Mason Series Beard Envy from Atlanta Brewing Company
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 178 ratings