Bruery Reserve Society - What's left in the year...

I've heard that it's being called Rueuze on order forms for retail outlets this year, but I may be misremember.

 

There goes your invitation to Hoarders

 

RUEUZE$20/bottle ($17 after RS discount) - 6 bottle limit
Rueuze is our take on the traditional Belgian-style blend of lambics of different ages. We carefully select a number of oak barrels from our warehouse that have been aging our sour blonde ale. this is one complex beer. Notes of hay, barnyard funk, apricots, and even olives play wonderfully with the balanced acidity.
Available in November.
5.9% ABV, Suitable for aging up to 5 years

ICHIGO HIGHWAY$20/bottle ($17 after RS discount) - 3 bottle limit
Ichigo Highway is a collaborative beer that we created with Hangar 24 Brewing from Redlands, CA. The base style is a sessionable sour red ale that we aged in oak barrels along with a whopping amount of strawberries, most of which were picked from the fields besides Hangar 24's brewery. Aged for approximately 8 months, this beer has developed a pleasant funk and a delightful acidity that is balanced by the intensely sweet aroma and flavor of the strawberries as well as a unique dryness achieved by using a sake yeast along with our house strain along with souring bacteria.
Available in November.
5.5% ABV, Best enjoyed fresh due to the fleeting aroma and flavor of the strawberries


It's Rueuze time.

 

Any idea if Rueuze will be distributed?

 

6 bottle limit makes me think there is plenty of it, and has a chance. I've got no real info though, just opinions.

 

No ideas on distribution but they aren't listed as RS only beers. They will likely be available at Provisions and the Bruery tasting room at a minimum.

 

Yeah, with 1,350 RS members, 6 bottle allocation is 8,100 bottles. It's also not an RS exclusive (unless I missed some fine print, but only looked at the email once) so there is likely quite a bit more beyond that number. At the very least, it will be at Provisons & the tasting room is my guess at this point, with possible limited distro like White Oak & Tart of Darkness.

 

Hopefully Rueuze isn't as sour as and is more complex than Mother Funker.

 

Both sound great, going max allocation (and will probably try to pick up more later!)
I skipped Old Richland and Smoking Wood... I was waiting for this one!

 

Yeah, that's definitely the hope.

Also, as I said upthread I've heard that this will be distributed.

 

It's listed on the Total Wine website, so I would assume so.

 

Something right in between GFAR and Funker would be perfect.

 

Old Richland wasn't half bad, and reasonably priced.

I'll probably max out too - I <3 strawberries and hopefully this beer is as good as Upland's.

 

Read a blog entry by their new barrel cellarman guy recently. He specifically called out acetic acid as a bad thing, so I am hoping they move away from the heavily vinegary sours henceforth. I almost want to email them and ask if these beers have a fairly acetic acidity after buying full allocations of the nigh-undrinkably-vinegary Motherfunker.

Edit: If the Rueuze is similar to GFAR but nicely carbonated I'll be stoked. The light acetic note in that was just enough to give a peachy/nectariney tang a la DDG/Cable Car etc. without being overbearing.

 

Mother Funker seems like such a polarizing beer. My girlfriend, a sour fiend, absolutely loves it and even her friends who have only recently been introduced to sours like it.

 

Good to hear! I'm with you, and apparently the new cellar master, 100%! If you do send that email out, let us know the reply. At this point, I'm so disenchanted with the harsh Bruery sours of recent that I'm not inclined to roll the die on Rueuze, especially when I can try a single bottle upon distribution and then go back for more if palatable.

 

Held onto it for 9 months. Had it last week. Not incredibly sour like everyone says. Compares more to Beatification than to a reg. gueuze than anything else though in acidity. Pretty good too. Not complex but better than any of the sours we get here in TX

 

Yeah, opinions seem to be divided on MFer. But it's good to know that, "4 out of 5 dentists agree that it'll take the tartar off your teeth."

 

The secret to Mother Funker is the dregs. The dregs are great, the rest of the beer may as well be a bottle of vinegar. People who love intense sourness will love it, but most don't and won't. I really hope that Rueuze is less intense and more complex.

 

I'd guess those with less experienced palates would be more inclined to be the ones who like it. Most people I know would compare it to vinegar before they compare it to a lambic. I've been using it as a blending beer lately with decent results.