The Bruery (2024)

Heavenly Blis is great.

It's super boozy (no surprise). Not the mellowest fresh BT, but nor is it hot/harsh. Very enjoyable right now. It's on the high end of carbonation for a BT variant, which masks the body a bit.

I got the maple aroma the moment I opened the bottle. Lots of maple. I think it's tasty, curious how others respond. It's sweeter than regular BT for sure, but by no means cloying or overdone.

Does it compare to 2020 BT Maple? I dunno, probably not, that was darn near a perfect Bruery release. Is it really good? Yes.

I FOMO'd a 3-pack and am pleased with that gamble. I will probably buy a few more... knowing we're getting all 375's next year maybe makes me slightly more willing to get 750's than I might have been.

 

All The Leaves

I like it, I don't love it. It's different than I expected, but honestly nails the description on the bottle of capturing the vibe of apple baked goods. Surprisingly dry. Nice apple flavor. One of the spices (possibly wormwood) is disjointed to my taste, though not unpleasant. Other than that it's smooth balanced and flavorful.

It is very very different from Apple Falls Far, which was super sweet and had a cocktail-ish vibe. It's closer to Pie Happy, though lighter, less sweet, and different spice profile.

On a side note, I'm sad they seem to have stopped tossing spare bottle labels into the shipping boxes.

 

Cherry Chocolate Reign - This is great, and better than expected. The cherry character is modest, and might take the edge off the strong cacao and booze factor. It gets more prominent as it warms up, but never overpowers, so it's well done. I would probably still prefer regular CR over this (or BT Reserve over both), but I love this as an included bottle. Great stuff.

2econd - I know this is super popular and it has sky high ratings, but something about it just doesn't work for me. I feel like the disparate ingredients are clashing a bit, but the bayonet base is so strong its own that it kinda makes up for a little of it. It's fine, but definitely not my thing.

Really looking forward to Heavenly Blis (and honestly, the rest of the year's lineup looks great)...

 

I've been sipping through my CCR this week, I'm feels like the right amount of cherry to me, I'm into it

 

Smooth Criminal 2024

Very mellow and balanced. Definitely get the funk. It's about as soft as you'll find in a Bruery beer but it's there. Funk, not sour/tart.

I loved the original, in part because I detected zero funk/sour. It was just kind of a "session" Anniversary. Note I never had it fresh, was probably 2-3 years old when I first tried. Not sure if funk subsides?

This new one... I'm enjoying my glass and won't dump it, but also won't be buying more. I bet a lot of folks who don't mind funk will love it because it feels very purposeful and well executed.

 

Great write up

 

Midnight Bramble

It's good. I don't love it but I bet some folks will.

Super super fruity. Like drinking fruit juice. It's a really nice bright full fresh fruit flavor. Slightly tart (fruit, not bacteria), reserved sweetness. The base stout has kind of a medium body that's nice, but all flavor really gets lost behind all the fruit.

 

Oh hey, Shoot Out The Sun is pretty great! It's amongst the thickest chewiest stouts I can recall ever having from the Bruery. But notably isn't syrupy or roasty/chalky. I dig it.
The sweetness is very reserved which lets the bold cocoa really shine. Otherwise I think it would basically be like drinking chocolate syrup. Very boozy.

 

Just tried Midnight Bramble and I have to say I was not a fan. The initial flavor is boysenberry, but is immediately followed by a high acidity level from the fruit. The base stout flavor is fairly dry and there is not a lot of barrel flavor detected. My main complaint is the acidity, followed by the price point. This is definitely not a $21 bottle imo. I'm hoping Bangkok Noir hits better tonight.

 

Enjoyed a No Oven Required, glad the cinnamon was subdued, solid beer

 

I just popped open a 2016 Autumn Maple and a 2017 Midnight Autumn Maple… they are drinking phenomenally!

Barry, make more of these! They age well!

 

Pretty sure Midnight is on the included bottle list next year.

 

I'm glad most folks are enjoying Cherry Chocolate Reign... I wasn't into it personally. The cherry was overpowering and often had a cough syrup vibe. More often than not I enjoy cherry in these beers, but I think in general once I get into this level of barrel intensity I'd rather just have a non-adjunct beer.

 

It's funny, I wonder how much variability there could be on some of these. The cherry wasn't overly strong for me, but for No Oven Required, the peach was overpowering and almost medicinal (not sure I've ever had peach flavored cough syrup, but that might make sense), but others don't mention it at all. Or it's all just a matter of taste (but I tend to be sensitive to fruit in this sort of beer, and again, the cherry was pretty subdued in CCR).

 

Coffee and blueberry? Double no.

 

I had the second half two days later and it had mellowed and rounded out a ton. Much more enjoyable, but I also think I still prefer no adjunct once you get up to this barrel complexity.

Wouldn't surprise me if there was variability. I can think of a few cherry stouts I heard people complain was cough syrupy but I thought was good.

 

I’m sorry, nothing sounds good about that imo