The Bruery (2024)

I am hoping to have the Maple by this coming weekend, and probably most of them over next couple weeks. I will report back for science!

 

The included Hoarder glasses seem nice. Similar thickness to the classic tulip glass, so feels sturdy. The design is cool (I think), and the printing is surprisingly raised quite a bit. In theory should offer a lot of grip during drinking and washing.

Missed opportunity to add fill level demarcations though... however I suppose that's less important with the shift to 375 ml bottles.

 

Ordered a bunch of BT and Thr3e on 10/8 and was pleasantly surprised at the speed of shipping (shipped immediately, arrived 10/14 - about as good as possible when shipping from West Coast to East Coast). This was a big improvement over previous years, where BT backed up shipping, so that's nice.

Thr3e - New version is also great. I had a 2021 recently that was phenomenal, and this new one is comparable. Maybe a tad sweeter, but there's lots of things that could affect that. Certainly comparable with Melange 3 and similar blends, maybe even a tad better (i.e. barleywine better than WOS?) Glad I loaded up on these, one of my favorite releases from the last few years.

Black Tuesday Imperial Grand Reserve - Agree with the general consensus - this is phenomenal. Maybe a tad hot, but that doesn't really bother me much. Super intense, rich, and surprisingly nimble for such a big beer (in the same way regular BT is - weirdly I feel like some of the regular Reserve versions are thicker, but this is still great). Tons of boozy bourbon, caramel, vanilla, and oak, absolutely delicious. Certainly vying with One & Dunn Impy Grand Reserve for favorites of the year.

Black Tuesday Blender's Choice - The usual Black Tuesday with a light, tangy Madeira note that works better than expected (it adds complexity without overwhelming the bourbon or stout character). The booziness level is actually quite low considering the ABV - like clearly it's a big beer, but I'm guessing the Madeira helped mellow it out somehow. A worthy variant, and it will undoubtedly age well, but it's not something that I'd be clamoring for every year - perfect one-off release though.

And I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that regular BT is fantastic, as per usual.

 

Actually using the glass this very moment for the first time and I keep thinking about how nice it feels haha, the grip is great

 

Echoing others, the new Thr3e is nice. I'd agree that it's particularly boozy, but not in a harsh way.

Given the price point it must be mostly barleywine? I like how the Ani adds a kiss of sherry and the BT a smattering of high octane malt. Both recognizable in the backseat.

The original batch was a little too sweet IMO and this one strikes a better balance.

 

BT Imperial GR is very tasty, as reported.

As with many of their beers, you've got to be patient and let it warm fully. At that point, while still super boozy (duh) the base beer is really nicely mellowed.

Despite the high alcohol it's got a lot of body by BT standards. Not chewy certainly, but a nice heft. I like it. The thin BT's usually aren't my favorite.

Now look... it tastes like bourbon. At this point that is the dominant flavor. There's some malt in there. On the dry side for BT but I guess any sugar is technically sweeter than straight bourbon. I'm not saying it's the same as drinking a glass of bourbon... but I feel like it is more akin to drinking bourbon than drinking beer. Kind of like how their wine hybrids are more like drinking an offbeat wine than an altered beer. The aftertaste especially reminds me more of drinking bourbon than beer.

Is it a very enjoyable beverage experience? Absolutely.
Is it my favorite beer from them, or my favorite BT variant? Probably not, though above average no doubt.

 

https://mybeerbuzz.blogspot.com/2024/10/melvin-brewing-bruery-team-up-for.html?m=1

 

Opened my last bottle of Dreamception last night and it was totally sour. It didn't explode out of the bottle, but was definitely fizzy on the pour. So if anyone's holding, you might want to drink those.

 

Boo. I had one I was going to open soon. Thanks for heads up.

 

NNNOooooooo!!! I really liked that one and was hoping it would hold on. I'll have to find them and try it out. Thanks for sharing!

 

Okay, so far I have had the BT Maple, Love at Midnight, and Piece of Me. I have reviews on Untappd, but my overall review is that all 3 were still enjoyable and all 3 were better when fresh. I think BT Maple was the only one starting to show clearer signs of age, but all were more muted than they were when fresh.

The difference was even more noticeable since I also had Heavenly Blis and BT Imperial Grand Reserve over the past week, and clearly enjoyed both of those more.

I also opened a BT ‘11 recently. It was great, but the effects of oxidation were clear and it had the characteristic Sherry flavors and drank lot more like a quad blend than an Imperial stout. The BT ‘10 I had a couple years ago seemed to hold up more true to style. I also had a Papier recently, and it was several year over the hill (but fun to crack nonetheless).

So my main takeaway for myself: BT with a few years of age on it is still great, but fresh is best (especially when there are adjuncts). Same with the Anniversay ales. Nothing new or groundbreaking here, but good to confirm with actual experience.

 

Good news! I just opened one and it's great. Sorry yours was bad, hopefully it's the outlier.

I'd still recommend drinking soon if you've got one. The adjuncts are tasty but don't pop quite as much as I recall.

 

Opened Stacks Reserve ChocoBanana.

Wasn't a big fan of ChocoBanana Shortstacks. Not a big fan of banana beers generally.

But this one is quite good. The oak is the standout, with the chocolate and banana playing a supporting role.

 

Opened my last can of 2019 BT and it's outstanding.

Warm yet mellow, really fresh tasting/not stale. Huge flavor.

When they started canning the big hitters I recall us all wondering how long you could keep cans... I didn't mean to keep this one this long, and I think I'm still more comfortable with glass than cans long term... but I'll happily take any successful aging instance.

 

I know some of us are curious how shipping will change with the shift to 375ml bottles... and I know we probably won't hear anything until the New Year... but I just ordered some stuff from Firestone and I'd be pretty happy if Bruery was able to replicate their model.

Bruery 375's are of course a little larger and heavier than Firestone 12oz bottles. But they're also thicker/stronger so perhaps less packaging would be needed?

I'm 100% sure Bruery's shipping volume far exceeds Firestone's, which I think is more of a hobby for them. Although that said, maybe Firestone is subsidizing the cost because it's a rounding error in terms of their overall business. I respect Bruery's need to... you know... not lose money as a business.

So with Firestone, you have to order in 6-item increments to fill the box. Perhaps in some ways, the shipping prices are justified by assuming some folks will buy an extra item or two to round out the box. They don't have a "cellar" option like Bruery, so that's one place where the models are a bit different.

The cost! So to ship 6/12/18/24 bottles (or solo cans) with Firestone is $20/$15/$15/$10 within CA. Out of state is $25 for 12 and $30 for 24. Again, the descending prices for CA I think suggest they've been manipulated to encourage purchasing more product. So the models are not apples to apples... but I feel like the ballpark is palatable?

 

Opened my Dreamception just in case. Drinking great. Lots of coconut on the back end. I store at about 55 degrees.

 

https://mybeerbuzz.blogspot.com/2024/11/the-bruery-adding-critical-alignment.html?m=1

 

Hoping we can get plain ass mocha Wednesday. Don’t ruin it with extracts.