The Bruery (2025)

Good looking slate there! I loved Pie Happy - not sure it needed pretzel though? Guess we'll see.

BA Three's Cocompany was awesome, great choice for a re-brew. Popular Opinion feels a little duplicative though, right?

Flying High - obviously I'm not a barrel master, but it makes me curious how much more flavor one can extract with four years in the same barrel? Like if it had been in the barrels for a year and then racked to a stainless fermenter for three years would there be a difference? Unless there's something unique about the oak or charring that Eagle Rare uses? Again, this isn't criticism, I'm genuinely curious about the premise behind the beer!

 

Opened a Melange a Quad tonight. Anyone else have one of these recently?

Hoo-boy, it is a real explosion at the flavor factory! What's that Anchorman quote? I'm not even mad, I'm just impressed?

It's only a year old, but based on my notes the heat seems to have mellowed like a beer 2-3x its age. The spirit barrel ends up super forward. Lots of brandy/cognac I think. Maybe the madeira is punching through? It's a wild flavor ride... still not sure how I feel about it.

 

Looks like a new radler and a fresh batch of pilsner showed up too? And a new gose.

I've given up on the non-BA stouts too. They're fine, just plenty of other stuff I prefer. Also price on Cluster seems steep?

 

Fabled Fate is good. I don't love it, but that's more personal preference. It's on the dry yeasty end of the spectrum for a Belgian and I prefer them a bit sweeter. Also I could swear I taste peanut butter and coffee, which is unexpected though not necessarily unpleasant?

 

Critical Alignment

Pretty good. The base is really smooth and mellow, and I like that it's pretty dry for a BA stout. The chocolate is very subtle, especially having just had Chocolate Salty BBLS a couple days ago. The blackberry is reserved, which I appreciate. Not faint, just not overdone.

This was a win for 375ml format for me. I'm not as into Bottle Logic as other folks, and fruited stouts are hit/miss for me. I'm really glad I was able to try it, but 375ml was plenty.

 

I had one more bottle of Sending Cozy Vibes kicking around and opened it tonight. Infected. Not crazy but for sure a drain pour for me. At first I thought maybe it was just tartness from the apples, or maybe character from the brandy barrel. But I let it warm all the way to warm temp and the buttery lacto was unmistakable.

Between this, Agave Amigos, and Adios Martes I'm getting a little annoyed at the quality control - I'm assuming it ties to when they moved sour production back to the OG facility after closing Terreux? Separating the two was what solved the infection issues 4-5 years ago. Although I will also say that their customer service is top notch in terms of understanding and issuing a credit, which I think is fair and reasonable. Really all that's hurt is that it's sad to open a bad beer. I fully accept the risk that these beers aren't guaranteed to age gracefully, and that's ok. But when the club is literally called "Hoarder" I feel like that implies you should expect at least a couple years minimum.


That said, I'm excited to hear reports on the February releases! They must not be pouring samples cause I don't see any activity on Untappd.

 

Dang, did Costco have a sale on Madeira barrels. Feels like the barrel du jour.

 

Opened my last Sucre Rum. Very enjoyable, but I'd also say it's peaked. Nothing off, no unwanted oxidation, but a lot of the nuance has faded including the previously interesting rum notes.

I saw some up for sale last month but missed them, and now I'm not sad that I did... on the other hand if I had just bought one and drank it soon I think life would be dandy.

 

So far I haven't heard any change to shipping pricing as a result of 375 bottles. But someone mused that maybe they want to get through clearing last year's cellars first. Based on this months archive sale the unsold 750 bottles are getting pretty depleted.

Shipping hasn't mattered when I qualify for free, though the big boxes with tiny bottles feels wasteful. I know logistics is harder than that though. Current shipping rates are definitely a hard sell for 375's though.

 

Opened my last Fat Twosday and it was delightful. I'm leery of keeping the very adjuncted ones too long any more, but this one is a winner two years on.

Also, occurs to me that it's basically a stronger version of Crumbfather?