2013 Bruery Initiation Party tap list

So much smoother than 2 years ago. A really nice time.

 

I think it is soooo cool of you guys to choose a local charity, especially one like The Boys and Girls Club. An event like this is a BIG BONUS, or shot in the arm, to their programs.

Thanks Patrick et al.

 

Oh hell yes. It's a fantastic beer.

 

Now, I can get it working. My "Luggage" arrived all fine in Dallas.
Had fun, thanks everyone!

 

The Bruery should come be the VIP beer supplier for the Bocce Ball tourney for th boys and girls clubs. I could enjoy a nice light sour while throwing my balls around

 

I don't remember there being a glass given out with memberships. Unless you are specifically talking about the glass from the initiation party.

 

Cheers to Patrick and the bruery crew for an incredibly well ran event. Despite huge masses of people, I never had to wait in line longer than five minutes, and there was plenty of space to spread and chill out while enjoying the rather remarkable beers available.

Melange 8 and SitR with Peaches were so damn good that I almost regret choosing the RS over HS ... Almost. Those were two spectacular beers. The White Oak Sap in the Melange 8 forms such a nice canvas for the great Portola coffee flavor similar to the way it showcases chocolate and vanilla in White Chocolate. Speaking of White Oak Sap, that beer itself is one of the Bruery’s best and I really wish they’d bottle it. I asked one of the bruery guys if they have any plans to bottle it and he said that they didn’t because it’s “too rich”. This was a strange response since they consider adding chocolate to it and bottling it a reasonable thing to do, not to mention the ostentatious richness of beers like CR.

Oude Tart with Boysenberries was whimsically delicious and had this Willy Wonka I’m eating a piece of berry pie through this magic fizzy drink type of thing going on. Revisiting Grey Monday only confirmed my initial impression that is an even boozier version of Black Tuesday with very little to add as far as new flavor. Imperial Loakal Red was the biggest surprise for me. Its robust but super balanced hoppiness was a thing of beauty and it will be interesting to see if it garners any hype once it is released in bottles.

It's funny that everyone hated the anniversary beer aged in the 5GR rum barrels so much. The actual rum barrel aged 5GR may be the most disgusting beer I've ever tasted, so aging any beer in that same barrel is not going to end well. And both experiments ended up with flat beers, which may just be a coincidence, but it is interesting nonetheless. Poor 5GR, I feel like that beer has practically ruined the Christmas beer vertical. Until 5GR, all of those beers have been at least decent and a few have been remarkable (BA 2TD and BA 4CB). Here's to hoping that bourbon barrel treatment of 5GR creates some kind of Christmas miracle this year. Finger's crossed, but I'm not expecting much. Has anyone ever added bourbon to Cactus Cooler? Probably not and for good reason.

Relieved to see that the bar for quality was set just as high as previous RS events and that the HS is not impacting the quality of offerings at these events. Griffon debacle aside (and damn that is a great beer), they seem to be managing the two different societies reasonably and equitably, which is great even though it would have been entertaining to see the proles rise up and storm the HS palace. If the subsequent HS exclusives are as good as Melange 8 and SitR with peaches, I just may have to upgrade next year.

 

My favorite of the day...

Mochasaurus Monday!


Yes, I did blend Mocha BT, Chocosaurus Rye and Grey Monday. It was fantastic.

 

Awesome. I love how people come up with their own blends at these events.

 

I had a great time. Glad they checked ID's early, and let people in before the fest actually started. I arrived at about 11:15, and the line was already about 80 deep, so starting to move the line in early, or at least starting too, was a great idea they carried over from last year. For me, Melange 8, Mocha BT & SitR w/ Peaches were my highlights. I preferred the Peanut butter Bals of the Barrel party of years past, over this years BT w/ PB cask. I love PB, but this one had too much, lacked balance, for me.

Great work on the vegetarian options this year too, thank you. From the cheese, crackers, and mini pesto sandwiches in the HS area, to the large veggie sandwiches, mac n' cheese, etc. (though, & this is more the on the catering restaurants, then the Bruery, still not sure why both beachwood & Haven insist on putting pork in all of the beans. Just have beans, there is plenty of meat to go around, beans are nice protein for us vegetarians, or at least have trays w/ & w/out pork, please) anyhow though, I had no shortage of food this year though, so again thank you.

For me, 10 tasters, even at 2.5 oz is fine with me, as was pointed out to me, that still comes out to a 750 ml bottle worth of beer (of BT if you stick to the high abv beers too, which I mostly stuck to the sours, and lower abv beers myself) sadly OT w/ boysenberries ran out before I could try it, but otherwise I was very happy with what I had, and the variety of options.

On a side note, that Plentidinous imp stout on at the tasting room is quite tasty, and I enjoyed the full pour SitR w/ peaches option for HS there as well. Great way to spend a Saturday.

 

Anniversary in Rum Barrel (formerly held 5GR)*
Does this signify that the BA version of 5GR for the RS/HS will be Rum Barrels? Orignial RS list just says Barrel Aged 5GR.

Haven't opened a 5GR (haven't heard the greatest things about it) but wondering how Rum barrels would compliment 5GR compared to Bourbon barrels.

 

pesto is not vegetarian...
and as a RS member, all we had was the mac and cheese... which they really skimped on. I asked for more because I was not getting anything else, and they said no. So I got one little scoop as my meal.

 

Pesto is certainly vegetarian. Ingredients: "traditionally consists of crushed garlic, basil, and European pine nuts blended with olive oil, Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan cheese), and Fiore Sardo (cheese made from sheep's milk)"

It's not vegan but it is vegetarian.

Glad everyone had a good time.

 

Sorry man... the cheese in pesto contains animal rennet, which is an enzyme collected from the stomachs of cows, goats and lambs... hate to burst the bubble. sometimes it is better to not know.
Actually, I just clicked the link for the parmigiano in your post, and it says calf rennet is added also.

 

Interesting. I am not a vegetarian, so this has no impact on me but is certainly interesting to know.

 

Tedious discussion on the boundaries of vegetarianism to follow in 3,2,1...

 

The Haven website lists Parm as an ingredient to their Mac And Cheese. Not sure if it was different at initiation.

 

My wife and I had an awesome time. Great beer, fun people, and an all-around good time. I was a little nervous at first with one session rather than multiple sessions but once we got through the entrance line, which really wasn't bad in itself, there was virtually no waiting. Well executed Bruery team!

 

I love stomach scrapings...