White Chocolate possibly infected; Patrick Rue responds

Same here, a 06/18 bottle for the record, and my conclusion is much the same. Upon opening, the aroma was very off-putting, the tartness was strong to the point where it seemed like an infection. However, as I'm continuing to drink it, I'm leaning towards it not being an infection.

The biggest reason is that the tartness seems integrated into the beer - when a big, sweet beers gets infected, the tartness or funk usually seem like they're masking other flavors. In this case, it tastes like a part of the beer (for better or worse). It's a subtle thing, but combined with Patrick's assertion that it's supposed to be drier and have a bit of tartness, I can see it.

What I will say is that I find it somewhat disappointing in the context of last year's batch. I purchased a given amount based upon the idea that it would be similar to what we got in 2012, but this is a rather big departure. It's still a good beer and it has its merits relative to last year in that it doesn't beat you over the head with sweetness, but it would've been nice if they had done a better job of managing expectations before putting it on sale. There will always be some batch to batch variation in craft beer, but this is a significant shift in flavor.

 

Just had a new batch White Chocolate, it was amazing

FT: WC - ISO: list

 

Well, very tart sourness in the initial taste. Wait a good minute and some white chocolate flavored show up. Pretty dissapointed.

 

Before this year I don't even remember a time when a Bruery beer had infection issues. They are the model for stability in barrel aging. At least Patrick comes out and says when something isn't quite right and does something about it. Look at many other breweries across the nation when something goes wrong...most of them just turn a blind eye and don't offer any restitution. They gave refunds or coupons for free beer when Ebony & Oak turned out to be infected. I have no problem giving them my money because I know if something does go wrong they will make it right.

 

I sure hope Greg. We are down $300 worth of this stuff. Wish it was just like the '12.

 

so to confirm, I have a bottle of WC i got in a trade this week... it has no date printed on the label, and ABV is 14.25%, I am color blind so the wax color is not a help, do i have a 2012 or 2013?

 

It says 2013 in the label.

 

Couldn't take it anymore and opened my second bottle. After it exploded over the kitchen counter, I attempted to enjoy the 3/4 of the bottle. I'm still not enjoying it. I haven't had previous years so I can't compare but I was expecting something else. Extremely sour...

 

Looks like it's no longer for sale. Just bought a bottle for pick up the day before I saw this thread.

 

Yup...just logged into my account and did not see it. Now I'm thinking of picking up a Autunm Maple. Damm you Bruery

 

Same thing happened to me...both bottles

 

They've just posted on facebook that they are tapping a new keg today at the tasting room and still have bottles for sale. So I don't think Patrick is too worried about it.

 

Time will tell if the bottles get worse.

 

I just opened a bottle. No gushing. Smell is boozy and sweet. Mouth feel is very dry. Slightly tart. If I wasn't aware it was white chocolate I would think it tasted fine. Like sweet and sour wheat. Not what I remember last year's tasting like, I remember liquid white chocolate.

 

We've stopped selling bottled White Chocolate on TheBrueryStore.com and our Tasting Room until we have a better idea about what's going on. We haven't yet experienced a sour bottle of this, but we don't want to continue selling until we know the beer is up to our quality standards. It'll take awhile to sort this all out, so it'll probably be mid-September before we're able to put bottles back up for sale.

Thanks,
Patrick
The Bruery

 

Thanks for the update, Patrick. Your commitment to quality and making up for any mistakes remains ahead of the rest of the industry.

 

I really appreciate it. I have nothing to compare it to (such as last years), but wasn't what I wanted. Could be my taste but appreciate the attention you give to your product. That's why I constantly buy from you guys.

 

Thank you for addressing this, you guys definitely are one of the best brewers for confronting and resolving issues like these.

Question: Can RS/HS allocations still be picked up?

 

Yes, we'll continue fulfilling orders that have been placed before noon today.

 

Bwahahahaha