Bruery Hoarder Blending Session

All of the beers that they're making available to blend are already barrel aged, I think it's a safe assumption that they're looking for a Melange style blend without any further barrel aging.

 

Grapefruit rind it is then. Someone get on it.

But really, can someone live blog this thing? Would love to hear about this process in real time. Also, this way we could start our complaining in record time. I demand the ability to complain about my beers as they're being conceptualized!

 

I wouldn't call Cacaonut ruined. This is the first time it's ever been made; as such, who's to say that wasn't the flavor they were aiming for? If that's the case and White Oak Sap is not a start next year, but they put out Cacaonut again with that in it, wouldn't that batch be considered ruined?

 

anniversary, bit of oude, bit of reueze, and some BT

 

love it

 

Mostly because the beer isn't good? I mean, I guess The Bruery may have been aiming to make a bad beer, but I somehow doubt that was the flavor they were aiming for.

 

Getting really excited and curious about this... Anyone looking to do a strong ale blend with some infusions that would center on Black Tuesday and Anniversary?

One combination I'm thinking of would feature coffee, a touch of cinnamon, and a touch of cloves, and finally a subtle kiss of some orange zest (a little goes a LONG way with any citrus zest in the aroma) . I think it'd be great with a chocolatey blend.

Another one would swing almost the opposite way, and could probably use a touch of brightness from one or more of the Sour Beers (or maybe even a bit of-- gasp! -- White Oak Sap), but would include dried mango slices and shaved, unsweetened coconut. Kind of a tropical combo...

Finally, I'm thinking about some possibility of using fenugreek and/or maple syrup and/or maple extract to give kind of a maple accent. Could possibly riff on either Black Tuesday or the caramelly flavors of Anniversary and could also possibly include some of the other stuff from above-- coconut, coffee, cinnamon... I'm not sure. Wouldn't want a whole mess of flavors going on in any of these (perhaps despite appearances). And I'd have to see how the berrs taste first, to be able to tell what's "speaking to me" and how the flavors might balance out.

Passion fruit in a SitR - Rueuze sour blend with a tiny touch of Oude Tart and the subtlest kiss of ginger *must* be done too...

 

Really wish I was joining you on this one...

 

I like a lot of what is going in here minus the WOS. Also I was just thinking I don't recall the Bruery trying their hand at an "Abraxxas/Hunahpu/Bomb-style" cinnamon/chilli stout. Any ideas on a good local dried/smoked chilli?

I think Orange zest would be killer in small doses like you said. Whatever comes out should be fun and different. Can't wait for the next round and hope to join in.

 

ME TOO. PLEASE NO ONE EVEN TOUCH IT!!!

 

There are lots of great ideas here, mostly I'm hoping for fruited/spiced sours and something along the line of Buck86's last post. The chocolate stouts I've had with chili just haven't been spicy enough for me, I'd love to have one with a very noticeable chili bite to it.

 

The good news is that if you're a Hoarder's member you probably have so many bottles of these beers lying around (with the exception of White Oak Sap), you could probably do several dozen of these blends.

 

Someone should try Oude Tart and Black Tuesday with sour cherries, so essentially Melange #1 with cherries.

 

I think I've mentioned up thread, or definitely another thread, that I've been blending Oude Tart w/cherries with BT, it's pretty damned fine. Even more cherries and maybe some cacao would be cool.

 

So, yeah... Turns out I'm actually going to be a "Guest Judge" for this thang...

Heading out in a little bit here to get a couple of last-minute ingredients and then probably get there early as hell to help with setup and whatnot.

I've got some French Presses in tow (plenty to go around), and I'm also bringing all of the following ingredients (with some to share):

Organic shaved unsweetened coconut
Toasted organic shaved unsweetened coconut
Dried mission figs
Organic cacao nibs
Earl Gray tea
Whole cloves
Guatemalan Acatenango Gesha coffee
Ethiopian Hachira coffee
Grade B maple syrup
Ground cinnamon
Valencia oranges (for zesting)


Still gotta look for the fenugreek, maple extract, dried mango slices, passion fruit, and ginger. I'm sure I'll be able to find maple extract and ginger. Less certain about the others...

Let's make some fucken awesome beer cocktails!

 

Hell yeah, sorry we didn't have a chance to meet up beforehand today. Give's me more ideas for future infusions. Did you pick up any cardamom?

 

Very curious to hear how this event went. Sounds like cquiroga brought some great ingredients, hopefully some amazing concoctions were made.

 

The event was pretty cool. We first went through some of the Bruery's blends, Melange 1, Melange 3, Melange 8, the percentages of the bases beers that made up each, and the different ways they are blending, and in the case of melange 8, what the coffee adds.

My group had fun just trying all kinds of blends with the base beer provided at first, in addition to some infusions of fruit, from Kiwi, Lime, raspberries, mango's, etc. Some was just experimenting to see what worked, what didn't, and were surprising contrasts, could have done that for hours truth be told.

Very well hosted, with servers bringing pours of each of those to each table, and Patrick, Tyler, Matt, and a few others of the Bruery tasting room crew there to round things out in getting us what beers we needed to work with.

There were 8 total groups, so 8 blends in the end, and it had to be a 500ml sample. Any blend had to use at least 2 beers, and have clear notes that could be replicated. Further ingredient infusions were encouraged, but not required. Some blends used as many as 5 beers, others, 3 to 4, or just two. Most used infusions too. I can't recall what the third place out of 8 was off the top of my head, by our groups blend came in 2nd. We used 350 ml of Black Tuesday to 150 ml of Anniversary (non solera) infused with powdered dry peanut butter, and marsh mellow cream. (ran out of time to see if coffee worked well in that infusion)

1st place, was a blend of 3 parts sour in the rye, 2 parts Reueze, and 1 part White Oak Sap, infused with Ginger, and coconut.

 

Wow that is a bummer, but that opinion is solely biased on the current state of WOS. I know it is "tart" but in the brain it is labeled "Ruiner of beer". Hope this beer turns the ship around (as well as heading in tomorrow to try out new M3). If nothing else it will be nice to get one more sour into next year's lineup.