The Bruery (2024)

I've always been meh on that beer, but it's a good looking label refresh. Killing me that Autumn Maple hasn't made the cut yet.

 

Only if it’s done the original way of using grilled yams instead of puréed yams. The last year or two that beer was made wasn’t the same.

 

Interesting! I don't think I ever noticed. I still loved the last batch regardless.

 

Wondering if you’ve heard anything, because on a promo that popped up on Untappd, looks like they’re unable to ship to NC, and apparently here to MI.

 

Nope, not a thing, and honestly this fear was creeping in the back of my mind. I was gonna give them another week or 2, but if I hit 2 months waiting on my March order, I will be contacting them demanding money back. This is not what I signed up for. Pretty frustrating, considering I have had a tracking number for almost a month and the box is presumably sitting in a wearhouse.

 

Weird question time...

I was very impressed with how The Bruery shipped their beer to me in Iowa. I'm going to be visiting their location in a couple of weeks along with some other places in the area. Do you think they would ship other brewers beer to me if I boxed it? If not, any other good services out there that will make these shipments?

 

FedEx works great, used them to ship beer and bourbon dozens of times all over the country.

 

I was told it's a licensing issue in NC that they are working to resolve.

 

This lines up with what I was last told on April 3rd. I am willing to give them time to sort it out, but man, would it kill them to send out an email?

 

Just had a bottle of Werewolves of Ecuador and I have to say this is a great release and my favorite release to date from this year. The beer has a nice feel and a substantial amount of vanilla flavor, with a mild bourbon finish. Will crack another bottle, because it also had `a fair amount of chocolate flavor, with no chocolate added. I want to see if that is a palate thing, because I felt like it was Chocolate Rain light (as per ABV). Hope this helps

 

thanks for sharing that! Liked it. Sound up.

 

Not sure my interest is very high for non-BA adjunct stouts... But I have to give them credit for creativity.

I'm kinda surprised each component isn't more basic... Any two of those together, let alone 3-4, feels very... busy?

 

East Coast Shipping Update: It took 8 days (4/2-4/10) to get my latest order, which is about on par with stuff shipping from the West Coast. It sounds like others are having state-specific issues, which PA apparently doesn't have...

Quick thoughts on what I've had so far:

As Far as the Rye Can See - Fantastic, tons of chocolate, huge barrel character, plenty of bourbon leavened by rye spice for complexity, rich caramel and vanilla, best Bruery release of the year so far…

Werewolves of Ecuador - Delicious. Plenty of vanilla, a worthy successor to Vanilla Villain. Here’s to hoping they’ll make a Werewolves of Ecuador Reserve, because VV Reserve was awesome…

Fignotize - Tasty and an improvement over Notorious FIG from last year, but it’s still gilding the lily with extra ingredients (the plums in particular seem a bit out of place here; they overwhelm everything else, but I might just be overly sensitive to plum). Still, the extra barrel treatment makes up for some of that and it’s pretty well done…

No Oven Required - I get a weird medicinal note coming from (I think?) the peaches here, which kinda sinks this a bit. It's tasty because the BT base always shines through, and cinnamon and vanilla complement that well, but I can't get over that peach-flavored cough drop note...

Still haven't tried Mother Floater or Fuego Fresca Especial yet, but will get to them soon enough (genuinely curious about both, though there are some things that give me pause in their descriptions...)

 

Mother Floater - Nowhere near as bad as feared! Genuine root beer character mixed with chocolatey, creamy monster stout base. Apple Brandy barrels seem like an odd choice (on paper, it should clash), but I get no real Apple out of this, just a more generic oak barrel and booze (this is a good thing!) It's not my favorite or anything, but it's the sort of thing I like being in the "included" society offerings. I wouldn't have sprung for a bottle otherwise (again, it sounded weird on paper).