Menage A Trois - Crabtree Brewing Company

blindpiggie

Colorado

3.28/5  rDev -22.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I was pretty excited to try this beer after reading the good reviews. Crabtree is my neighborhood brewery, but I haven't been too excited about their recent releases so I was looking forward to being (at least mildly) blown away by this one.

I found this beer to be really unpleasant because of the stupifying amount of sweetness. I have no idea what the ABV is on this, but it's nowhere near enough to cut through the saccharine cloud that hangs over every second of tasing the beer. If one was able to get past the sweetness, however, you would find a beer with exceptional depth and complexity. The plum and merlot barrels provide the context and then right in the middle you get the distinct taste of a whiskey-aged stout. It's sadly one of those fascinating beers that I'd never want to drink again. The beer looked pretty uninspiring from the pour, and I actually thought it was flat from the almost nonexistant head.

Overall: an extremely interesting attempt at a blend of lower ABV barrel aged beers, but the lack of balance of sweetness to the other flavors makes it almost undrinkable.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2012 19:50:39 | More by blindpiggie

StonedTrippin

Colorado

4.08/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

an epic blend of barrel aged beers. this was 9 bucks for a 12oz at the brewery in greeley. it pours a really cloudy and flat looking redish brown color, dense and chewy, with a small tan head on top that slowly fades out. the nose is quite fruity, im picking up the plums for sure, and also bery sweet from the honey addition. flavor is extraordinarily complex. bourbon in the middle is pretty intense, but just for a second, plum fruity flavor is also quite strong. definitely also picking up acidic tartness from th merlot barrels, and the smoothness of the oatmeal stout blend really pulls everything together. the problem for me was the sweetness, like a spoonful of molassas on the finish, a little spice but a ton of raw sugar, almost to a fault. it was not freakishly alcoholic, despite being somewhere around 11.5% abv. without all the sugar, this would have been award worthy in my opinion. light carbonation and a full body make it a sipper and a good candidate for sharing. a nice holiday time brew. i was really impressed with this overall. so much happening, it might also be a nice one to age.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2012 16:17:11 | More by StonedTrippin

brystmar

Texas

4.28/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks Mac! 12oz bottle with no bottling date or even ABV!

Oaky, caramely, boozy aroma seems to blur the lines between barleywine and BA imperial stout -- even though there's no barleywine component. Honey and brown ale base probably contribute to this.

The blend is exceptionally pleasant: each flavor seems to complement the others, coating my mouth with residual sticky nectar. Leans toward the sweet side while remaining drinkable. Complex and delicious. Yeah, I could drink a few of these.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2012 04:22:18 | More by brystmar

denver10

Colorado

4.33/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A blend of the Boxcar Brown aged with plums in Merlot barrels, a Whiskey barrel aged version of their Oatmeal Stout, and Northern Colorado Wildflower Honey fermented with Boxcar Brown in Merlot Barrels.

Pours a deep brown with khaki head and nice lacing. A great big, rich aroma. A huge dose of honey, some plum, some brown sugar, and both some whiskey barre and wine barrelsl. A big, sweet flavor. Honey sweetened plum, burnt toffee, and whiskey barrel. The finish leaves your mouth full of melted caramel mixed with some raisins (I hate raisins but enjoyed this). A nice full bodied, creamy mouthfeel. Overall, a very nice brew and probably my favorite that I have tried from Crabtree so far. The oatmeal stout component doesn't quite come through at all here but that certainly does not detract.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2012 02:22:36 | More by denver10