Melange No. 3 - The Bruery

Overlord

California

4.8/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

What a beer!

At first glance pours a somewhat translucent black (oxymorons FTW!), but upon closer inspection it's actually a slightly ruddy very dark, cola brown. A thin crust of light brown/dark tan head. You know what ... I actually have to ding this beer slightly for appearance. I can't give it above a 4.0, which is a shame, as with the skewed rating system here (appearance, to me, is at most 5% of the overall impact of a beer on my quality of life ... 20% is insane) it's going to get a lower score than it deserves.

Smell is overwhelming. Delicious bourbon whiskey notes, vanilla, dark chocolate, molasses, and a deep, roasted pureed dark fruit undercurrent. Ahhh...so abundant in the nose.

Taste is, perhaps, almost too strong. And you can count the number of times I've said that about a beer on one finger. It's just overwhelming with complexity and quality. There's a definite boozy heat to it, but the kaleidoscope of aromas all translate to the flavors. Additionally, the taste adds in an earthy, woodsy flavor along with brown sugar and molasses. Thick, chewy, delicious.

What the hell was this made of, and why doesn't the Bruery bottle beers like this?

Serving type: on-tap

06-05-2009 21:44:21 | More by Overlord

0110x011

California

4.97/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

On tap at the Bruery 1st Anniversary Extravaganza.

A - Murky porter brown. Reminds me of other RIS-influenced blended beers. Highlights are lighter brown. Thin, wispy head fades fast, leaving little lacing behind.

S - Holy barrel-aged wonder! Huge whiskey aromas combine with vanilla, cocoa, and coffee notes. Dark fruityness (fig & prune) mix with a leathery earth in the back of the nose. A bit woody.

T - Vanilla, cocoa, and caramel flavors hit first, followed closely by the dark fruit and earth overtones. More of a sweet, toffee-like candy flavor in the middle. Oak and whiskey throughout. Amazing depth.

M - Full bodied, but not insanely huge. Tight carbonation keeps it silky smooth. Incredibly long finish.

D - One of the most drinkable ales of this ABV I've ever had. This stuff is truly dangerous.

One of the, if not the, best beers i've ever had. On par with any of the greatest beers in the world. This is one to sell your soul for. i just may.

In.Sane.

Serving type: on-tap

05-16-2009 23:36:13 | More by 0110x011

akorsak

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A 22 oz growler courtesy of jw347. Shared with Deuane, ksak, and sierrags.

A: The ale has a dense, dark body, heavily influenced by the stout. When held up to light, only the faintest chocolate brown colors come through and only at the mouth of the glass.

S: The nose is heavy on the oak, imparting a boozy warmth and full flavor that features both vanilla and cocoa powder. The sweet, treacly barleywine aromas are also evident.

T: Taste-wise, both the stout and the barleywine aspects fight for attention. The barleywine angle seems, to me, to be the winner in a close finish. Cocoa powder and vanilla re-appear and reinforce the barrel aging. Malts that do come through are sweet and thick. Every now and again, burnt malts from the stout base pop up and add more coffee and chocolate. Dark fruits add a lush sweetness that isn't too sugary. The taste is very full, a luxurious ale to sip on.

M: The ale has a sharpness driven by the carbonation, scrubbing at the taste buds after each sip. The complexity is a treat in the mouth.

D: 15%? Really? The strength rarely pops up, content to hide behind the full profile. A masterfully blended ale, rich and intense. More, please.

Serving type: growler

05-04-2009 12:10:26 | More by akorsak

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

4.93/5  rDev +11%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

On tap at The Bruery tasting room on 3/21/09. Served in a tulip glass.

Pours a deep and dark cranberry with a 1/2 finger of angry, reddish, burnt mocha colored head. Thin creamy retention that flares up beautifully, just absolutely COATING the sides of the glass with sticky lacing. This just has an awesome dark & stormy look to it but I don't think that it fully prepares you for what's next. HOLY SH*T! The aroma on this is just freaking outrageous! Bourbon, dark fruits, vanilla, smoke, brown sugars, toffee, molasses, oaky tannins, wet tobacco, and a stiff waft of heat. Do I need to continue? Seriously?

The taste is quite frankly...HUGE. Warming bourbon mixed with dark fruits, vanilla, and oak up front, smoked meat and tobacco leaves in the middle, with a sticky finish of blackstrap molasses and brown sugars that just STICKS straight in the mouth. Unbelievable power and complexity here. The mouthfeel is full bodied, with an enormous creamy carbonated feel up front and then a more viscous layer underneath which carries all of that tangy tasting sweetness along. And I still can't get over that this beer is 15% ABV. It literally drinks more like it's in the 9-10% range. Oh, it's definitely warm and a sipper for sure but I've had 15% beers that have had some really low drinkibility because of it. This luckily isn't one of them.

Wow! Just wow! It's been a while since I've awarded three 5's to a beer (only three beers prior to this that I've reviewed) and this one is real close to four for me, with between a 4.5-5 on the mouthfeel as well. This is just a TREMENDOUS blend, one of the best beers that I've ever had, and is hands down my early pick for favorite of 2009. Two weeks later and I can still taste the tang in my mouth. Patrick Rue and this brewery are the real f**king deal folks.

Serving type: on-tap

04-03-2009 16:50:27 | More by Kegatron

SaucyA

Michigan

4.88/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

1 liter Growler from Whole Foods in NYC. Thanks Brett! I'm drinking this all night...

A - Pours a deep, cola brown into my big ol' snifter. The head is a soap bubble mass that at first sits atop the entire brew, but slowly creeps to the edges. Slight lacing, but awesome for a brew of this size.

S - Mmmm... barrel. How many nuances can we discover?!? Let's find out. Wood. Bourbon. Booze. Vanilla. Coconut. Pipe Tobacco. Molasses. Brown sugar. Carmelized sugar. Toffee. Caramel. All those. And more. Wrapped up into a seamless mass of heaven. Fuck. Me.

T - There are times when a beer transcends beer and spills over into other aspects of life. This is a beer. It is a dessert. It is an artistic work. It is an experience. This beer is truly phenomenal. What's in here? What ISN'T in here? I taste all the smells, and then a whirlwind of alcohol notes, plums, dried sweet fruits, and massssive malts. More sips bring out different flavors at different times. Major coconut backend. The booze is remarkably well hidden, despite playing a welcomed and enjoyable role in the taste now and again. The best description for this is "Imperial Firestone Walker Eleven".

M - Perfect carbonation. Just the right amount of crisping, yet completely subdued enough to let the beer shine. The medium to heavy body really makes this a really fun beer to dissect.

D - Wow. This is one beer that deserves every last bit of hype it's getting. It's fantastic, on every level, in every way. Goddamn this is gonna be a good night.

Notes: Woah. This MAY be the best beer I've ever had. I know it's the highest I've ever ranked a beer. Frankly... I couldn't tell ya if this is the best beer I've ever had.. and that's seriously a tall order to follow... but holy shit if this isn't everything a brew is supposed be.

Serving type: growler

04-03-2009 00:46:07 | More by SaucyA

rallison

California

4.72/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Review number 10 apparently..this deserves all the hype it has received!

Incredible beer. Beautiful notes of bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, molasses and caramelized sugar. The flavor follows suit and is incredibly complex and balanced. Dark fruits. Rich, but easy to drink. The wheatwine part of the blend seems to really soften the body and mellow this rich, strong beer. Way too easy to drink for 15%. You can taste the alcohol, but it integrates very well with everything else that is going on.

One of the best beers I've had for a while. Highly recommended.

Serving type: on-tap

03-21-2009 05:40:47 | More by rallison

vacax

California

4.97/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

On-tap at The Bruery. 8 oz. allotment into my tulip glass.

A: Melange No. 3 is a dark chestnut color, nearly opaque if viewed from a distance, but up close the color of a dark brown sugar. Creamy tan head looks nice, leaves little lacing (not unimpressive for 15% ABV).

S: Bourbon, brown sugar, candy, hints of dark fruit.

T: Quite along the nose. Delicious brown sugar and bourbon melted together. Swirls of dark fruits, vanilla, and oak. The three base beers in this blend mix together expertly. The bourbon and brown sugar are intense but perfect--unbelievably smooth--never cloying or harsh. Masterful.

M: Heavy body and silky smooth, not quite chewy. Low carbonation appropriate for the flavors.

D: Taste is simply amazing and drinkability is equally magnificent. 15% ABV goes down smoother than than many beers with half the ABV, but there is no need to down it quickly with such rich flavors. The worst part about this beer is that it is likely I will never taste this again. The best beer I have tasted yet from The Bruery, and on par with any world class barrel aged blend. Epic.

Serving type: on-tap

03-21-2009 04:51:38 | More by vacax

Crosling

Colorado

4.33/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Draught, Boulder Strong Ale Festival. This bad boy poured with a brown color that left a thin, creamy light tan foam. Nose of rich caramel-like malt and wood barrel. Flavor is very rich & chewy, with notes of caramel, toffee, apple, vanilla and sweet fruit. Sweet, strong, lots of barrel presence. Keep em' comin'

Serving type: on-tap

03-16-2009 20:15:37 | More by Crosling

bonbini26

New Jersey

4.63/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap @ the Rattle n Hum 03-13-09

Wow very dark brown with a brown head that fades pretty quickly. So much going on in the smell department, definitely bourbon coming through, but not overpowering, along with almond, vanilla, coco, oak, dried fruit, some alcohol, but not much. (i probably smelt this beer 5 times before even taking a sip). 1st sip, wow so much going on roasted malts, oak and vanilla, dry finish, with a caramel coating. I could definitely feel the alcohol in the 1st sip. After drinking more the alcohol wasn't as strong and you couldn't really tell you were drinking a 15% beer. Really a nice sipping beer, would love to try more from this brewery. Glad i had the chance to try it, SEEK IT OUT

Serving type: on-tap

03-15-2009 21:13:13 | More by bonbini26

DoubleJ

California

4.83/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at The Bruery is this, a three thread beer with 30 proof. Yummy goodiness is calling my name. On to the beer:

The beer is charcoal black with creamy caramel colored edges. Trickles of thin lacing stick to the glass, and a paper-thin sheet of retention remains over the liquid. The flavors found in this beer make me think this is 30 proof, but the medium-heavy, un-viscous body and hidden booze scream no way. This is like Bourbon County Stout with much of the boozy feeling bitchslapped out of it. Out come the barrel, chocolate, caramel, vanilla, whiskey, burnt sugar, and a mild, well-controlled cinnamon-hot alcohol. Very drinkable and approachable.

Just when you think Pat and the crew can't further diversify their portfolio of beers, they do it again. And once again, quality is not an issue. This might be my new favorite Bruery beer, and instantly one of my all-around favorites. Well, until Melange No. 4 is conceived.

Serving type: on-tap

03-15-2009 05:59:32 | More by DoubleJ

drseamus

New York

4.68/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A: Super dark brown with ruby notes at edges. No head, somewhat syrup-y look

S: Reeks of bourbon in a good way. Huge nose on this beer. The bourbon is completely smooth and buttery sweet. Good caramel and toffee notes. Phenomonal aroma.

T: Big rich sweet malt coupled with bourbon. Massively intense flavor with a long strong bourbon and roasted malt aftertaste. Good hints of caramel up front. Super intense flavor without being too much.

M: Thick in the mouth initially but thins when I think about swallowing it. NO burn from the whiskey at all.

D: Absolutely impossible to detect 15% abv. Despite the intense flavor I could drink a lot of this. This is my first Bruery offering and I'm very impressed.

Serving type: on-tap

03-12-2009 20:05:06 | More by drseamus

rye726

Colorado

4.97/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

This is quite an impressive offering from The Bruery. Pours a dark woody brown with a thin tan head.

The nose and taste are too complex for my vocabulary to even attempt describing. There is a huge oak and bourbon presence along with sweet pitted fruits and dark roasted malts. Peppery alcohol, more ripe cherries and plums, chocolate, caramel, toffee, vanilla and so much more.

Full body was thick and creamy, light carbonation. Amazingly drinkable for 15+ percent. I had way too much of this at the Boulder Strong Ale Fest, but I am very glad I did.

Serving type: on-tap

03-04-2009 19:42:00 | More by rye726

JohnQVegas

Tennessee

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

Pours pitch black with a thin, creamy off-white head that fades quickly. Even in a narrow glass, the beer might as well be obsidian it's so black.

Nose is incredibly rich - Big, bold, vibrant bourbon note leaves notes of vanilla and oak to wrap up the underlying sweet, rich notes of brown sugar, cocoa... wow.

Taste is stunningly rich and decadent - bourbon, oak, vanilla shine through prominently. Boozey. Incredibly rich, sweet notes of cocoa (fudge), brown sugar, caramel, cocnut - cake like. Lightly roasty towards the finish, a bit of spicy alcohol also works to reign in the richness. Holds together so well, though an 8 oz pour lasted me near to two hours of sipping.

Thick, viscous body, soft but active carbonation.

Drinkability suffers from the sheer size, but honestly, this is better judged as an after dinner drink than as a beer. Fantastic.

Serving type: on-tap

02-27-2009 22:28:59 | More by JohnQVegas

Halcyondays

California

4.63/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Sampled from a growler at The Bruery,

A: Pours a murky brown, small smattering of bubbles, really no head, not surprising though when I found out it was 15%. Looks good for a high alcohol beer.

S: Smell is just great. Beautiful aged malt, molasses, prune/raisin/dark fruit. Has the smell of fine English barleywine, outstanding.

T: Big on the malt for sure. Wheatwine is really most evident and stands out. Fermented brown sugar, hint of vanilla, caramelized dark fruit, butterrum candy.

M: Very light carbonation, very smooth, full-bodied for sure, really no alcohol.

D: If I thought Partridge in a Pear Tree held its alcohol well this is exceptional. I knew the blend of the beer so I was thinking 10%, but I found out it was 15% and was shocked. Really it drinks like a 5% beer. I hope they have this on cask at a later date, I'd really like to have it again.

Serving type: growler

02-15-2009 00:55:03 | More by Halcyondays

Floydster

California

4.9/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Sampled today at the Bruery on Valentine's Day, reviewed this from notes on my cell phone, this is a blend of three bourbon barrel aged beers: Black Tuesday Imperial Stout, White Oak Wheatwine, and Papier, their 1st anniversary brew, I will start off by saying that this is by far their best beer to date and one of the better ones I have ever had period, color is a very dark brown, not much of a head, maybe a quarter inch and slightly bubbly, went away pretty quickly, this stuff just looked good, do not say that often but it was surely the case, there was a big bourbon nose, lots of roasted almonds and malts, very small amount of booze, oak, vanilla, milk chocolate, molasses, dark fruits, honey, buttered bread, and lots of caramel, flavor is so good, lots of caramel and toffee up front, roasted and bready malts in the middle mixed with vanilla and oak, finish has a nice caramel and bourbon finish, slightly dry in the aftertaste and keeps you wanting more and more, gots sweeter as it warmed after a few minutes and the complexities of the wheat wine component seemed to shine through, cannot barely detect any booze somehow, wow this stuff tastes great, mouthfeel was the only issue with this beer but it was still good, just a little thin at times, sweet, roasty, and tangy mouthfeel, soft carbonation, taste lingered a long time, what really makes this impressive is that is fifteen percent and you barely taste a drop of alcohol, I had to really look for it to even taste any, it was amazingly hidden, could drink a whole lot of this stuff and that would just get me into trouble because of its strength, fantastic drinkability, most amazing part of this brew, the attendees at the Beer Advocate Extreme Beer Fest will be lucky to have some of this stuff, too bad there is only a few kegs in existence, Patrick outdid himself with this one and I made sure I told him before I left, hope to have more as soon as possible, a blending masterpeice, highly recommended

Serving type: on-tap

02-14-2009 23:07:46 | More by Floydster