3 French Hens - The Bruery

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

4.43/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".

--Samuel Butler

Dark caramel brown with a generous orange juice infusion when backlit with the rising sun. The upper half of the chalice is now filled with an attractive crown of sandstone colored cream that isn't quite Belgianesque, but looks damn good nonetheless. A solid start.

The nose is unalloyed BSDA from stem to stern. The beer smells dark malty, medium-dark fruity, and has loads of spicy yeast esters, all essential elements of the style. This might be the best '12 Days of Christmas' brew yet.

3 French Hens, although the final score may not reflect it, is my favorite member of this series to date. It's everything that a Belgian-style strong dark should be. Truthfully, The Bruery hasn't always hit the mark where authenticity of flavor profile is concerned.

At this relatively early date in its potential life span, this offering is on the sweet side. Since the alcohol is masked expectionally well, why not drink it now? In my opinion, further aging isn't likely to add much of value and will probably result in some deterioration.

Flavors include caramel-toffee pudding with chunks of figs and dates, brown sugar, hints of chocolate syrup, port wine, and a clove and black pepper spiciness that ties things up in a neat little Belgian-style bow. I'll have to check prior reviews, but this may be my favorite The Bruery brue to date.

The mouthfeel comes oh so close to the Belgian masterpieces. It's crushed velvet plush and stays inflated just long enough to push the 'damn, that's nice' button. Definitely a bottle-conditioning success story.

If you're cellaring a bottle (or more) of 3 French Hens, there's no reason to do so any longer. This expertly crafted ale is drinking mighty fine right now. It looks like The Bruery beer might finally be living up to the excellence and promise of its labels.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2011 13:08:00 | More by BuckeyeNation

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

poured it into the glass. A rich, deep, dark brown was shown right before me, just barely letting the slightest bit of color come through to give it a nice tint to the reddish side. Lots of carbonation rippling up toward the surface though out. The head was enormous, towering to a height of at least four inches before finally settling down to a modest three inches! This thing was a beast, leaving behind enormous amounts of side glass lace everywhere it touched. The aroma was extremely big as well, I could literally feel it popping in my nose as I took in every breathe. Really extremely well done. Big aroma of raisins, and figs started it off, with a nice little hint of spice and just the tiniest bit of alcohol way in the back making it a touch bigger. There was the unmistakable aroma of cocoa in there as well, which really threw me for a loop. Nice subtle earthy tones as well, overall this was extremely well done.

The flavor started out very nice. A rich, warming palate of dark fruits washed over the tongue from the very first sip. It had loads of rum soaked raisins, figs, plums, and was just very dark overall in its profile. The cocoa then showed up again as well, very sweet, and creamy hints of chocolate showing out here. It was fleeting at first, but then became wrapped up in the roasted malts and a slightly smoked like flavor. As it warmed though all of the subtleness of it then faded, and instead the roasted malts dominated, and eased up on the overall complexity of it.

Overall I thought this was really well done.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2011 01:20:35 | More by mikesgroove

womencantsail

California

3.78/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: The pour is a dark brown color with some hints of blood red and a finger's worth of khaki colored head.

S: A fair amount of dark malts without much roast character, but a nice toast. Very bready and heavy on the yeast with some dark fruits, but I can't quite pick out what they are.

T: The sweetness is moderate with a bit of subtle roast. Dark and malty with a bit of sugar (caramel and toffee) and lots of yeastiness like the nose indicates.

M: The body is medium with a soft, rolling carbonation.

D: I'd say this is probably better than Partidge but not quite as good as Turtle Doves. It'll be interesting to see how this one ages over the next ten years.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2010 23:07:55 | More by womencantsail

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.33/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from the bottle into a Bruery tulip and served with Thanksgiving leftovers.

The color is a somewhat-light chestnut brown that pours with a moderately-disappointing single-finger head with just a touch of lacing and not that much retention. There is a slight bubble ring around the glass throughout, however. The nose is nice with some cherries, dark fruits, light oak, a bit of booze, a touch of caramel, and a tad bit of molasses. The French oak becomes much more prominent as it warms in the glass.

The flavor is quite powerful and complex. My initial taste is some darkened cherries and malt as well as some dates and figs. This makes way for a good dose of French-oak taste without the accompanying tannic character of a lot of barrel-aged beers. Throughout, I really have trouble getting over how nice the barrel-aged portion of this beer really is. There's some light spiciness and Belgian-yeast character intermingling throughout.

The body itself is a bit light for the boldness of the flavor, but the carbonation is nice and the barrel character just contributes wonderful qualities throughout. Drinkability is really nice and I simply am having a hard time getting enough of this beer and will certainly be going back to grab a few extra bottles of this.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2010 00:07:42 | More by Thorpe429

brentk56

North Carolina

3.63/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours a tawny brown color with a finger of a head that drizzles lace on the way down

Smell: Brown sugar and dark fruit, with vanilla and oak barrel tones

Taste: Brown sugar and dark fruit (fig and date) up front, with undertones of vanilla and oak; by mid-palate, a tart cherry layer appears bringing vinegary elements that linger, after the swallow, though the sweetness doesn't fade; overfall, rather vinous

Mouthfeel: Full body with low carbonation; somewhat syrupy

Drinkability: An interesting beer, but the growing tartness really detracts from the BSDA character; the vinous element is interesting, but perhaps there is just too much going on to make it very drinkable

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2011 03:40:28 | More by brentk56

UCLABrewN84

California

3.93/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a murky dark brown with a 2 inch khaki head that settles to a thin film. Random streaks of lace stick around the glass on the drink down. There is also some sediment floating around in this beer. Smell is of dark fruits, some wood aromas, and spicy yeast. Taste is of dark fruits, slight wood, and a slight sour fruit/vinegary taste. There is an astringency on the palate after each sip. This beer has a bubbly carbonation with a crisp but slightly sticky mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good BSDA from The Bruery. I was going to save this and do a broken vertical since I missed the first 2 releases but I am glad I just opened this now.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2011 05:08:40 | More by UCLABrewN84

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

4.22/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle: Poured a dark brown color ale with a large foamy head with good retention and some nice lacing. Aroma of light oak with caramelized sugar and light fruity notes. Taste is a very good mix between some brown sugar and caramelized malt with notes of fruity ester and some oak to round up the flavour. Body is quite full with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Very well brewed and better then I had anticipated considering some of the previous offering from this brewer. Good balance between complexity and drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2011 03:27:50 | More by Phyl21ca

drabmuh

Maryland

4.1/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a Bruery tulip. Beer is brown and hazy with a big brown head on top of it. Carbonation moderate and the head leaves some lacing on the glass.

Beer smells like a big Belgium beer but its not roasty in the nose at all. Lots of esters, lots of biscuit, some stone fruits, smells good.

Beer is lead off sweetness with a medium body that gives way to an almost weizenbock kind of roast in the back. There is a ton of fruit esters in the midpalate region. Beer is pretty drinkable, I don't recall the other releases from this series but this one is fine.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2010 19:34:25 | More by drabmuh

Mora2000

Texas

4.33/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to bu11zeye for sharing this bottle.

The beer pours a dark amber color with a white head. The aroma is full of dark fruit and toffee.

The flavor is more complex. I get a lot of dark fruit, grapes and cherry notes as well as some toffee and some Belgian candy sugar. The beer also has a dry red wine component and some tannic notes that are very tasty. The alcohol is present but is not overpowering and the beer is very easy to drink for a beer of its strength and complexity. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

My first one of The Bruery's 12 Days of Christmas beers and it didn't disappoint.

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2011 01:31:18 | More by Mora2000

Gueuzedude

Arizona

4/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sampled September 2011
A steady pour into my Lost abbey Teku glass produces a fat-two-finger thick, nicely tan colored head. The beer is a dark, concentrated brown amber color that shows a brilliantly clear, ruby-brown hue when held up to the light. The aroma has quite a bit of fruitiness to it backed by softer notes of toasted malt and perhaps a touch of woodiness that is noticeable in my first draught of the nose. A second look at the nose has me noticeing more of a spiciness that is led by clove, then a touch of woody pepper and perhaps some rounded allspice notes. The oak is actually quite subtle, it accentuates the toasted maltiness here, definitely boosts the spice notes (perhaps even with some vanillin contributions too) and adds just a hint of woodiness to things. The dominant note is definitely the fruitiness, it reminds me quite a bit of plums (sweet, just a hint of tart, and quit fruit like in a plum sort of way), there are also some deep raisin notes and something that reminds me quite a bit of dates. The malt character is definitely toasted, but it is also caramelized, reminds me just a touch like cotton candy at times and has an anchoring brown, bready, brown, malt character.

The beer is sweet, but not nearly as sweet as I might have expected, there is a soft tartness and a firm, but soft woodiness that adds some astringency that balance the up front sweetness. The finish sees the firm, oak astringency, the tartness and some bitterness that seems dark malt related, but is also likely from hops. The finish is actually fairly sharp at times, but at other times the fruitiness and touch of up front sweetness smooths this out nicely. The fruit character contributes notes of dates, fermented raisins, and concentrated, though not overly sweet plums. When the beer is a little cooler it has some cotton candy like flavors and there is a substantial clove phenolic character (even a touch of tongue numbing turpenes) towards the finish; these notes soften towards a freuit character as the beer warms up though they never really dissipate. There is a fair amount of carbonation to this beer, perhaps a bit more than would be preferable, but only just so; the body of this beer is quite light for its strength, though it is certainly still a sipping brew.

Pretty nice, I wonder how this one will evolve with time; with the subtle tartness I wonder if this one might be turning somewhere a little different. This might not be a bad thing, and could even help this one to go the long haul, though it may only be the standard oak influence. This is actually quite nice in the end; it is just complex enough with the mix of malt, fruit, spice, tart and oak to be interesting and with just enough going on to keep things reasonably balanced.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2012 18:53:04 | More by Gueuzedude

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

French Hen's pours out as a murky looking brownish red color. The head was a light tan shade, the lacing was decent for a little while on this one before the head faded. The smell of the beer had a lot of oak aromas coming off of it. There was a lingering scent of spices also. The taste was spicy upfront that switched into a subtle tart oak flavor that essentially became a fresh wooden softness in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel wasn't too bad, I was hoping it would have been thicker. Overall I'm glad I had gotten to try this one. I would like to try the others in the series. Looking forward to next years for sure.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2011 21:00:41 | More by Knapp85

emerge077

Illinois

3.55/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Served in a wine goblet at South Loop Tasting Room.

Dark reddish brown, high clarity, visible trails of upward bound carbonation. Creamy, frothy tan foam that leaves spotty lacing inside the glass. Good retention, the head never dissipated.

Muted spice and dark fruit in the nose, dried cherry, plum, raisin.

Flavor is malt dominant with some lingering sweetness, even a slightly tart fruit note. Light cherry and dates, belgian yeast, vague vanilla that suggests barrel-aging, but it gets a bit lost in there. Moderately carbed, certainly doesn't feel like 10%, and slightly slick in feel. One and done, not one i'd revisit, or would seek out a bottle of.

Serving type: on-tap

01-20-2011 15:50:01 | More by emerge077

Halcyondays

California

4.38/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

From a 750 mL bottle,

A: Pours a medium brown with a moderate off-white head, good lace.

S: Quite yeasty, dark Belgian style fruit, with a hint of cinnamon, dark sweet breads.

T: Dark brown sugar and molasses, not as fruity as the nose. A straight up dark malt flavour with the Belgian yeast to round it off, very tasty.

M: Full-bodied, very smooth, soft carbonation on the palate, an elegant beverage.

D: Easily the best of the 12 Beers of Christmas so far right out of the gate. It will be interesting to see how this ages, and how The Bruery will add some new twist to this in the coming weeks.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2010 03:54:29 | More by Halcyondays

barleywinefiend

Washington

4.22/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Poured a deep maroon color with good carbonation and a dirty white head

S: Candy sugar, dark fruits, spice

T: Has elements of warming booze, caramelized sugar, candy, dark fruits(yams, raisins, figs) some maple. I felt a big presence of grapes in this as well

M: Nice, warm, medium body, booze sting

D: Pretty tasty and good overall

Serving type: growler

12-28-2010 00:54:24 | More by barleywinefiend

Wasatch

Utah

4/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks goes out to G311 for this brew.

750ml

Poured into a chalice a nice brown color, nice carbonation, nice one-finger creamy light tan head, with some nice sticky lacing left behind. The nose is malty, with some yeast notes, nice touch of raisins, figs, plums. The taste is very nice malty, slightly yeasty, with some dark fruits. Medium Body. A very nice brew.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2011 21:34:03 | More by Wasatch

Billolick

New York

3.88/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Typical Bruery bottle

Mahogony in color, minimal head, short staying, just barely a sign of a film, thinnest of collars and def. no lace after 2 minutes.

Booze, cola, raisins, smoke, sawdust and figs in the nose.

Slightly low carbonation is I problem I have with this one. Somewhat dull in the mouth. Flavorful but dull.

Rich notes of rum soaked raisins, figs, more cola, light smoke, toasted coconut. Dense and complex brew.

Nice cold weather sipper.

Not up to the hype.

Plenty of other BSDAs out there, many of em less expensive and plenty of em regularly available.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2010 00:05:11 | More by Billolick

mdfb79

New York

3.95/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

From 11/17/10 notes. Had on tap at Churchkey in DC.

a - Pours a dark amber color with one inch of off white head and light carbonation evident.

s - Smells of roasted malts, caramel malts, spices, yeast, and dark fruits.

t - Tastes of dark fruit, caramel malts, and a little spice. Caramel and sweet fruit really come out in the taste which I liked a lot.

m - Medium body and low carbonation, the body was super smooth and real easy going down. Surprised it was 10%, couldn't notice in the mouth.

d - I really like 3 French Hens a lot. I liked the caramel in the taste alot and thought it had a great mouthfeel. Would certainly drink again and going to grab one for the cellar.

Serving type: on-tap

11-26-2010 22:34:51 | More by mdfb79

ppoitras

Massachusetts

3.73/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

750ml bottle purchased somewhere localish.

Poured into a DFH snifter, formed a 1 1/4" tan head over the clear burgundy brew. Dense head lasts and lasts and lasts, with thick coating lace. Aroma is effervescent, sweet and earthy.

Taste is sweet upfront, fruity tart in the middle, which smooths out a bit but carries through the close. Mouthfeel is soft over the tongue, but the tartness hurts the drinkability a bit for me on this one.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2011 02:06:54 | More by ppoitras

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.13/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dark burgandy body. Clear and glowing. Thin beige head with a little retentiveness. Lacing is quite full. Very nice aroma of anise oil, black licorice, leather, black cherries and light rum. Overall flavor impression is sweet. Dark fruit juice and sweet tobacco juice. Squeezed raisin and dates to boot. Leather impressions and rummy alcohol presence. Light bodied and pretty clean and drinkable, yet still a sipper, as it should be. Overall, a high quality beer though not as balanced as the best of the best in this style.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2011 04:40:13 | More by Bighuge

corby112

Pennsylvania

1.58/5  rDev -58.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

My wife surprised me with this one for Xmas.

Pours a very dark chestnut brown color with deep, dark amber/mahogany edges when held to a light source and a two finger frothy yellowish beige head. Decent retention, only slowly fading into a lasting ring. Minimal lacing.

Slightly vinous aroma with hints of zesty spice, medicinal syrup, dark fruit and citrus. I'm picking up lots of pepper as well as hints of dark fruit and a very prominent cough syrup character. Subtle earthy oak in the nose as well.

Medium bodied with a huge, harsh blast of peppery spice up front that lingers throughout over the funky fruit, earthy oak, robitussin and burning alcohol heat into an awfully astringent warm finish. The spice is overbearing and the medicinal flavor is horribly overpowering. The ABV is not well masked at all with lots of alcohol flavor and heat in the finish. This beer has a lot of bad flavors bouncing off each other and is kind of a mess really. Very tough to drink. I couldn't even stomach more than a few sips before dumping it down the drain.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2011 07:03:07 | More by corby112

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

4/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Brown and red appearance, kinda cool looking, good head, sticks around forever. Smells like cinammon and sugar cookies.

Dark fruity flavor, more spice, mahogany wood effect to it, the mo, another complex, but amazing beer so far. I don't even like these styles I kept thinking. This one was good enough on tap that I bought a bottle afterwards. Lots of caramel underneath the darker aspect of the beer. Not overly sweet, strong, but alcohol is hidden for its actual might. I liked it quite a bit. Be interesting to see how it is in a decade out of a bottle. Although I have a feeling I'll have it at least one more time this year.

Serving type: on-tap

11-06-2010 06:25:19 | More by Beerandraiderfan

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.1/5  rDev +7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Max's today.

The beer pours a fairly dark, slightly cloudy amber color with fairly good head retention and not much lacing. The nose is attractive, albeit pretty sweet. I get some noticeable sweet cherry, vanilla, rootbeer, orange citrus and considerable underlying spice. While the flavor profile tends to replicate the nose, I also pick up some light sour and a hint of bourbon. The finish is fairly long, with a slightly tart, spice infused ending. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, and drinkability is OK. I can tell the abv. is up there in this, but it's not too intrusive or obtrusive.

While a very solid beer, not sure how much of this I could drink on any given evening. Nevertheless, this is another well made beer from Bruery.

Serving type: on-tap

11-19-2010 23:06:59 | More by johnmichaelsen

glid02

Georgia

4/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap at the Porter Beer Bar in Atlanta.

Pours a very dark purplish-brown color with a half-finger off-white head. The head recedes into a thin layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of large amounts of fruits - partly dark grapes but also plums and figs. Also present are sweet and dark malts with mild amounts of spices.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Sweet dark malt flavors with a hint of caramel malts kick things off. Joining in shortly thereafter are sweet dark fruits - crisp dark grapes with ripe plums. Near the end of the sip hints of indistinct spices make a brief appearance before fading out into a mildly sweet ending leaving a bit of alcohol burn on the back end. As the beer warms the influence of the spices increases.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with solid carbonation.

Drinkability is also good. I finished my glass without a problem and could have another.

Overall this was certainly one of the fruitiest BSDA's I've had in a while, most skew toward heavier malt and spice profiles. Worth a shot.

Serving type: on-tap

12-02-2010 12:57:45 | More by glid02

beerthulhu

New Jersey

3.8/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Chestnut-cola from the bottle appears a flat black in the glass. The head was smooth and creamy, beige in color and stood a good 2 fingers in height lasting for a good time as well. The lacing was good in coverage with an encircling of arches adoring the glass. Against strong lighting a strong effervesce could be realized.

S: Soft licorice and dried oak first are detected. A soft roastiness is also present but the strength is rather light, especially when compared to their other beers. A bit of dried citrus briefly and intermittedly appears.

T: Smooth but light sugary dark roasted nature with a spice of cola and cinnamon stick. There is a bit of Curacao oranges, licorice and light traces of juicy dark fruit, unsweetened raisins. Dried oaky notes and pears are also prominent. A small bit of holiday spice on the finish. Clean with a smooth flavor but lacked some of that wow factor ive come to expect from this bruery. Only slightly warming and acidic, with a refrained sense of adventure.

M: Mouthful had a milky and malty weight to it at rest, exceptionally silky with a light carbonation.

D: Decent drinkability, but lacks the incentive of so many of their other drinks. Good respect for the clean nature and smooth character, but again one bottle is enough to get the jest of this beer. the 10%abv is hardly a factor and one you probably wont even realize.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2011 01:57:13 | More by beerthulhu

DrJay

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Clear, dark ruby/brown with an inch of dense, beige foam. Good head retention, some lacing. Bready and fruity in the aroma, toasted malts, raisins, wood, honey, hint of spice. Same in the flavour, but with alcohol and more of a plum fruitiness rather than dried fruits. Low bitterness up front, more noticeable in the finish. Light astringency, medium bodied with ample carbonation. Pretty good overall -- I enjoyed it.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2011 21:08:23 | More by DrJay