White Chocolate - The Bruery

stakem

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml white wax dipped bottle into a matching Bruery branded snifter. The brew appears a hazed golden orange color with some lighter yellowish hints around the edges. A finger and a half worth of white froth forms across the top and slowly fades to a thin film across the top holding with about a half finger strength around the perimeter of the glass. Some small patches of lace stick to the glass.

The aroma is pretty intense with a strong scent of bourbon infused tangy alcohol. When a deep whiff is taken, it is somewhat perfume-like and solvent/burning to the nostrils. But when you step back and take more sniffs, it has a lot of character to take in. White chocolate is pretty profound here almost like angel's food cake batter. More smells are reminiscent of cotton candy mixed with more white chocolate powder and lots of vanilla. Under all of the sweet candy tones is a familiar fruited quality of a wheatwine.

The taste is boozy with a tangy bourbon aspect that transitions immediately into sweetness of white chocolate, vanilla, mild oak, cotton candy and angel's food cake mix. There is a bit of fruity aspect here very typical of the base style. However, I cant get over how much other stuff is thrown into the mix here. They must have used a truckload of white chocolate to get it integrated this boldly in the flavor. Despite all the residual sugar here, that 14% is alive and well with a solid burn down the back of the throat. As the brew gets warmer, it has almost a bitter orange flavor that emerges along with the alcohol and the palate starts to numb. More sips reveal a bit of raw barrel character with a very mild hint of oxidation that is somewhat earthy.

This is a medium to full bodied brew with a moderate amount of carbonation. It is really fitting of the name. The aroma especially screams white chocolate with a pretty solid inclusion in the flavor as well. This is quite a hearty sipper that I could never imagine sitting down and wanting to kill a whole bottle of. The solvent alcohol aside, it really is taxing to the palate perhaps even more so than Black Tuesday/Chocolate Rain. Fans of wheatwine will want to give this a try.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2012 01:06:26 | More by stakem

UCLABrewN84

California

4.48/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to drewone and Wowcoolman for sharing this one at Benny’s tasting.

Pours a murky honey orange with a foamy bone colored head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. No lacing on the drink down. Smell is absolutely incredible and is of white chocolate, vanilla beans, cocoa, and bourbon/alcohol. Taste is much the same with a very sweet flavor and a mild tartness. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good beer with an exceptional smell and great flavors.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2012 01:36:42 | More by UCLABrewN84

FosterJM

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

1498th Review on BA
Draft to Snifter
6oz

@TheBruery

App- Along the lines of most standard wheatwines. Slight golden, slightly yellow with really no head to it. It was a bit of a liquid butter look to it. No cling in the glass and just sat in the glass. I dont know if a bottle will be more carbonated.

Smell- It's a very nice smelling beer. It was very unique as are most wheatwines with regards to the style of having the wheat in the malt combined and very booze forward. You get all the barrel in the nose of this one as well as a lot of the vanilla. It really shares its specialness with the aroma of CR due to the special cacoa beans.

Taste- I thought it was very good. Some might not like the fact its a wheatwine and a lot of flavors are competing with eachother for supremacy in the glass. The wheated malt opens this up with the barrel and oak coming next. The vanilla pairs well throughout. The little cocoa nib I got lent itself to a balanced bitter on the finish.

Mouth- From the appearance I could tell the feel would be off. Its bodied for me, with a small light medium body with a lower/medium carbonation. Bubbles needed to be up a little more for me to carry the lightness of the vanilla through more. Good residual booze and oak though.

Drink- I thought it was fantastic. So sad I am not an RS member to land a bottle or 2 to sit on. Will try to get one though. Oh yes it will be mine!!!

Serving type: on-tap

09-08-2012 03:33:07 | More by FosterJM

jmarsh123

Indiana

4.13/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours murky light brown with a thin somewhat bubbly off white head that fades quickly. Lacing leaves legs down the glass.

Strong vanilla and bourbon aroma. Smells very boozy along with vanilla bean. Just a touch of chocolate.

Really does emulate white chocolate flavor. Lots of vanilla and chocolate flavors up front. Strong booze presence throughout the palate. This one may be a bit better with some time to mellow, but still delicious now. Finishes with a little tang from the wheat along with more bourbon.

Medium to thick mouthfeel with medium carbonation. This much booze is probably needed to cancel out the sweetness presented by the base and cacao and vanilla, but it's still somewhat harsh.

I like big boozy beers so this is right up my alley. Fans of more integrated less aggressive booze will want to sit on this a while. Flavors are very solid although not quite to the level of Chocolate Rain.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2012 22:18:22 | More by jmarsh123

2beerdogs

California

3.9/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Well, I've been waiting to try this one for a while.

Smell is very understated-served a bit too cols at rhe Bruery taproom. That is until later as the nectar warms a bit, then the subtlties come out.

The taste comes out gently, gracefully. I get a hint of cream soda meets vanilla infused nectar, leaning towards a mead or very gentle sherry. Almost as if a sherry got kissed by a Chardonnay. Subtle, but quite enjoyable...every sip hints at something new. sometimes it's vanilla meets a lite peach, while at other times it's more like a honeyed & vanillaed muscat meets I don't quite know. But always coquettish.

The finish leaves lite vanilla, which is nice for me, because I am not a big vanilla fan. A slightly slick finish.

A very interesting concoction. Thanks again Patrick, Tyler et al.

Serving type: on-tap

09-04-2012 02:07:41 | More by 2beerdogs

ehammond1

California

4.23/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle (2012)

The Bruery
Placentia, CA

Somewhat murky dark cream and light amber in color with a very small off-white head. There's not a lot of visible carbonation, but some. This leaves the glass oily and spotted with stick. Not a particularly attractive beer, and surprisingly light in color.

The aroma is something quite special and unlike anything I've experienced before in a beer; it's like walking into a Coldstone Creamery. Big notes of sweet vanilla cream, waffle cones, white chocolate, cake batter ice cream, and mild grain combine for something quite extraordinary.

The flavor isn't quite as impactful, though lovely amounts of vanilla, bourbon, wood, white chocolate, and waffle cone combine quite nicely. Moderate bitterness, and the alcohol is hidden exceptionally well considering the beast this beer actually is. Impressive and flavorful, though not as complex as Black Tuesday, Melange 3, and Fruet, to name a few recent Bruery world-beaters.

Full in body with low-moderate carbonation.

Just awesome. I don't think anybody actually expected this to taste/resemble white chocolate, but...it does!

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2012 02:06:10 | More by ehammond1

seeswo

Ohio

4.45/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Enjoyed side-by side with Black Tuesday in 3 glasses: WC, BT, 50/50 blend.

Pours very light with a very small head. It looks like the wheatwine cousin of black tuesday. OH WOW. The nose on this beer is unbelievable. Enormous flavor of...wait for it...White Chocolate. Like, potent sweet vanilla white chocolate cake. It smells like a beer/desert hybrid. If you are going to call a beer "White Chocolate", I cannot imagine you could make it smell any better than this. The taste is very sweet, like sipping on desert. It doesn't come off as inappropriate, other than this being released in 750 mL bottles. Again, sweet vanilla and white chocolate cake coupled with a bit of booziness (but, for those familiar with BT, it's on par). The mouthfeel is moderate and actually not as huge as BT or as expected. Surprisingly easy to drink given everything above. The bottom line is that this beer is quite the achievement. I don't like actual white chocolate and find this beer to be a better execution than the product itself. 5 in the execution because I cannot imagine nailing a beer with this name better. I had probably a 4 oz pour of this, BT and a 2 oz 50/50 cuvee. BT was slightly more dominant in flavor, the blend didn't live up to my expectations and WC really impressed. After drinking all of that, I took a bit more out of the end of the bottles and quickly realized that I didn't really want or need it. I would say sitting down with 4-5 oz of this beer is well sufficient, as, as such, I wouldn't open a bottle of WC with less than 5 people sharing in it.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2012 13:23:39 | More by seeswo

IKR

California

4.3/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Hazy amber color with a modest white head that dissipated fairly quickly.

Smell: The vanilla notes present themselves first with the bourbon from the bal-aging closely following. Faint chocolate notes come in behind the vanilla and bourbon.

Taste: The vanilla and bourbon from the nose carries over to the taste. The barrel influences are well integrated. The beer is very clean tasting and has a crisp finish. I also pick up some mild spiciness. The bal-aged Bruery beers I've had all hide the alcohol well but this has to be at the top or right near it at concealing the alcohol. No way would I have pegged this at 14+% ABV. The beer finishes with a dry, spicy, vanilla note.

Mouth-feel: Medium body with a fair level of carbonation.

Overall: A high ABV beer that has a great tasting, crisp, summer beer feel to it. Be careful as this drinks like a beer with half the alcohol it actually has.

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2012 00:08:00 | More by IKR

illidurit

California

3.98/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

From the bottle at the Bruery tap room during RBSG 2012. Pours a murky brownish gold color. Aroma is boozy and unwelcoming, disjointed. Flavor is much better: lots of vanilla, thick and sweet caramel/honey. Not much alcohol, just delicious confectionary delight. In sample size, this is awesome. If only it smelled good.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2012 05:52:50 | More by illidurit

Vanlingleipa

California

4.55/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

NOTE: One thing to be careful about with some of these pre-official release reiews is that over a few weeks, the Bruery poured samples from an open bottle that was not capped and likely stayed open for hours between servings. I was fortunate enough to try a freshly-opened bottle.

From bottle to snifter:

Best nose on a beer in the history of mankind. At least if you drool when the dessert cart is wheeled over like I do. The aroma is pure sweetcake, like a vanilla tiramisu.

While not completely fulfulling the promise of the aroma, WC's vanilla rests heavy on the tongue, with slighter undertastes of chocolate, caramel followed by a mild liquor burn. Enough sweetness to make your sugar-cravin' tongue happy.

Not as thick a brew as a Black Tuesday, but that's not a bad thing. Overall, a delicious beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2012 04:01:48 | More by Vanlingleipa

womencantsail

California

4.33/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a cloudy golden orange with a small white head. Nose is full of rich vanilla and chocolate. Very sweet with plenty of bourbon, oak, caramel, and toast. The vanilla and chocolate notes are the stars of the beer on the palate as well. Plenty of bourbon/oak flavors with a subtle toasted maltiness. Just a hint of spice and yeast in the background.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 16:00:52 | More by womencantsail