Bruery Reserve Society - What's left in the year...

It was referred to as Oude Gueuzie for 2012, and is apparently being called Rueuze for 2013...presumably the same beer (or same recipe/concept).

I've heard that it's being called Rueuze on order forms for retail outlets this year, but I may be misremember.

There goes your invitation to Hoarders

RUEUZE$20/bottle ($17 after RS discount) - 6 bottle limit
Rueuze is our take on the traditional Belgian-style blend of lambics of different ages. We carefully select a number of oak barrels from our warehouse that have been aging our sour blonde ale. this is one complex beer. Notes of hay, barnyard funk, apricots, and even olives play wonderfully with the balanced acidity.
Available in November.
5.9% ABV, Suitable for aging up to 5 years

ICHIGO HIGHWAY$20/bottle ($17 after RS discount) - 3 bottle limit
Ichigo Highway is a collaborative beer that we created with Hangar 24 Brewing from Redlands, CA. The base style is a sessionable sour red ale that we aged in oak barrels along with a whopping amount of strawberries, most of which were picked from the fields besides Hangar 24's brewery. Aged for approximately 8 months, this beer has developed a pleasant funk and a delightful acidity that is balanced by the intensely sweet aroma and flavor of the strawberries as well as a unique dryness achieved by using a sake yeast along with our house strain along with souring bacteria.
Available in November.
5.5% ABV, Best enjoyed fresh due to the fleeting aroma and flavor of the strawberries


It's Rueuze time.

Any idea if Rueuze will be distributed?

6 bottle limit makes me think there is plenty of it, and has a chance. I've got no real info though, just opinions.

No ideas on distribution but they aren't listed as RS only beers. They will likely be available at Provisions and the Bruery tasting room at a minimum.

Yeah, with 1,350 RS members, 6 bottle allocation is 8,100 bottles. It's also not an RS exclusive (unless I missed some fine print, but only looked at the email once) so there is likely quite a bit more beyond that number. At the very least, it will be at Provisons & the tasting room is my guess at this point, with possible limited distro like White Oak & Tart of Darkness.

Hopefully Rueuze isn't as sour as and is more complex than Mother Funker.

Both sound great, going max allocation (and will probably try to pick up more later!)
I skipped Old Richland and Smoking Wood... I was waiting for this one!

Yeah, that's definitely the hope.

Also, as I said upthread I've heard that this will be distributed.

It's listed on the Total Wine website, so I would assume so.

Something right in between GFAR and Funker would be perfect.

Old Richland wasn't half bad, and reasonably priced.

I'll probably max out too - I <3 strawberries and hopefully this beer is as good as Upland's.

Read a blog entry by their new barrel cellarman guy recently. He specifically called out acetic acid as a bad thing, so I am hoping they move away from the heavily vinegary sours henceforth. I almost want to email them and ask if these beers have a fairly acetic acidity after buying full allocations of the nigh-undrinkably-vinegary Motherfunker.

Edit: If the Rueuze is similar to GFAR but nicely carbonated I'll be stoked. The light acetic note in that was just enough to give a peachy/nectariney tang a la DDG/Cable Car etc. without being overbearing.

Mother Funker seems like such a polarizing beer. My girlfriend, a sour fiend, absolutely loves it and even her friends who have only recently been introduced to sours like it.

Good to hear! I'm with you, and apparently the new cellar master, 100%! If you do send that email out, let us know the reply. At this point, I'm so disenchanted with the harsh Bruery sours of recent that I'm not inclined to roll the die on Rueuze, especially when I can try a single bottle upon distribution and then go back for more if palatable.

Held onto it for 9 months. Had it last week. Not incredibly sour like everyone says. Compares more to Beatification than to a reg. gueuze than anything else though in acidity. Pretty good too. Not complex but better than any of the sours we get here in TX

Yeah, opinions seem to be divided on MFer. But it's good to know that, "4 out of 5 dentists agree that it'll take the tartar off your teeth."

The secret to Mother Funker is the dregs. The dregs are great, the rest of the beer may as well be a bottle of vinegar. People who love intense sourness will love it, but most don't and won't. I really hope that Rueuze is less intense and more complex.

I'd guess those with less experienced palates would be more inclined to be the ones who like it. Most people I know would compare it to vinegar before they compare it to a lambic. I've been using it as a blending beer lately with decent results.

With the combined carbonation of the both of them...plus a little bit more.

I can't help but to find your response a little snobby. No hard feelings, but I couldn't help but laugh a little when I read your post.

I too have blended this beer with favorable results. Just think of it as sour concentrate.

There seem to be 2 camps.

I belong to the one who is somewhat sensitive to acetic acid. Lost Abbey sour blonde beers are about as much as I can take. I don't mind searingly sour beers (Flaming Fury comes to mind), as long as that sourness comes from lactic acid. Motherfunker is ragingly sour, but a lot of that comes from the acetobacteria. They mentioned white vinegar in the blurb when that beer was released. I should have listened.

The others seem to be ok with a good amount of vinegar in their beer. That's fine, to each their own.

I'm not a huge fan of acetic acid in my beer, but it's not always a bad thing. Almost like tasting a really fine balsamic with 10+ years on it - there's an underlying vinegar flavor, but it's muddled with a complex sweetness that is fantastic.

I have a pretty sensitive palate nowadays, but that doesn't mean it's picky .

That said, I haven't had MF. Even though I bought a bunch of bottles of it. I guess I'm afraid. What are you guys blending it with?

If there is a beer with a pronounced flaw wouldn't it make sense that people with experienced palates would pick up on it? It seems like common sense.

"Flaw" seems extreme. I don't have a problem with MF, I actually like it.

I'm looking at the BJCP style guidelines (2008) for sour beers and while they discuss acidity, for none of the styles do they call out an Acetic presence as a fault, with the exception of a straight Lambic (A noticeable vinegary or cidery character is considered a fault by Belgian brewers).
In fact for 17C. Flanders Brown Ale/Oud Bruin, under ingredients it says;
Ingredients: A base of Pils malt with judicious amounts of crystal-type malts (CaraMunich and CaraVienne, typically) and sometimes a tiny bit of black or roast malt. May use some adjuncts (flaked maize, sugar). Low alpha acid continental or British hops are typical (avoid high alpha or distinctive American hops). Saccharomyces and Lactobacillus (and acetobacters) contribute to the fermentation and eventual flavor. Lactobacillus reacts poorly to elevated levels of alcohol. A sour mash or acidulated malt may also be used to develop the sour character without introducing Lactobacillus. Water high in carbonates is typical of its home region and will buffer the acidity of darker malts and the lactic sourness. Magnesium in the water accentuates the sourness.
Note the acetobacters inclusion. Just pointing this out so those of us who like MF don't have to hold our heads in shame.

Porters and stouts that aren't too heavy on the roast have worked well for me.

When I picked up my allocations I got the two Chocolate Rain that I bought, but not the one that was supposed to come with the purchase of the membership. They said it was going to be a different batch. They guy admitted that he didn't really know. Is that true?

No, that is super false, dunno why he only gave you two. When I picked mine up earlier in the year, I picked up all 3 at once and they were all the same. You need to find another person there who knows more.

Shit. Thanks.

Doesn't the Bruery give you some paperwork to check against when you are picking up allocations, with signatures required? If you only signed for two, you should be fine.

I'm worried that I did sign it in good faith. We'll see. I've emailed them, but the last few messages have gone unanswered. The service at the Bruery was atrocious. They were just annoyed that I showed up to make the pickup without calling ahead. Took two days to get my shit together for me because they couldn't even find my file. Evidently the person who deals with the RS works during the week and they just have asshole hipsters to watch the shop on the weekend. The first guy basically said that since I didn't call ahead then it was my fault and if I went home empty-handed then I deserved it. He just did not want to bothered by someone needing help. The guy on day two was a little better.

The paperwork you signed should have only been for the CR's you ORDERED. There is a separate listing for those included in membership.

that is too bad to hear. I have nothing but awesomeservice from everyone with the Bruery, and I trustee for a bunch of people so I am usually picking up 6-14 cases at a time. Though I do e-mail a head of time. Did you recieve your Oui Oui and Melange 3? CR was given to me at the same time as those. Was your incident at the store or tasting room? No matter what that guy sounds like a jerk, though I have never dealt with anyone by your description (hipster who doesn't want to be there).

Yeah I got the melange and the other one. One of my orders wasn't coming up on their system and at that point he just said "email Jamie" and walked away. Didn't even give me the address, which I ended up getting from another customer.

like others have said, you should have signed two sheets for CR. One for the CR included in your membership and one for the 2 you bought. I am sure Jamie will take care of you and I am shocked you have not heard back already. They are usually very quick in response to my e-mails. Also, you could ask them via the RS forum they setup.

I agree. They have been very responsive in the past.