9.0 by rich
Aroma: Toasted malts and caramel notes. First Taste: My initial reaction was this is just a simple Brown ale. But, slowly the muted complexity comes forward. Medium to light mouth feel and carbonation, slightly dry. Overall: Love the style and loved this beer. While, the style can have bigger, thicker, and fuller brews..Short's version is very drinkable. Light roasted malt, light dry chocolate, light coffee, light earthly fruit, light creaminess, light sweetness, light hops...OK I am exaggera...read more
8.0 by rich
Aroma: Slight toasty and faint whiff of fruit. First taste: Well balanced, as an American Amber should be. Skews to malt and very low hoppiness, so this brew has is in the light side of the Amber Ale spectrum. Overall: Agreeable taste, light mouth feel. This brew has a very soft touch all around. It's slightly malt sweet, and a touch of fruitiness comes through, but I'm hard pressed to identify because it is so subtle. It's a very clean taste, which I'm probably projecting because of the cris...read more
7.0 by scot
Poured clear with an off-white, half-inch foam that quickly became less than a thin layer on the beer. Aroma is chocolate and caramel malt, with not much of anything from hops. The overall aroma isn't that strong though. Very subtle flavor of sweet and chocolate malt. I slight hit of hops. Like the aroma this is on the weak side of taste. Big carbonation and a light medium body. Plain and simple, a really good example of the style that doesn't have any bells and whistles. This is very ...read more
Imperial/Double India Pale Ale
6.0 by scot
Pours clear with a couple of fingers of tan foam. The foam quickly ran away from the top of my beer leaving a thin layer. Some blotchy lacing. Aroma is strong on the citrus, herbal hops but equally there is a bready malt backbone for it to reside. Fresh floral hops with a big bready/doughy malt flavor underneath for some balance. Grapefruit, spice hops and bitterness in the finish. Medium body and carbonation with a tad of creaminess to round it out. I thought I was in for a good beer ...read more
9.0 by scot
My first purchase of The Bruery as they are now distributing in Illinois. I have had heard good things about this beer and I was hoping it would live up to the hype. Poured somewhat clear with lighter colors on the edges. Big, bubbly, brown foam that was a good couple of inches on top of the brew in my tulip glass. Some nice retention before becoming nothing more than a splotchy covering of the beer. Blotchy lacing. Chocolate delight with roasted, toffee and dark fruit accents. Maybe a hi...read more
8.0 by scot
Poured with a haze (chill haze?) into my mason mug. Nice 1.5 inch white, sticky foam with good retention and a fair amount of spider web lacing. Aroma is big on wheat and citrus aroma (lemony). Yeast and faint spice (coriander) fill out the nose. The aroma is fresh, like an early spring day, pleasant. Taste has another round of wheat which is surrounded by yeast and citrus flavors. Coriander from aroma takes a pleasant side seat, adding a nice flavor and balance. There is a minor wheat/y...read more
7.0 by scot
Poured a little bit cloudy but this could have been some chill haze. A big, tan, frothy foam sat a top the beer with average retention and lacing. Aroma is caramel and bread malt with a touch of oatmeal. The bread malt could be the hazelnut scent as I am not familiar with it. Taste is more of the aroma but just not as big of a helping. High carbonation with a medium mouth feel that seemed a tad sticky. I liked this beer but the taste was a slight disappointment. It is easy to drink and ...read more
8.7 by scot
Poured very dark with a nice frothy, brown, one-inch foam. Enticing. Both retention and lacing were good for the style; possibly due to the huge injection of hops. When first poured the aroma of hops can be sensed a foot or more from the glass. Chocolate and roasted malts start to control the aroma after it sits for a few minutes to let you know that it is indeed a porter. Very interesting taste just like the aroma. Roasted, chocolate and even a bit of sweet malt prevail while the end of t...read more
Stone, Ken Schmidt, Maui Macadami, Coffee, Coconut Porter
9.0 by scot
Poured very dark with a brown, single-finger foam. Retention wasn't there as it quickly disappeared to a ring on the glass but, amazingly, had some blotchy lacing. Coffee is the main aroma; dark coffee. Notes of roasted malt and chocolate find there way also. Taste is a splash of sweet before the coffee comes along with roasted malt, chocolate, and even slight hint of smoke. A bit of roasted, maybe black patent malt, in the after taste. Full bodied beer with comparable carbonation. Thick ...read more
6.0 by scot
Poured clear with a huge, fluffy, frothy white foam. Retention is okay at best for the amount of foam with some blotchy lacing. Aroma is mainly full of some spices (possibly pepper) with a slight tart scent. There might have been more (I am sure there was) but that is all I really could pick out and name). Taste has the same spice(s) as the main attraction. There is also some sweet up front with a minor tartness near the end. Medium carbonation and light body that finishes dry, possibly w...read more
6.0 by scot
Poured clear with a big, off-white, frothy foam. Great retention with some nice lacing. The only aroma that I could really find was a grainy/bread malt scents that were huge. Taste of bread malt is the backbone of the beer. There is a very mild spice presence with a nice hop bitterness at the end. Also, some alcohol in the after taste. Light carbonation (good on this beer) with a light end of medium body. Nothing really special about this beer but it was crisp, refreshing and drinkable. ...read more
9.4 by scot
Poured slightly cloudy with an inviting quarter-inch of brown foam. Retention was minimal as it became less then a thin covering over my beer. Light lacing. Aroma is big on the bourbon. Oh beautiful bourbon. There is some caramel sweetness, vanilla, and oak too. Nice layering of aromas. Taste right on track with the nose. Toffee, caramel, vanilla, oak, bourbon, and even some hops. The bourbon, although large, doesn't take over the taste and the other flavors help to balance along with t...read more