The Bruery - Bryeian Batch 1000

Hey guys! Been a while since I've posted and I've got a whole lot of nothing going on. No better time than now to review a new beer. I've had this one for a couple of weeks now and I just haven't had the time to crack it open and do it justice.

So tonight I'm drinking another beer from The Bruery out of Placentia, CA. This is their Bryeian which is their Batch 1000 beer that is a Cascadian Dark Rye Ale/Black Rye IPA. The Bruery held a contest for home brewers to brew a beer with the winner being selected as the beer they'd make as their Batch 1000. Looking forward to this one so let's get it cracked open and I'll let you know what I think of Bryeian!

The Bryeian pours out a pitch black with a slightly tan head. There's no light whatsoever visible through the beer. There's about a 2 to 2 1/2 finger of that tan head with a somewhat decent retention time. It's leaving behind a pretty nice soapy, foamy lacing and hasn't fully dissipated back into the beer. This looks like a pretty standard black IPA. In other words, it looks pretty damn good. Let's get the nose.

First thing I get is a nice pine presence. There's a lot of hop bitterness as well. There's a slight bit of roast character trailing behind the pine and bitterness. The rye isn't as strong as I was expecting but it's there lending itself to some spice notes which in turn is helping to bring forth some subtle grapefruit citrus. As it warms ever so slightly I'm maybe picking up some caramel sweetness. This is a pretty decent smelling beer. Nothing too crazy though. Let's see how it tastes.

There's a nice little pop of bitterness that is immediately kicked out of the way by that rye spice. Middle of the palate there's a sweetness, slightly caramel, slightly creamy. Sides of the palate is where the bitter grapefruit and pine really sticks out. It really does a number on the palate. Back end of this beer there's a bit of bitterness, slightly drying beer but not too intense. Back end you get a bit of that roast character as well as maybe a slight bit of tobacco or espresso even. It's a pretty decent tasting, if not, safe beer.

So overall, I think this beer is OK. As I mentioned, it's a pretty safe beer with nothing really standing out over anything else. I was expecting a little bit more from The Bruery with this one but considering they don't make an Black IPA or even a regular IPA, I guess I shouldn't have expected a hop bomb. It's super easy to drink and for 7% ABV it's a genuinely easy drinking IPA. I think I paid about $8 for this one and honestly, for the size and price, it's not bad. If you're looking for a strong Black IPA, you'll want to skip this. If you're looking for something that's easy to drink and enjoyable, give this one a shot.

Rating: B

My "cellar"

Sometimes when I come home from work I get warnings. Today, my wife picked me up from work and her Brother was in the back seat. Now, this could mean a couple things which of course, I fear the worst.

The first thing, which isn't bad, is that we've got dinner plans. I love to eat. I love going out to eat. When he's with us it usually means we go out for sushi. Again, I love sushi. But alas, this wasn't why he was in the car, which ultimately leads me to the worse of the scenarios.

The second thing usually involves a lot of moving of furniture. I've come home from work before and literally had everything in the place completely moved, on opposite ends of the apartment, to the point where I have to walk outside and walk back in because I think I've just randomly walked into someone else's home.

Luckily, today didn't involve anything really moving. It did however, involve a pretty big mess where my kitchen table sits and next to where I store my "cellared" beers. Now mind you, I don't have too many beers I'm holding on to, but still, I've got some. I've wanted to keep these in better condition than just a cabinet with no temperature control.

See, being in an apartment, bringing in a new piece of furniture isn't always easy. Obviously, you're crunched for space as it is. We've got a bar cabinet next to the dining table which I've started using. Anyway, my wife and her brother went over to Lowe's and picked up a sheet of insulation and cut it down to size. Below are a few pictures. It's nothing crazy or overly elaborate, but it's pretty damn awesome none the less. Hopefully this helps keep my beer in decent shape for when I eventually decide to crack some of them open.

Here's the beginning. Just a small cabinet with a shelf and the beers I'm currently holding on to. Here's what I've got in there so far:

Firestone Walker - Parabola

Firestone Walker - Sucaba

Sierra Nevada -  Bigfoot (3)

The Bruery -  Autumn Maple

The Bruery - Melange 3

Rip Current - Vanilla Rescue Buoy 

New Belgium  - Cascara Quad (Lips of Faith)

Iron Fist - Dark Days

Deschutes - Black Butte XXV

Stone - Stone Farking Wheaton W00tstout (2)

My BiL measuring pieces out. He's good at math. My wife, not so much. 

Work in progress. The books are to keep the sheets down helping the glue dry. I'm only planning on using the top shelf for now. Bottom shelf maybe if I get carried away. 

So yeah, came home to a nice surprise. I don't like to spend a ton of money on beer even though I spend too much as it is. This will at least make it easier for me to make a few extra purchases here and there to add to the stash. I've got a few in mind already. Specifically, an AleSmith Old Ale and a couple more w00tstouts. 

The Bruery - Loakal Red

How's it going everybody? It's been a while since I've checked in and reviewed a beer. Don't get me wrong, I've still been drinking some good beers but really haven't had the time to sit down and properly do a review justice. But alas, I've got some time now and I'm looking forward to tonight's beer. Why you ask? Because it's my May Beer of the Month!

So for May, the beer of the month selected by my wife is The Bruery's Loakal Red. Well, I sort of told her to pick this one out, but that's still OK. According to the label, Loakal Red is a brash american red ale dripping with citrusy Centennial hops, mellowed by oak. So this is 75% American Red Ale and 25% ale aged in American Oak Barrels.

I'm sorry. Oak + Red ale? Shit yes! Let's get this one poured and do some drinking!

Loakal Red pours out a beautiful mahogany that definitely resembles a deep amber/ruby red when held up to a light source. There was about a 2 1/2 to 3 fingers of a rocky white head that sticks around for a very long time. This is bottle conditioned so the big head and the retention time isn't a surprise. There's quite a bit of carbonation streaming up from the bottle of the glass. The lacing left behind is pretty think and foamy. This is a really excellent looking beer. Let's get the nose.

Wow. Lots of things going on here. Big citrus right away. A nice vanilla and oak coming through right behind the hops. I'm picking up a little bit of a spice character, maybe a coriander or maybe even an allspice. There's a bit of a leather note I'm picking up too. I'm getting more earthy wood like notes from the barrel as I go back for another opinion. To compare this to something specific at Christmas time we take oranges and stick clove into them. The fragrance they give off is citrusy and a little spicy. This beer reminds me a lot of that. It's an incredible smelling beer. Let's see how Loakal Red tastes!

Right away I'm getting some hop bitterness. It's not overpowering. Very mellow. A bit of citrus with the bitterness is a perfect segue into a lot of oak and vanilla. But it doesn't overpower the hops. There's some nice caramel sweetness in the middle of the mouth. More vanilla. Sides of the pallet you get that oak and honestly, a bit of that leather I got in the nose. Back of the mouth there's more vanilla, more oak, more caramel, a little bit more of that hop bitterness. There's a little bit of char from the barrel on the back end as well. This is really nice stuff, very well balanced. Medium bodied, very smooth, almost creamy at times.

So overall, Loakal Red by The Bruery is just incredible. I haven't had too many of their beers (3 or 4 to be exact), but this might be my favorite. Everything about this beer works in perfect harmony with itself. I wouldn't have thought a hoppy red would work so well with oak aging but this stops all doubts or questions I had. If you can get this, I suggest trying it out. I know it was originally just for Orange County only (hence the Loakal part of the name) but they decided to distribute elsewhere. Worth the $10 for sure.

Rating: A+