THE BRÜ: January 2015

January 28, 2015

The Brü Revü – Community Barrel-Aged Legion

Legion is Community’s Imperial Stout, which they aged in Bourbon Barrels to create a magically delicious elixir. The beer poured a pitch black with a slight tan head that dissipated quickly. The aroma was deep with vanilla and slight bourbon over a bed of chocolate syrup notes that hid the complexities underneath. What this brew hides in the aroma is quickly revealed on the first sip that quickly expands in your mouth with an initial tinge of bourbon and coffee that transitions into deep chocolate,vanilla and slight coconut flavors. While the bourbon presence is notable, it isn’t overwhelming but rather expertly accentuates the base Imperial Stout. Heavy on the malts as to be expected the Legion is not overly sweet but keeps the chocolate and vanilla notes in check with nice roasty coffee notes. The brew gets even bigger and better as it warms and is a perfect initial offering from Community in their Barrel-Aged series. If this is their first barrel-aged offering I anxiously await the next one. Kudos Community!

Community Barrel-Aged Legion

January 22, 2015

The Brü Revü – Hops and Grain Greenhouse IPA, December

This will be the last of my many Greenhouse IPA reviews as Hops & Grain has announced that they will begin to release the Greenhouse IPA on a regular basis rather than the monthly release. They will continue to experiment with the dry hop dosage each time which will keep all us hop heads satiated. This is great news in my mind as it can be a long dry few weeks between releases, and the continued experimentation will allow each batch to remain unique. On to #12 (December) Greenhouse IPA which is a celebration of the past year of hop overload and experimentation. Twelve different dynamic hops went into the hop bill with Cascade, Centennial, NZ Wakatu, Chinook, Meridian, Mosaic, Nugget, Amarillo and Hersbrucker. As you can imagine the hop profile is all over the place but in a good way. As typical the beer pours and looks identical every month with a deep golden amber and fluffy white head. The aroma was juicy with load of citrus and tropical fruits and a bit of oily dankness to boot. The taste has it all. It starts big with loads of juicy citrus and tropical fruits that ends with a piney earthy bitterness. The whole rides an oily, dank hop profile that made my hop tastebuds tingle with delight. This celebration to a year of hoppy love was a big, bold and bright IPA that was a pleasure to consume. The past twelve months has been a fun ride and I look forward to the future of more regular releases and experimentation. Great work H&G!

Hops and Grain Greenhouse IPA

January 20, 2015

Beer Bums Meeting – January 2015 – Favorite Beers of 2014

A look back at our favorite beers of 2014. I brought the Founders Dirty Bastard as it stood out for me from last year. All great selections including the Big Bend La Frontera IPA which was a pleasant surprise. Austin Beerworks English IPA was a nice bonus beer too.

Founders Dirty Bastard

Big Bend La Frontera IPA

SanTan Sex Panther

North Coast Old Rasputin

Austin Beerworks Heavy Machinery English IPA

Next Month, February – ABGB visit

January 14, 2015

The Brü Revü – Founders Dirty Bastard

I came at the Dirty Bastard the wrong way as I had the barrel-aged Backwoods Bastard before having the base scotch ale from which it was made. Details I know, but now having Dirty Bastard I am impressed at how outstanding the base beer is on it’s own. The beer poured a dark copper amber with a slight dark khaki head. The nose was sweet and fruity with subtle roast undertones but mostly dark fruits. The first taste was an intense maltiness with sweetness and a roastiness at the same time that ended with a slight bitter hop profile. There was a sweet dark fruit and an almost chocolate and coffee aftertaste that lingered on my palate and was a tantalizing reminder of what was to come with each sip. This was a very rich and deeply layered scotch ale that was like sipping a nice after dinner aperitif. This creamy brew was a very satisfying and robust drinking experience and a very well done scotch ale. Founders never ceases to impress and having a beer the quality of Dirty Bastard in your standard line-up is quite a feat.

Founders Dirty Bastard

January 8, 2015

The Brü Revü – Revolver Blood and Honey

The Revolver Blood and Honey is another Dallas craft beer new to the Austin scene at least in bottles. I brought this back from a Dallas trip as I heard good things about this beer and enjoyed when I had it on draft. The beer poured an opaque orange to straw yellow with a lot of sediment. I poured about 3/4 of it in my glass, activated the yeast, and poured the rest. The aroma was sweet and spicy with hints of cloves and orange. I may have detected a bit of honey in the sweet but it could have been my mind making me taste it due to the name. The taste was full of the same spice and orange all riding the honey sweet body. It was not like honey nut cheerios sweet but rather a good full beer sweetness. The orange and spice fully emerge as the beer warmed and even gave the Blood and Honey a bit of tartness. I could also detect the base wheat beer flavors of clove and bananas underneath the orange. The full bodied brew offered a wonderful take on a standard wheat beer. I love blood oranges and the blood and honey highlights those flavors. A winner in my book.

Revolver Blood and Honey