The Brü Revü – Founders Breakfast Stout

The Founders Breakfast Stout was the second beer I tried on my recent St. Louis trip while at dinner at the Bridge Tap Room.  This was a beer I had heard of before but is not available in Texas. I had yet to try it, and it was worth the wait!  It came on draft and was a dark brown/black with little head.  It smelled fantastic like a good cup of coffee with slight hints of chocolate.  Apparently it is brewed with Oats, chocolate and coffee and you can tell just with the initial aroma. The taste was out of this world!  The Breakfast Stout had hints of all those chocolate and coffee flavors exquisitely balanced with a deep rich texture and mouthfeel. It was a great Imperial Stout with the Oats, chocolate and coffee flavors delicately blended that justify all the lofty reviews.  This is definitely a beer to look for and one I hope will make its way to Texas soon!

 Founders Breakfast Stout

The Brü Revü – Schlafly Bière de Garde

On a recent trip to St. Louis I was fortunate enough to have dinner at the Bridge Tap house and try a few beers.   It's a great wine and beer bar with a plethora of brews on draft and in a bottle. I wanted to try something local so my first choice was a Shlafly Biere de Garde.  Shlafly is a local St. Louis brewery with several outstanding beers and a Biere de Garde is a French farmhouse style that is similar to a Belgian Saison.  It was on draft and arrived a deep reddish copper color.  It had a sour fruity aroma that gave way to a sweet maltiness on the first taste.  As it warmed the fruity esters and sweet malts balanced themselves excellently and I easily finished my beer.  I thoroughly enjoyed the Biere de Garde which was a great introduction to Shlafly and a perfect welcome to St. Louis.

Schlafly Bière de Garde

 
Photo of the bar at Bridge Tap House & Wine Bar
99 bottles of beer on the wall....

The Brü Revü – Ommegang Three Philosophers

I received the Ommegang gift pack for Christmas and the Three Philosophers was the first beer from the pack I tried and my first beer from Ommegang, surprisingly.  It’s a Belgian Quad with a bit of Belgian Kriek (cherry lambic) added to the mix which is an interesting idea. The Three Philosophers was a great looking beer as well as great tasting, with big malts and little to no hop bitterness.  I didn’t pick up any huge cherry flavor only a slight tartness on the end that gave this brew a nice complexity along with the Belgian yeasts and sweet malt.  It’s a great gateway beer for someone unfamiliar with a Belgian Style or a stronger style of beer, as the cherry lambic helps to mellow out the Belgian Quadrupel.  After the Three Philosophers I can’t wait to try the rest of the beers in my gift pack!

Ommegang Three Philosophers

The Brü Revü – Victory Storm King

I have had this beer in my fridge for more than 2 years.  I would like to say I was letting it age, but the reality is it was hidden in the back and I didn't even know it was there. What a great fridge find!  This poured black as motor oil with no head. It was thick and syrupy with lots of coffee and dark chocolate flavors that were deep and complex. The flavors only strengthened as it warmed and made his a truly outstanding beer. I can't say if it mellowed with age as I can't remember my initial impressions, but this is a truly exceptional Imperial Stout from Victory. 

Victory Storm King

The Brü Revü – St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

The St Bernardus Christmas Ale is the best Christmas beer and something to look forward to each Holiday. This particular bottle has been aging in my fridge for the last year and was a perfect quaff for a cold winter’s night.  The Christmas Ale is bottle conditioned so it poured with a generous head over its deep ruby brown body. The aroma was of fruits and malty sweetness with the taste following the same with some added complexity and a slight bitterness on the palate.  The creamy mouthfeel rounded out this truly excellent Christmas Ale that is a fantastic beer for the Holidays. 

St. Bernardus Christmas Ale