American Brandy | Brewerianimelogs (Anime and Beer Lore)

Rating: 6/5

Brandy Barrel Bois (5th Anniversary ale) by The Bruery is a 15% ABV World Class Old Ale aged in Brandy Barrels.

Commercial Description:
The traditional fifth anniversary gift is something made of wood, or “Bois” in French.

Bois is our fifth anniversary ale, loosely brewed in the English-style Old Ale tradition using our house Belgian yeast strain and then blended using the solera method. A portion of each of our anniversary ales is saved in our barrels and blended in with the next year’s production, providing more complexity and depth of character that comes with age. Layered with complex flavors of dark fruit,vanilla, oak, and burnt sugar, Bois is a robust ale, surely the perfect beer to mark this major milestone.
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This variant of the Bruery’s 5th anniversary beer has been sitting around for about a year aging. This variant is aged in Brandy barrels, the whole dynamics of the original Bois are either enlightened more or possibly stays just as delicious as when I first tried Bois last year. So here it is, Brandy Barrel aged Bois for your reading pleasure.

Here is the original review of the Bourbon Barrel one: (https://brewerianimelogs.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/bois-5th-anniversary-by-the-bruery/)

Aromas:
Rich dark fruits, dates, bananas, vanilla, dulce de leche caramel, toasted coconut, dark chocolate, pecan pie, cherry cordial, dark cherry ice cream, vanilla ice cream, Flan, crème brulee, Tres Leches, wine grapes, brandy, oak, apples, Leche Nestle sweetened condensed milk, toffee, marshmallows, brown sugar, raspberries, maple, molasses, sherry and port wine.

Flavors:
More dark fruit like prunes, raisins and figs forward than the original, brandy barrel, wine grapes, raspberries, cherry cordial chocolates, oak, apples, Tres Leches, dulce de leche caramel, marshmallows, toffee, coconut, macaroons, apples, dark cherry yogurt hints, flan, vanilla ice cream, dark cherry ice cream, crème brulee, wine grapes, port wine, sherry, molasses, brown sugar, maple syrup, leather, black berries and blueberries.

Aftertaste:
The Brandy with the wine like tangy notes linger along with the sweet caramel, flan, vanilla, dark cherry, coconut hints, and chocolate port linger for a little but dry up. No alcohol in the taste. Smooth yet sipping beer. Full to syrupy mouth feel.

Overall:
Simply outstanding!! Somehow, Brandy always something very amazing to beers that Bourbon does not. Each spirit barrel adds an additional component that really makes the beers vary. With Bois, it is like taking an already over the top beer and modifying it into new ways it was maybe never meant to go before. This one I got directly from the Bruery. If you go there, you should definitely get this one, I highly recommend it!!

Anime Corner:
Rei Ayanami was used in last year’s Bois and I brought Asuka Langley Sohryu Shikinami from the previous beer (Fruet) to represent the addition of the Brandy barrel to Bois. They are from Neon Genesis Evangelion. In this picture they sit holding each other like really close friends. They are both very powerful in the series. The addition of brandy adds more fruit to the beer, like in the Fruet represented by Asuka. Her colors also represent the Red Wax addition to Bois.

Sources:
http://i.imgur.com/1fkIfXE.jpg

Rating: 5.4/5

Sexy Betty by Nebraska Brewing is a 10% ABV Russian Imperial Stout aged in 50 year old American Brandy Barrels

Label:
A sweet nose greets the adventurous in this marriage of our Black Betty Russian Imperial Stout and 50 year old American Brandy barrels. An elegantly pleasant surprise wakes the palate which migrates from a hint of Brandy into the wonderfully lingering roasted malt character.
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This is the first time I try a beer from Nebraska brewing. One of the main reasons is because they are pretty pricey brewery. Lots of the beer sold ranging into $20 or more per bottle. Since I have always over looked them, I decided to pick one up to see how worth the money they are. When looking t the label, I realized why they are so expensive. Aging beer in 50 year old barrels is no joke. That has got to be a very delicate process. This beer came out last year as the Inception series #3 which was aged in cognac, but this year, in brandy barrels,

Aromas:
Roasted coffee, earthy hops, dark chocolate, like Old Rasputin, oak, vanilla, licorice, molasses, vanilla, light toffee, light marshmallows and rich dark fruits

Flavors:
The flavors are a lot like Old Rasputin if it was aged in Brandy, dark fruit, cherries, raisins, grape notes, plums, dark chocolate, roasted coffee, earthy hops, mocha and Kahlua. As it warms up there are underlying tropical fruit hints, bakers chocolate, flan, crème brulee, caramel, vanilla, oak, raisin bread pudding, figs, dark cherry yogurt hints, port wine notes and raspberry Chambord hints.

Aftertaste:
The sweet dark fruits, dark chocolate, brandy and coffee linger for a bit in the aftertaste. A sipper for sure but the best part is that you cannot taste the alcohol

Overall:
It is a great beer. Just let it warm up to the proper temperature and then you will see what the 50 year old Brandy really has to offer, lots of magic!! At first it was more like Old Rasputin, then, it changed and became more pleasant and delicious. Would I recommend this? Only if you can afford it really. If you cannot there are some other, and to a very good extent, Imperial Russian stouts that scream epic and exceed expectations more than this one. Although, this one is freaking great and worth trying even if once. So there you have it, expensive but it will be your choice, take her or leave her. Although she is calling your name

Anime Corner:
Meiya Mitsurugi from the series Muv luv Alternative Total Eclipse is used in this pairing to show some of the label colors. The strength of the 50 year old Brandy and the ABV can be best represented by her armor, weapon and strength. The colors of her armor and looks also compliment the label. She is a Sexy looking girl in cybernetic armor. If that still did not compliment the Sexy Betty part, I added Evelynn from League of Legends to compliment more.