Something’s Up With Jack by El Borracho Homebrewing

12376522_10102980509227580_8233657118936815134_n 11234975_10102980507266510_1133673101923743826_nRating: 5/5

Something’s Up With Jack by El Borracho Homebrewing is a 7.4% ABV Pumpkin Ale Brewed with cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg and all spice.

==Introduction==

A new brew by my friend William Carranza. This one was released for the Fall and at the right timing as it is pumpkin beer season. When it comes to pumpkin beers I am really picky as I enjoy the pumpkin beers that are more towards the pumpkin flesh with piloncillo kind or even more sweet potato to pumpkin pie flavors rather than the typical pumpkin spice. Although, when done right, the beers can come out great. My friend Will has handed me a bottle and so I wanted to see what his pumpkin beer was all about. Let’s take a look!

Aromas:
Ginger, cinnamon, sweet potato, pumpkin flesh, biscuit bread, pie crust, waffle cone, vanilla, honey, burnt sugar, clove spice, banana notes, stone fruit peach, apricot, peach cobbler hints, butterscotch, rye bread and pecan pie.

Flavors:
Pumpkin flesh, Pumpkin pie, pecan pie, pie crust, waffle cone, vanilla, caramel, ginger spice, ginger bread, clove spice, banana notes, cinnamon, stone fruit peach, apricot, peach cobbler hints, butterscotch, rye bread, biscuit bread, brown sugar, piloncillo sugar cone hints, Danish cream, maple syrup, sweet potato pie, honey and burnt sugar.

Aftertaste:
Pumpkin flesh, stone fruit peach, pie crust, vanilla, piloncillo, clove spice, ginger bread and fruit cake lingers. No alcohol in the taste, full body amber, creamy, smooth and effervescent mouthfeel and easy to moderate drinkability.

Overall:
A perfect pumpkin beer showcasing so many of the delicious flavors I look for in pumpkin beers. The rich pumpkin flesh flavors, piloncillo on sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. To me this was a damn winner. Even without the extra nutmeg added at the pour (which really makes it even more awesome) it really holds strong on its own. Definitely something I had to ask my friend for another. A very delicious seasonal.

Anime Corner:
Sally, Jack Skellington and the rest of the Nightmare Before Christmas cast were used in this pairing as it fits with what my friend William was going for. Essentially, a Halloween beer about Jack from the Nightmare Before Christmas. To go along with my artistic perspective, I included Jack’s girl Sally as well. A well placed pumpkin also adds the theme and the style of the beer.

Sources:
http://static.zerochan.net/The.Nightmare.before.Christmas.full.175475.jpg
https://anime-pictures.net/pictures/get_image/388620-842×1191-the+nightmare+before+christmas-disney-sally-rafaarsen+%28artist%29-long+hair-single.jpg

Bourbon Barrel 6 Geese-A-Laying by The Bruery

1658627_10102242083054550_7081712490930231431_o 10850137_10102242083718220_5300601505743687190_nRating: 6/5

Bourbon Barrel 6 Geese-A-Laying by The Bruery is a 12.9% ABV Belgian Strong Dark Ale brewed with Cape Gooseberries and aged in Bourbon Barrels.

Label:
WÆS HÆIL!

The Sixth verse of our “Twelve Beers of Christmas” Saga incorporates tangy cape gooseberries into a subtle Belgian-style dark ale. Happy Holidays!

6 Geese-A-Laying is suitable for aging up to 6 years (soon after the release of “Twelve Drummers Drumming”)

==Introduction==

Released a year later while aged in bourbon barrel providing a double whammy of a beer. This beer was released for the Bruery’s reserve society in November. Coming up to the ending of the year and the holiday, I wanted to bring this one forth. Now this is sure to age even farther into the future but for now, after a whole year and in bourbon barrels, I can only imagine that this is going to be something super special. So let’s hop into it, cheers!

Aromas:
Super Dark Fruits like cherries, boysenberries, raspberries, gooseberries, currants, plums, raisins, figs, blueberries, dulce de leche Caramel and banana complexity up front followed by clove spice, stone fruit peaches, apricots, pears, apples, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, ginger bread cookies, dark candy sugar, rock candy, coriander mild spice, raisin bread pudding, marshmallows, coconut, bourbon, pecan pie, hazelnut nectar, brown sugar and chocolate smores.

Flavors:
Banana and dulce de leche covered with dark fruits like cherries, plums, raisins, black berries, currants, gooseberries, raspberries, candi sugar, rock candy, figs, vanilla, figgy pudding, bourbon, brown sugar, rich dark cherries, marshmallow, chocolate smores, ginger bread cookies, cinnamon, stone fruits like apricot, peaches, melon hints, toffee, peppercorns, rye bread, leather, clove spice, coffee cake, capirotada raisin bread pudding, toasted coconut, all spice, nutmeg, rocky road icecream, salted caramel, fruit cake, port wine and dark berry cheesecake hints.

Aftertaste:
Rich dark fruits like cherries, raisins, caramel, stone fruit, fruit cake, gooseberries, vanilla, marshmallows, toasted coconut hints, mild mango and mild bourbon. No alcohol in the taste, syrupy mouthfeel, dark brown full body and moderate drinkability despite being aged.

Overall:
Exceeding the expectations even more than the original. This is basically like a fruit cake syrup loaded with a ton of dark fruits, caramel and and some super complex Dark Strong flavors. Alot of the tangyness from the original is now more subtle. This beer aged for another year since its release now with bourbon barrels, yeah that would be the reason for the increase in complexity 2 fold. This one was an exclusive to Reserve members but I have notice that more and more Bruery beers are making their way to the public. So maybe someday this one will be available. If not, definitely trade for this one if you tried last years 6 Geese-A-Laying.

Anime Corner:
Sasha Blouse as well as the main Attack on Titan girls were used in this pairing to connect the 6 Geese-A-Laying from last year. I wanted to focus on Sasha for this one since she has not gotten a chance to step into the light with her own beer pairing much and the fact that when it comes to food, she is awesome and funny. The rest of the girls not in their uniforms and out and about represent the 6 geese-a-laying including Sasha with the cheeseburger. Bourbon barrel aged beers do certainly bring about the complexity and inner most works of a beer 🙂

Sources:
http://static.zerochan.net/Sasha.Braus.full.1487134.jpg
http://yayaftw.deviantart.com/art/Shingeki-no-Kyojin-Girls-460903442

6 Geese-A-Laying by The Bruery

1393959_10101459462148120_775351026_nRating: 4.85/5

6 Geese-A-Laying by The Bruery is an 11.5% ABV Belgian Strong Dark Ale brewed with Cape Gooseberries

Label: 
The Sixth verse of our “Twelve Beers of Christmas” Saga incorporates tangy cape gooseberries into a subtle Belgian-style dark ale. Happy Holidays!

6 Geese-A-Laying is suitable for aging up to 6 years (soon after the release of “Twelve Drummers Drumming”)
___

The only way, so far, to get this beer is to buy it from the Bruery directly (online or locally) before they hit the distribution line as we approach Christmas. I wanted to do a review, a nightmare before Christmas and before the nightmare, Halloween. Any time is a good time to do a review. Christmas just rolled in early this year.

Aromas are of dark fruits, plums, caramel, pineapple, boysenberries, deep dark cherries, bananas, clove spice, raisin bread pudding, figs, citrus, cantaloupe, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla

Flavors are of Dark cherries, plums, raisins, brown sugar, rich dark cherries, blackberries, blue berries, oranges, pineapple, apricot, peach, cantaloupe melon, peppercorns, vanilla, caramel, toffee, rye bread, raisin bread pudding, cinnamon, gooseberries, bananas, clove spice, coriander spice, fruit cake, ginger, all spice, and nutmeg

Aftertaste leaves a nice clovey spiced, tangy berry, cinnamon, dark fruits, berries and fruit cake taste. It is surely a sipper but close to moderate drinkability. Especially since you cannot find the alcohol

Overall a very good and awesome Christmas offering from the Bruery. There is a lot going on and the tangy flavors are only like a push so that the beer is not overly sweet. Very delicious. Nice way to end the year. Next year will be another year for craft beer and the everlasting expansion of breweries that bring us such great beers. This beer is a very nice beer to have, it has so much good Christmasy stuff going here.