Rating: 7/7
Rating: 7/7* Final Review of 2016
2016 PB & Thursday by The Bruery is a 19.8% ABV Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels with Peanut Flour.
Label:
SAMMICH
We claim the days of the week Sparingly With this release , we spread it on thick. This is our kind of Thursday.
Check The Forecast, down a cup of coffee, grab your backpack and pack something special to enjoy later on. Might we suggest this bottle? It is Thursday, after all. PB & Thursday – a peanuty variant of Black Tuesday. It won’t stick to the roof of your mouth, but it will impart layers of peanut butter character and bourbon-laced fudge notes to our storied imperial stout.
==Introduction==
Released to the Hoarders Society only, I had to reach out to my sources and definitely pull some beer leverage for this one. There was no way I could not pass up on this one and well, things paid off and now I have the next edition to the Weekday Series from The Bruery here to the site. For this being the last beer of 2016, it is only fitting. I did Grey Monday as the last beer of 2012 when I first started posting to my website. 4 years later and a new Weekday addition has come. This time, the Bruery has decided to add a Peanut butter beer as their Weekday. Peanut butter has really been exploding in the craft beer industry and I can’t blame them. Ever since Karl Strauss Peanut Butter Cup and Terrapin Liquid Bliss, it has been a damn staple in some of the best beers. Heck, even my first Experimental Bourbon Barrel aged Imperial Stout was made with peanut butter. Granted, some breweries add peanut butter flavoring and other manage to add real peanut butter or powdered peanut butter, the Bruery went with Peanut flour. I actually added something similar called PB2 to my brew, a ton of it! Also, the Bruery has made a peanut butter beer before called Elvis Tuesday which was Peanut Butter and Bananas. They also made one called PB & J which was peanut butter powder and boysenberry puree. I think with this however, the emphasis on more of a peanut and chunky peanut butter beer, they decided to go with peanut flour. This is definitely quite the honor and specially a great way to end this year. For many it has been decent but over all its been up and down. Let’s have a beer and celebrate for a better tomorrow! Cheers for another year of Anime and Beer reviews!
Aromas:
Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, German chocolate, Belgian chocolates, Peanut brittle, toffee, dulce de leche caramel, oak, vanilla, marshmallow, bourbon, Reese’s pieces peanut butter cups, Nutter Butter Cookies, Capn’ Crunch Peanut Butter Crunch cereal, roasted peanuts, Cocoa Krispies, dark fruit raisins, plums, figs, dark cherries, raspberries, currants, pomegranates, crème brulee, flan, sweetened condensed milk hints, Rocky Road Ice cream, chocolate mousse, peanut butter and chocolate chip ice cream, Bananas, and clove spice.
Flavors:
Rich Reese’s pieces peanut butter cups, Nutter Butter Cookies, peanut brittle, roasted peanuts, peanut butter fudge, Capn’ Crunch Peanut butter crunch, oak, bourbon, marshmallows, peanut butter and chocolate smores, Cocoa Krispies, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, Baker’s Chocolate, German chocolate, Belgian chocolates, dark fruit raisins, plums, figs, dark cherries, raspberries, currants, pomegranates, flan, dulce de leche caramel, cotton candy, Irish Cream, Danish Cream, molasses, anise, maple syrup, rocky road ice cream, graham crackers, peanut butter cereal, port wine, crème brulee, tobacco, leather, mocha, Bananas, clove spice, oreo cookies, coffee cake, hazelnut nectar, toffee, piloncillo sugar cone, waffle cone, peanut butter chocolate ice cream, peanut butter cookie dough, butterscotch, almond joy coconut,peanut butter chocolate mousse, 3 leches/ 3 Milks cake, sweetened condensed milk and pecan pie.
Aftertaste:
Finishing Rich in dark fruit, peanut butter, dark chocolate, marshmallows, oak, bourbon, vanilla, sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter fudge and Reese’s peanut butter chocolate and rocky road ice cream. Slight booziness but mainly sweetness in the aftertaste and not even detracting from the flavors. Crimson Dark full body, velvety, smooth, creamy, syrupy and chewey mouthfeel along with a sipping drinkability. Although there was times I wanted to just drink it all in one sitting.
Overall:
An Exceptional, Grandiose and supremely delicious addition the series of great beers. A bucket lister simply because I am a nut for peanut butter. This beer, just like Grey Monday did for Hazelut, Chocolate Rain for Chocolate, Wineification for Wine, Mocha Wednesday for Coffee, White Chocolate for Vanilla and Chocolate, this brand new day takes everything I loved about peanut butter and brings it full force. This is not peanut butter flavoring in any way. This is as close to real peanuts, roasted peanuts and real peanut butter as it gets. It definitely is closer to my peanut butter home brew but also the Sweep The Leg Peanut Butter Stout I got from my friend Aaron Mendiola in Texas. However, it is like take that peanut butter and the Gods of the universe named Black Tuesday rose you up to the heavens and said from this day forth, you are now, PB & Thursday. I’m sure it was damn magical when they finally decided to promote the Black Tuesday to become a new day of the week. They chose damn right. This special beer is definitely righteous to hold its place as such. I am hoping we see a release of this next year for us Reserve members as well as Preservation members, this one is definitely one for the book and one I recommend you try it especially if you are Black Tuesday.
End of The Year Statement:
I want to thank each and every one of you who have made this year special. Not just for keeping up with these wacky reviews, sometimes mistyped words and overall defender of many beers where people rate beers too harshly. I thank you for getting this far if you are new to the site or even been a fan for years. To all my readers, lovers, haters, Facebook, Untappd, SomethingAwful.com linkers and Twitter followers, regardless, thank you so much. I really appreciate the love and support from everyone and all the breweries that have contributed to my site growth, to my friend Aaron Mendiola from BeerMetalDude.com, to my fellow homebrew brothers, to the BeerBumz and to you, the reader, lover of beer and anime, KANPAI!
Anime Corner:
Emeralda Kasim from Xenogears was chosen in this review as I wanted to a make favorite character part of the awesome Bruery series. You see, KOS-MOS is the original Black Tuesday for Xenosaga/Xenogears. Rukia Kutchiki who I chose for Grey Monday was from Bleach, same as Yoruichi Shihouin who I chose for Chocolate Rain. Temari is my favorite top from Naruto and I chose White Chocolate. So for Mocha Wednesday, my next favorite who fit perfectly with the colors was Konan from Naruto as well. So that being said, I had not chosen another favorite character from the Xeno series aside from my top which was KOS-MOS. So that is when I decided to go with Emeralda. She is a hidden character and one of the most powerful in the game. Some might argue, she is the KOS-MOS of that series subsection as she is an experiment. KOS-MOS is an advanced cybernetic android, Emeralda is a shape shifting biological weapon that grows up later in the series. So, it was definitely a fit for this beer. You can easily tell I was going for colors of the label as well as colors of the flavors with crimson and and peanut butter colors representing Emeralda. The green of her hair is like that of the origin of peanuts, green. Essentially, this beer is like remembering one’s roots. Like Peanuts remember their green origin, one remembers the Black Tuesday origin and this special beer here will forever be that… very special, like Emeralda!
Sources:
http://img1.joyreactor.cc/pics/post/full/Anime-xenogears-emeralda-kasim-583773.jpeg
http://static.zerochan.net/Emeralda.Kasim.full.872819.jpg
http://static.zerochan.net/Emeralda.Kasim.full.334009.jpg
http://charaud.com/wp-content/uploads/xenogears/emeralda_kasim01_03.jpg
http://i4.pixiv.net/c/1200×1200/img-master/img/2016/06/12/17/47/01/57362703_p0_master1200.jpg
http://orig15.deviantart.net/80c6/f/2015/201/6/3/emeralda_by_pechan-d91veif.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/X6dbA2V.jpg
Happy Black Tuesday!!
To honor the 1000th post on Brewerianimelogs as well as the Bruery’s 2014 annual release of the Black Tuesday, I decided to go in depth about my experience at the Bruery on that day. This was my first time at one of the Bruery’s Black Tuesday special release parties. According to the information that was provided, this event was to have 7 2oz. Tasters (18~20% ABV a piece) with catered food made with a variety of Black Tuesday variants.
So basically food made with the Black Tuesday beer. Unfortunately, I could not invite any of my good friends to this event as it was for members only but the reason I am doing this special post is because I want to talk about the special variants that they had there and hopefully they are some that may be released in bottles someday for you to try. That or if you want to join the Bruery Reserve or Hoarders Society, maybe this may give you an incite on what it is all about besides getting special coveted beers.
By the way, while I may be a reserve society member, the Hoarders Society got to choose from 11 different beers vs. our 8 beers. Unfortunately I did not get any details on those nor tastings so I can only elaborate on what beers and food and experience I had there.
So let’s start with the first review of that night and the list of food they had. Also, I did not get a chance to take a lot of pictures and my tasting reviews are mainly best of my knowledge and what my tasting notes could provide in terms of what new flavors are provided to the base Black Tuesday. That and the fact that 2 ounces is difficult to make a good review especially since I cannot taste the beer at different temperatures. I am not a food expert but the ingredients used to make the food are provided as well as they all revolve around Black Tuesday. Also, Black Tuesday on Nitro was replaced by “Orange Is The New Black Tuesday” as the kegs were not ready.
For more information on the Base beer I recommend you read my upcoming 2014 Black Tuesday review (which I will post a link here) for further information on the base beer itself aside from what the variants had to offer. I do not post information on the other beers here such as the Rum Barrel Aged Black Tuesday, Grey Monday or Chocolate rain as I already did some great reviews you can find on my site by clicking on the tags above. Cheers and Thank you for reading this far.
===Sundae Black Tuesday===
Sundae Black Tuesday by The Bruery is a 19.7% ABV Imperial Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels with Bananas, Cherries and Vanilla beans.
Aromas:
Chocolate Sponge cake, vanilla ice cream, toffee, banana cream pie, banana split with dark cherries, dark cherry yogurt, cookies and cream, chocolate brownies hazelnut and Danish cream +Black Tuesday notes.
Flavors:
Rich Banana split notes, dark cherries, bourbon vanilla, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, flan, coconut cream, oak, dark cherry yogurt, cookies and cream, chocolate brownies, hazelnut nectar Danish cream, and pecan pie +Black Tuesday flavors.
Aftertaste:
Same as Black Tuesday but leaving some more residual sweetness.
Overall:
I think this is way better than the base beer bringing a lot richer flavors from the dessert of the cherries, bananas, cream pie, hazelnut and chocolate. This beer was the Winner of the Blending competition and definitely the winner of the variants I think so far that night. They really need to bottle this one.
Anime Corner:
Kos-mos and Mary II were used in this pairing to pair with the flavors of the original Black Tuesday (Kos-Mos) as well as the cherries and bananas (Mary II) which are represented by the colors shown.
===Pistachio Vanilla Black Tuesday===
Pistachio Vanilla Black Tuesday by The Bruery is an 18% ABV Imperial Stout Aged In Bourbon Barrels with Pistachio Nuts and Vanilla beans.
Aromas:
Pistachio notes, rich bananas, vanilla, oak, chocolate, capirotada raisin bread pudding, Pistachio ice cream, cookies and cream, whiskey and rye +Black Tuesday Aromas.
Flavors:
Pistachio ice cream hints, vanilla cream, capirotada raisin bread pudding, cookies and cream, pistachio hints, hazelnut, pecan pie, almond milk,whiskey, rye, milk chocolate and dark chocolate +Black Tuesday Flavors
Aftertaste:
Same as Black Tuesday but leaving some slightly dry but nutty sweet flavors.
Overall:
Reminding me of some of the nutty pistachio and vanilla Seme De La Vita flavors but since we are talking about Black Tuesday, its own already awesome flavors dominate and the pistachio isn’t as pronounced as Seme De La Vita but subtle. Still a great beer and would love to some day have a bottle to break it down better.
Anime Corner:
Kos-Mos and Elhaym Van Houten were used to represent Pistachio and Vanilla. While Kos-mos is already the Black Tuesday, her green colors on the head piece and blue represent the Pistachio and Elly with the cream colors and amber hair represent the vanilla and the vanilla beans.
===Double Barrel Black Tuesday===
Double Barrel Black Tuesday by The Bruery is a 19.7% ABV Imperial Stout Aged in old Bourbon Barrels and reaged in Young Whiskey Barrels.
Aromas:
Dulce de leche caramel, rich oak, bourbon, whiskey, mild pumpkin hints, plantain, dark chocolate, smokey notes, cinnamon, pumpkin hints, rye bread, almonds, coconut and rocky road ice cream +Black Tuesday Aromas.
Flavors:
Capirotada, Rich Dulce De leche caramel, whiskey, bourbon, oak, mild smokey notes, rich coconut, rocky road ice cream, burnt caramel, leather, tobacco, milk chocolate, almond milk plantain, rye bread, cinnamon and pumpkin spice hints +Black Tuesday Flavors
Aftertaste:
Same as Black Tuesday but leaving some more oak and caramel to the aftertaste
Overall:
This was definitely screaming more flavors of complex caramel and molasses than the previous versions I tried really accentuating a more barrel character giving those richer coconut, toffee and caramel flavors. Probably the second best of that night.
Anime Corner:
Kos-mos was used in this pairing and her dual Gatling guns of awesomeness represent the “Double Barrel” aspect of the Double Barrel Black Tuesday.
===Orange Is The New Black Tuesday===
Orange Is The New Black Tuesday by The Bruery is a 19.7% ABV Imperial Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels through a Randall with Oranges.
Aromas:
Mild notes of Oranges, chocolate, orange creamsicle, earthy bitterness, maple, tangerines, rye bread, malt balls and brown sugar +Black Tuesday Aromas.
Flavors:
Dark Chocolate, oranges, vanilla, orange creamsicle, earthy bittermess, maple, orange candy, tangerines, brown sugar and rye bread +Black Tuesday Flavors
Aftertaste:
Same as Black Tuesday but leaving some more citrus and earthy bitterness that I have not seen before.
Overall:
Probably the most different but still delicious of the pairings to the point that the introduction of orange changed the dynamic to a chocolate orange beers. Richly sweeet but bitter and mild sour oranges. Truly unique twist to the Black Tuesday already super sweet category.
Anime Corner:
Kos-mos staring into space reminded me of how in Orange Is The New Black show, prisoners look out their cells in hope of a release. That is what was represented here. The bitter oranges added to the Black Tuesday bring it to a new twist that must be contained. Very delicious for sure!
===Conclusion===
This was my very first Black Tuesday Release Party attendance and I really hope to go again next year. It was also a good opportunity to post the 1000th entry into brewerianimelogs and hope to someday make that 2000th post. Looking back at all the beers I received and tried from the Bruery and the way they treat their member, it was sure worth the pennies I scraped to get into this which at the same time has helped my site but also has helped my friend Aaron Mendiola at www.beermetaldude.com.We are just a humble bunch of dudes trying to bring creative work to the already awesome phenomena of the craft beer world. Thank you once again for reading this and thank you for following me. It means a lot to me that many people can enjoy the work that I do and appreciate the beer side, the anime side or both! Cheers to you!
Rating: 6.45/5 *Sundae Black Tuesday
Rating: 6.15/5* Pistachio Vanilla Black Tuesday
Rating: 6.25/5* Double Barrel Black Tuesday
Rating: 6/5* Orange Is The New Black Tuesday
Sources:
http://www.deviantart.com/art/KOS-MOS-and-Mary-II-181601755
http://imagis.jp/pic/photo/raw/img_3204.jpg?h=198d505ab4244a5696252ff129386b58
http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs37/i/2008/265/d/7/KOS_MOS_ver_4_by_NetDead.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/e735KR9.jpg
Rating: 5/5
Raven’s Eye (New Label) by Eel River Brewing is a 9.5% ABV Organic Russian Imperial Stout.
Label:
A bold creamy Stout with hints of dark chocolate and espresso balanced by an aroma reminiscent of chocolate, molasses, and plums.
If you think Raven’s Eye Stout is good now, we recommend aging it. Its characteristics become more complex over time, meaning it only gets better with age.
___
Raven’s Eye Stout has a special place in my heart next to Black Xantus. Back in 2010, when I started to try some craft beers and started to get appreciation for labels, I decided to get this one along with some other beers I had not tried before. This stout stuck out to me even before I started trying the Lost Abbey stuff back then. After several times of trying it, I realize why it was the cousin of the Black Xantus. IT was because while it was not bourbon barrel aged like that one was, it offered similar flavors of the Russian Imperial Stout but with dark fruit flavors. I grew very fond of this one. While it is not sold as often as I like, it is a treat to find it. I picked this one up at Ramirez Liquor when I saw the new label finally came out. So definitely I said to myself, I have to bring this one back! So here it is, once again with the new label. Cheers!
Previous 2012 Review:
https://brewerianimelogs.wordpress.com/2013/09/12/ravens-eye-redux-by-eel-river-brewing/
Aromas:
Roasted Coffee, Dark Chocolate, Mocha, dark fruits, pecans, hazelnut nectar, rich currants, dark cherry, caramel, anise, earthy roasted notes, molasses, brown sugar and hints vanilla.
Flavors:
Rich dark fruits like raisins, currants, dark cherry, mocha, coffee, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, pecans, Irish cream, bakers chocolate, fudge cake, molasses, anise, hints of oak, earthy roasted notes, sweet toffee, marshmallow smores and brown sugar.
Aftertaste:
Roasted coffee bitterness, dark fruits, dark chocolate, vanilla, caramel and earthy hints. No alcohol in the taste, moderate to sipping drinkability, creamy mouth feel but smooth and full pitch black body.
Overall:
Still the greatly awesome beer that I remember. Definitely more dark fruit forward this time around with a good balance. The same beer I had since 2011 still great and in some cases better than the previous times I tried it. The dessert beer next to the Black Xantus and not so barrel aged but yet still up there with great complex flavors for a Russian Stout.
Anime Corner:
Emeralda Kasim from Xenogears was used in this pairing as I used her in many of the Raven’s eye pairing in the past. Her colors seemed to work well with the label of the beer and the green organic aspect of the beer. The colors of her were representative of the taste in terms of the chocolate flavors and more. While her eyes are like the sun and hazel, they show a glimmer of crimson like the eye of the raven as well. She is this beer and the solitude that it represents. Forevermore….
Sources:
http://www.zerochan.net/334009#full
http://www.zerochan.net/1143296#full
Rating: 5/5
Raven’s Eye (Redux) by Eel River Brewing is a 9.5% ABV Organic Russian Imperial Stout
COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
A rich roasty brew with a deep “espresso” character. Originally brewed for the Imperial Court in Russia, this stout is a warm festive drink made with the cold Russian Winters in mind. This complex stout is brewed with a combination of nine domestic and imported malts. Only the finest Pacific Northwest hops are used to provide the perfect balance in our award winning beer.
___
I have reviewed this beer in the past and have tried this atleast several times. To me, this was, and will always be, Black Xantus Evil cousin. I decided to another review before the release of the new label (http://www.eelriverbrewing.com/sites/eelriverbrewing.com/files/ravens_0.jpg). This is the same beer that I enjoy so long ago when I first started trying different beers and it has made a nice comeback this year.
Aromas roasted coffee, mocha, dark chocolate, pecans, hazelnut nectar, bits of dark fruits like currants, raisins, caramel, licorice, earthy hops, brown sugar and molasses
The flavors are of rich sweet Irish cream like coffee, hazelnut nectar, mocha, rich currants, raisins, dark cherries, pecans, walnuts, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, bakers chocolate, molasses, slight licorice notes, slight oak flavors, vanilla, caramel, chocolate fudge brownies with caramel on top, pecans, cherry and raisin syrup, earthy hop bitterness near the end and sweet toffee.
The aftertaste leaves stronger with coffee, chocolate and dark fruit with a slight bitterness at the end. This beer is moderate to sip drinkability, heavy but smooth. Deliciously balanced. No alcohol presence anywhere
Overall, I don’t have to say it, this is a great beer. One of my old time favorites and still around after 2 years. It is one of those over looked beers that really should not be. Truly one of the best dessert beers our there. It will always be the cousin of the Black Xantus, the unbarrel aged epic lore. Feels like visiting and old relative
2011 Review: (https://brewerianimelogs.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/ravens-eye-imperial-stout-by-eel-river/)
Black Xantus cousin…Second time trying the Raven’s Eye Imperial stout by Eel River brewing. One of the very few breweries who have the USDA Certified Organic Trademark. Also one of the best Organics I have ever tried. How is this the Black Xantus cousin (Aside from being another dark bird)? or in a sense, why does it seem similar at least to me? Well this stout is a Coffee dominant chocolatey stout just like it. However, other than being less strong, there are more other flavors that Black Xantus does not have that are actually worth trying. There are flavors of Hazel nut, mocha, bread, dark fruits, caramel, milk texture, and some minor hoppy taste. Will it be good for you to try?? Well only if your into stouts and sweet bitter coffee ones. I sure enjoyed it myself that I had to do a ROUND2 review as the last time I tried it was sometimes last year. Will you actually find something delicious in this beer or will you say to this …Nevermore!! >:)..You be the judge. It is a California brew found at Bevmo
Rating: 4/5
Snow Day by New Belgium Brewing is a 6.2% ABV Winter Black India Pale Ale.
Label:
With three feet of powder closing the roads, a brewery is not a bad place to get snowed in. Given the unanticipated hall pass of a snow day, our brewers decided to experiment. Hmm…what about this dark caramel roasted Midnight Wheat braced with a serious load of Styrian Goldings, Centennial and Cascade hops? Shovel it in. What a deliciously unexpected way to spend a SNOW DAY!
___
Just like the Stone 15th Anniversary or Self Righteous, but much much lighter in flavor and depth as well as alcohol. Aromas of Italian herbs and spices, oregano, basil, pine, grass, maple and minor chocolate coffee. The flavors are of oregano, basil, earthy pine and grass, smoked campfire bacon, beechwood, orange, lemon, grapefruit, alittle bit caramel, chocolate and coffee, some honey and biscuit notes. Some smoke, bacon and chocolate remain in the after taste. Not a mind blowing Black IPA but it is still pretty good as it has flavors of some of the best Black IPAs out there. Got this as part of the Folly Pack this year.
Rating: 4/5
Organic Gingerbread Ale by Bison Brewing is a 6%ABV Gingerbread spice ale brewed with Ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon
Label:
The aromas on the beer are of cloves, gingerbread, cinnamon, nutmeg, maybe some pumpkin spice but it is not very fragrant. The flavors of this beer are not too strong. I can tell that there is some cinnamon, some ginger spice, a little bit of biscuit, ginger bread, some grainy cereal, faint chocolate and coffee, and somewhat of banana notes as well in the after taste. While this beer is not super overwhelming, it is still pretty good. Very drinkable and goes down well. Worthy of a taste although Sam Adams Merry Michief I think is a better alternative for the holiday season. Still, if you want a gingerbread beer that comes in a pack to share got get this one.
Brewerianimelogs (Anime and Beer Lore) 