The Bruery Partridge in a Pear Tree

Bottle from the amazing Hi Time Wines. Pours very dark with minimal, quick-dissipating head. Lacing is moderate. Very malty and fruity smell. Malty flavoring, a bit over powering. An interesting, almost fruity finish.

Bottle at the “Drink for Charity” event at Rattle & Hum. Pours a hazy brown with a thin white head. Vanilla and fruit on the nose. Plums, cherry, and a chewy malt character. Dry and malty finish.

Bottle shared by Max. Pours a mahogany body with a white head. Very sweet with pear and banana like esters and boozy spiciness. Apple core and alcohol. I got tired of writing.

Tap at post DLD ... Copper ... sweet fruity malts ... some yeast nose ... big yeast ... little bite ... good balance ... little hop ... little vanilla.

It pours heavy, very heavy. Thick, and shockingly amber. With a thick tan head that quickly compresses to a foam puddle. It smells of apples and stone fruits. It is incredibly creamy for a Quad. I have never had a quad that was similar. Lots of different fruit flavors, slightly hot with booze. Not very well balanced. I dont taste the belgian yeast I expect in a quad.

Bottle. Pours a deep amber-orange hue, thick off-white head sustains, cloudy in the light. Nose is dark and light fruits, bready malts, brown sugar and spices. Taste is pears and light fruits in balance with raisins and prunes, brown sugar and molasses in the middle with low grassy hops, sweet rich malts present throughout, finishes sweet and grainy. Full-bodied, thick chewy texture, medium carbonation. Very sweet and fruity Quad that borders on cloying that masks the alcohol presence well, good in small quantities, could see how this would be received better in the winter given its body and fullness!

Clear copper color with a tan head. Nice earthy pit fruit, spicy caramel aromas. Full bodied and very smooth with light carbonation. Flavor mirrors the aroma with earthy sweet Bosc pears and spicy sharp caramels. Barely a hint of the big abv in the taste or smell, and not overly sweet like some Quads. Very good.

Just because Christmas is technically over doesn’t mean I can’t still enjoy the hundreds of various winter warmers and Christmas beers. After all, the holiday is but one day while old man winter himself hangs around for months. Maybe not so much in Florida, but that’s just an insignificant technicality. Instead, I am going to enjoy my Partridge in the Pear Tree from The Bruery with clear skies, a smiling sun, and soothing balmy weather.

Hazy brown depths peer back at me from my tulip-shaped glass. Not much of a head to boast, but she puffs up nicely with some repeated aggravation, leaving a thick ring all-around. Filling the air with warm holiday cheer are fresh brown spices, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, maple, rum soaked raisins, finishing with a naughty nip of alcohol. Like Jack Frost nipping at my nose, Partridge in the Pear Tree is calling me to surrender to her call, and so I do. Sweet and thick, she immediately coats my tongue and all available surfaces in my mouth with crunchy bitter nuts and lemon rind. Cinnamon, nutmeg, rum, and vanilla mingle in perfect harmony while delicate maple notes caress the top of my tongue. Like a temptress, her sweet spiced nature brings me in for a resounding alcohol zing which warms me body and soul, growing slowly as my glass empties. Further in, lace marks her path while fresh dates and figs join an already decadent palate. As we bid our farewells, I am left with warm memories of spices, bitter lemon, rum raisins, and a dry herbal finish. Definitely interesting and definitely good.

From my understanding, The Bruery has a series of Christmas beers that are named in honor of the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. At the moment, I have The Partridge in the Pear Tree before me, and quite a pleasing winter warmer she was. I am definitely intrigued and wonder what her fellow mates are like. I shall just have to find out.