The Bruery Smoking Wood - Rye Barrel

Brewed by The Bruery
Style: Smoked
Placentia, California USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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Draft at the source, apparently not barrel aged, no bacon or chipotle. . Hazy brown color, small tan edge head. Aroma is smooth cocoa, burnt toast. Taste is vanilla, chocolate, smouldering edges. Tasty.

Wow. On tap at Barcade’s Bruery event during beer week. The aroma is intoxicatingly smokey with nice caramel notes coming through. Smells like grilled ribs. Pours black and a little flat with red lacing. Taste is amazingly intense with burnt barbeque sauce, caramel, campfire, mole sauce, and vanilla. Just a terrific smoke beer. The alcohol is well hidden behind this smoke bomb.

2012 bottle..Pour is dark black with a dark tan head..Nose is roast, coffee, chocolate, rye, vanilla, barrel, tobacco..Taste is dark chocolate, smoke, peat, rye whisky, caramel, earth..palate is dry and roast

Initially I thought this was a big bourbon bomb, but it changes as u get through the bottle. Big black oil pour with lingering head. Smellis smokey, scotch, peat, bourbon vanilla. Taste is big on bourbon with the smokey-ness coming through at the end. It’s literally like drinking a heavily prayed highland scotch chilled with a spritz of seltzer water. An amazing beer that will portray more of the scotch like flavored with age. Almost as good as Smoked and Oaked. It’s just missing the continuity and flow of the taste that smoked n Oaked brings to the table.

$27 a bottle -- damn! Smoking Wood is an incredibly well put together beer, that has a smoked quality so subtle that it’s hard to detect in the aroma, yet gently discernible on first taste, melding with the roasty malty chocolate flavors. It’s robust malt flavor profile easily masks the whopping 13% alcohol strength. I’m not drinking this too often -- nobody is. I don’t think that’s the point. This is one that you savor.

Black with brilliant, creamy, chocolate shake head, light legs (barrel-aged) / Rich, deep nose of tobacco, chocolate, whiskey barrel, caramel / Full body, creamy, chewy, sweet & inky, decent hop balance showing some dryness, even light astringency, in the middle, with long, sweet finish, heat there but pretty well masked behind the huge body / Sweet, potent flavors of tobacco, dark roast coffee, smoked peat, molasses, raisin, semisweet chocolate, caramel / For me, a little more hopping would have been nice, as this complex monster flirts with being cloying, but a terrific achievement nonetheless.

Just horrible. A complete fiasco of a mess of a "beer." Looked thin, with little head or carbonation. Smelled and tasted like someone had aged a Smuttynose porter on plywood and particle board. I could even taste the industrial-grade glue. Couldn’t finish a 2 oz pour. Not sure how breweries get away with making stuff like this.

Poured into a perfect pint. 4.0 A: Black, or nearly so, color. Two and a half finger of frothy light brown head. Retention is good given the ABV and a short ring of lacing is left. 4.5 S: This smells wonderful. In true Bruery manner, this is big, boozy, and sweet and I love it. The smoke comes off most prominently and meshes with the rye perfectly to impress the hell out of me. Leathery rye gives off a light peat, spicy earthiness, and a pleasant booziness. The base offers a lot of sweet neutral maltiness, molasses, caramel, campfire, and a bit of porcine meats. 3.5 T: Taste is less impressive than the nose (same as the bourbon version), but is still quite tasty. In short, all of the flavors of the nose are there, but none of them are as strong. The smoke is especially less potent. Still a bit boozy, but at 13%, that’s just fine. Not overly sweet, but super savory, like a dense ass pudding. Spicy earthy rye, peat, and mineral from the barrel. Toasty malts, molasses, caramel, and just hints of campfire smoke. 3.5 M: Heavy body. Quite dense without being too chewy. Light creaminess with a warming finish. 3.5 D: Tasty enough. I love me some smoked beer and I like barrel aged beers just as much so this should be about perfect for me. Still, it doesn’t impress as much as it should, but I’m glad I have four more nonetheless. Serving type: bottle 12-01-2012 03:31:08

Bottle from Seaford Bev, which was $9 less expensive than my local County Wide Bev. Darkd ark brown with nice tan head and lace. Smoky woody chocolate coffee nutty boozy aroma. Smokey ashy roasted coffee dark chocolate vanilla and boozy fruity sweetness with medium assertive woody burnt bitter finish and some lingering booze. Very full body. Not a daily drinker, but fucking awesome.

Bottle:   Nearly black, deep brown hues, thin sudsy beige head, dies quickly, little lacing.   Huge Rye and alcohol nose.   Faint smoke and campfire.   Very warming on the tongue.   Big ashy start, dark chocolate, unsweetened dark pitted fruit, a touch of vinegar rounds it out.   Did I mention heat?   This one is HOT HOT HOT!   Doesn’t hide the ABV all that well.   Oddly enough, smells smokey, doesn’t start all that smokey, but finishes with a bit of charred wood, ash, and campfire.   Body and mouthfeel are moderate to full.   Lingering smoke on the finish.   While not alcoholic, its very warming.   Rye is present throughout.   Not as smoky as most of those in the "smoked" style.   Enjoyable, even if a little hot.