It’s not often you are fortunate enough to return to your favorite beer when it’s not something that is brewed year round. It’s not a secret that I’ve been a massive Bruery fanboy. It’s one of the first breweries that I tried when I was first discovering the craziness that is craft beer. In the spring of 2014 I was able to try a sip of what I was told was a “super exclusive membership beer” and I instantly fell in love. It hit every note I wanted in a beer. It was tart, sour, and the blends of different beers and adjuncts made me feel like this I could drink this beer every day and not get tired.
Melange 9 was the product of one of The Bruery’s blending competition. A couple times a year The Bruery invites its members to blend their own beers with a mix of existing Bruery beers as well as easily accessible ingredients that can bring. The winning blend for this was their Sour in the Rye blended with a bit of anniversary ale and white oak sap, with ginger and coconut added.
While The Bruery did release a new batch this past year, it seems as though they added a bit too much anniversary beer to the blend. It was good, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t like the original.
The Bruery Melange 9 poured light tawny in color with a light head that quickly dissipated leaving no lacing on the glass. The nose was as bright as it was when it was fresh. If I could use one word to describe the aroma of this beer it would be tropical. Coconut and ginger combined with the sweet and tartness that comes with the blend of barrel aged sour blonde and old ales makes you feel like you’re on vacation.
You can see upon tasting this beer how it has developed. As many Bruery beers end up doing, this has become much more acidic than it was fresh. Aging has caused the adjuncts to fade but not completely, instead taking a back seat to the lactic acid sourness that the base presents. That base blend is still complex, with the anniversary beer’s sweetness still cutting into what I would imagine would be enamel ripping if it was not present. It’s not the same beer it was when fresh but it has not changed enough to the point where it doesn’t remind of that first time having this beer. It’s still delicious and as always I absolutely love revisiting this beer.
Beers and Miles 