Sierra Nevada / Russian River BRUX Domesticated Wild Ale

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Been sitting on this puppy since 9-1-2012. Lightly hazed copper yellow pour, very bubbly, some lacing. Hopped up Juicy Fruit gum, both in the nose and palate, very earthy and sweet and Bretty and freaking dee lish. "MMMmmm, Juicy Fruit..", as Chief would say.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

BRUX pours out a beautiful burnt orange shade in the glass with a frothy, foamy head. The cap lasts for quite a bit of time, a small amount of lace on the glass is left. Smell is bright with some floral notes mixed in with apple, pear and some faint brett in the back. Not terribly funky smelling, kinda like a wild saison/blond. Some faint grassy hops and light floral presence, the brett is understated. Also some grass and pear with trace hits of malt here and there. The alcohol does not make an appearance until it gets really warm.The body is a step below medium with a nice touching carb bite going for it. Not sour, just a bit of a twinge in the mouth. This is a decent beer, but more of a saison/blond hybrid of some sort.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Pours a lovely, hazy, bubbly golden amber with a fairly thick pale golden-tan head that quickly vanishes. Aroma is strong and fruity, more like a cider than an ale, but has a malty undertone. Malty flavor has a firm fruity note, mainly apple with hints of pear and banana, and just a hint of horehound. Texture is very fizzy, though a bit on the watery side. Finish is none too strong. Overall, not too shabby. Can you tame this one?

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Sampled from magnum bottle. Pours orange with faint haze and a thin white head. Wonderful brett aroma. Balanced, slightly sour with high carbonation. Bready malt in the background. Worth trying - especially if you like the funk.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

750 ml bottle. Pours slightly hazy light copper gold with w big fizzy/bubbly white head that retains well.

The aroma is sweet flowery tropical fruits with earthy brett.

The flavor is sweet tropical fruits with earthy brett and a lightly floral bitter dry finish. The mouthfeel is pretty light bodied and a bit watery.

Overall, a very nice brett beer. A little thin and watery though.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Sour, citrusy, Belgian nose. The beer has a very fizzy head, cloudy burnt gold appearance and almost dirty looking. Mouthfeel is fairly full for such a fizzy beer and the flavor is nice but very tame for a wild strain.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

A bright golden in color. Big sudsy textured, white head rises briefly above. Barely any ringlet. This is a copy of the Belgium genre. Yeasty, but the sour is not what I appreciate in the truer Belgium productions. It is okay. Enjoyable.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

I'll ignore the price for a bottle of this Brux, as it's an interesting collaboration between the people who make some of the best beers in the world by my standards - Pliny the Elder/Younger, as well as Hoptimum. This Belgian-style drink, though - it's very heavy on the perfumy/flowery side, and it's not my cup of tea. mixing in the yeast sediment helped to smooth out the flavor, as well as letting the beer warm up a bit. The perfuminess is a lot stronger if it's colder. There's no head to this drink - poured in a goblet and immediately the head started to disintegrate. When there's no foam, I feel pressured to drink faster before things start to break apart in the flavor. No biggie - this drink tasted the same, cold and warm. A quality brew, a great collaboration, but the perfumy nature of the taste - I think it's that wild yeast in the mix - is something I have to find a food to pair it with, to enjoy. But while drinking Brux, I can't think of anything to eat with this. Recommended for fans of either brewery that's involved with this, but other than that, this is too pricey for a casual gourmet taste test. As for aging, I'm not going to cellar this one, as I'm not fond of its fresh taste. You may like this, though. It is quality craftsmanship!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Pours cloudy orange gold witha foamy white head. Aroma is fruity, grassy. Interesting flavor, seems maybe not yet ready for prime time. All in all good, probably better with some age.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Sampled on 7/7/2012. This wild ale pours a light yellow from a 750ml bottle. Small to medium sized white foamy head with nice retention. The aroma is fruity and sweet, tart and funky. A medium bodied wild ale. The malts are fruity and sweet, slightly tart and slightly funky. The hops are earthy. A little tart and funky tasting, but mostly dry and bretty. Still fairly young, but I think this one will funk up with some age. Just going to have to age a few bottles and find out. Interesting that all the brett action was done in the bottle. Curious to see how this one will age. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.