Brau Brothers Bancreagie Sour Peated Ale Review

Name: Brau Brother Bancreagie Sour Peated Ale
Style: Scotch Ale/Wild Ale
ABV: 11.5%

It seems that every year, Brau Brothers releases a bomber that contains a strong beer. In 2012, it was their Barrel-Aged Quad (which I would sell my soul to have again). In 2013, it was their Rye Wyne, which is best described as Barleywine brewed with rye.

It's been a while since I've really looked in-depth at a Wild Ale, so I figured for this review I'd do something a that's more local with Brau Brothers Bancreagie Sour Peated Ale. This beer is a variation of their regular Bancreagie Scotch Ale but allowed to age for 8 months and was made using lacto fermentation and described as "bigger & smokier" than the regular Bancreagie.

Bancreagie Sour pours a clear yet clear crimson red color with a thin khaki colored head. There is no lacing retention to be seen here and the visible carbonation is subtle.

The nose starts off with a Sangria red wine-like aroma with notes of grapes, apples and cherries with some caramelized malts and vanilla sweetness in the back.

The flavor starts out with a crisp apple and sour cherry fruity sweetness with some sweet vanilla, peated scotch, caramel malts finishing things off. The aftertaste is a tart fruitiness with some noticeable smokiness. Interestingly enough, it's not as sour as the nose led me to believe but still good!

The palate has more of a heavier body to it but it comes with some mild carbonation. That said, I found this to be pretty easy to drink.

Bancreagie Sour is definitely an interesting take on the Wild Ale & Scotch Ale style depending on which point you are viewing it from but concept it works out well in the end. It's got enough sour characteristics to please seasoned Wild Ale veterans yet I think that Scotch Ale side of this beer is prominent enough to warrant the attention of craft beer fans who normally don't care for anything sour in their beers. Since it's not going to be around forever, I would highly suggest picking this up before it's all gone.

Brau Brothers Bancreagie Sour Peated Ale - 9/10

Brau Brothers Moo Joos Review

Name: Brau Brothers Moo Joos
Style: Milk/Sweet Stout
ABV: 5.8%

It's time to review another offering from Brau Brothers Brewing Company. I've reviewed a couple of their beers before and enjoyed them quite a bit. Since I am currently homebrewing a milk stout and finished transferring the beer to the carboy for secondary fermentation, I decided I would review their Moo Joos Oatmeal Milk Stout.

Moo Joos pours an opaque black color with a khaki-colored head. The lacing is fairly abundant and the carbonation is very faint which is probably thanks in part to the color of the beer.

The nose has a nice oatmeal scent mixed in with some lactose and sweet chocolate. The floral hops provide a nice foundation along with notes of roasted barley, malt and yeast.

The flavor is very oatmeal and chocolate forward with some malts and a hint of caramel and hops to help even things out.

The palate is on the heavier side and some rather mild carbonation. This gives the the beer a nice creamy texture which compliments the flavor nicely.

All in all, I really enjoyed having this.It's got a great flavor and a nice creamy palate to boot. I would happily recommend this to anyone looking for a good milk stout

Brau Brothers Moo Joos - 9/10

Brau Brothers Bancreagie Review

Name: Brau Brothers Bancreagie Peated Scotch Ale
Style: Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy
ABV: 7.6%

As I mentioned in an earlier review; Brau Brothers has been steadily growing over the past couple of years. Today I'm gonna review Bancreagie which is pronounced "Bohn-Cree-Gee"; And before you look it up, no could not find the meaning behind the name. If someone reading this is fluent in the Scots Language, feel free to educate me

This is their scotch ale and the first beer that I tried from them when I first got into craft beer. In fact, this was probably the first scotch ale that I had....ever! It'll be interesting to see how it holds up after a couple of years.

Bancreagie pours a mildly hazy gold color with a soapy head and some moderate carbonation.

The aroma has a distinct vanilla, chocolate, oak, caramel and bourbon smell. Caramel maltiness is there along with that vanilla bourbon/scotch scent.

The flavor has a fairly strong oak, smokey, vanilla, caramel and roasted barley flavor with a faint floral hoppiness. If I didn't know better, I'd say this was barrel aged! A little too smokey but good!

The body has a heavy feel to it with some moderate carbonation. Not exactly smooth but the heavy body does help ease the blow of the carbonation a bit.

Bancreagie is a pretty solid Scotch Ale that's unique enough to stand out yet good enough to enjoy. The taste is a bit too smoky for my liking when you consider the style but I'll gladly have this one again!

Brau Brothers Bancreagie Review - 8.5/10

Brau Brothers Rye Wyne Review

Name: Brau Brothers Rye Wyne
Style: Barleywine
ABV: 11%


So this'll be my last rye beer for probably the rest of the year, because while the style has certainly grown on me, I'm getting tired of Rye Beers as a whole. Never fear for I will wait until I can confront my old nemesis, Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA, once again. Victory will not be so easily obtained for you this time Ruthless Rye!

Anyways...... Brau Brothers is the only (major) craft brewery located in Southwestern Minnesota and are in the process of expanding which includes moving from Lucan, MN to the larger city of Marshall, MN. They are known primarily for their Moo Joos and Bancreagie ales, though once a year they release a limited edition beer. Last year they released a Quad-Style ale, which was quite good and aged in Templeton Rye Whiskey Barrels. Well this year, it's their Rye Wyne which were also aged in the exact same barrels as the Quad Ale. If the label is to be believed, this has been conditioning since 2011.

Rye Wyne pours a dark brown color with a creamy khaki colored head. As far as carbonation goes, there really isn't anything visible here.

The nose starts out with a fairly prominent caramel and chocolate scent; Followed by roasted barley, hops, rye, malts and spices. Oddly enough, the rye isn't as strong in the aroma as I had expected.

The flavor reveals a different and arguably more complex offering. The front of the flavor starts out with some strong fairly strong vanilla, chocolate and rye notes. Then in changes it up by having some smoked malts, oak, caramel, and light hoppiness. The rye is much more pronounced here than in the aroma, which helps add to it's complexity in addition to the other flavors. Kind of disappointed that I'm not getting any Quad hints in the flavor though, but hey at least there's no booziness!

The body is pretty light for a barleywine and thanks to the low carbonation, gives it a very smooth and creamy feel.

Even though I'm taking a self-imposed break from rye beers, this was extremely good! If you like Rye Beers or if you're looking for a different take on the Barleywine style, this is definitely worth checking out.

Brau Brothers Rye Wine - 9.25/10