The Bruery Black Orchard
The Bruery is fairly new to the east coast, New Jersey at least. I have just started seeing their beers here over the last couple months. After trying their Saison Rue and the Trade Winds, I’ve been looking forward to trying more. This next one from the Bruery, the Black Orchard, has a great description on the bottle: “..our unique distortion of teh Belgian witbier”. How great is that? Right on the label they tell us we like the wit, but screw it, we’re gonna mess with it completely!
The Bruery Describes their Black Orchard as:
an unfiltered, bottle conditioned Belgian-style black wheat beer, or “black wit”, if you will. This dark but surprisingly light bodied beer is very drinkable while still having character and complexity. Chamomile is added for its floral aroma, while the coriander and citrus peel give the characteristics of a traditional witbier.
Appearance:
Big thick head with lots of activity, tiny bubbles popping in the head, new ones forming, very active and also very dark! The darkest witbeir I’ve ever seen. With the amount of activity in the head I’m not surprised it collapsed as soon as it did.
Aroma:
You put a blind fold on me and I’m guessing a hefe or wit. There is a big yeasty bready presence right off the bat. Under that notes of clove, orange, and an ever so little bit of chocolate . With the dark color, I would have expected a bigger chocolate or coffee aroma. It was slight, but for the most part kept within the confines of what you would expect from a Wit.
Taste:
Highly carbonated to start with, big roasted malt, bit of coffee with some underlying orange fruitiness. The taste is not what I was expecting. But then again the label clearly says it is a distortion on a witbeir and that is exactly what we have here. Very smooth beer, medium mouthfeel, and a touch burnt on the finish that lingers from a long time.
Glassware: Wine Glass, Goblet, Tulip
Calories: 5.7% abv will give you about 175-200 calories per 12oz (Calorie Chart)
Overall Impression:
This wasn’t my favorite beer from this brewery, it just wasn’t a flavor combination that I was head over heels with. The dark malts, light mouthfeel, and high carbonation conflicted my palette, but I did enjoy the appearance and aroma. I do think they accomplished their goal of creating a “Distortion” of a witbier.
What do you think of this beer? If you haven’t had this beer, try it, and let us know what you think.
This beer’s appearance and aroma writes a check its flavor simply cannot cash. It’s a bit of a letdown, even if you start out with adjusted expectations.
Of course, I didn’t read the label before digging in, so you can imagine my disappointment when the beer hit my palate and just kinda sat there.
These guys make some amazing beers, not just this one.
Fancy pics by the way! Someone was feeling a little creative, I see.
Thanks, I got a new camera a couple weeks ago. Playing with the settings. Lots of fun!
Jim:
I can’t believe you used the same expression I did on my review of New Castle Nut Brown Ale! And you’re supposed to be the creative one! Ha!
Sorry Simply Beer for using your blog to call out my Brother! I’ll try to contain myself in the future if my little brother can have an original thought!
-Don
I’ll referee!
i hated this beer, poured it out because it was undrinkable! too carbonated and it tasted like a field of wild herbs. husband wouldn’t drink it either, waste of $10… awful!
every once and awhile ya get a stinker. I’m a huge fan of this brewery, but this was not their best foot forward. I just bought a bottle of Rugbrod yesterday. I hope that one lives up to my expectations.