Brux Review, Revisited

Brux is a beer brewed in partnership between Russian River Brewery and Sierra Nevada Brewery, two very well-respected hop houses in California.

I reviewed it in the fall of 2012, gave it disappointing reviews, and partially blamed myself for not allowing it to age properly, but come on, that’s why I drink beer and not wine. I want it now, not in three years!

If ultrarunning has taught me anything, it has taught me patience….though unfortunately not well enough.

Had I known then what I know now, I would never have wasted that bottle and would instead have stashed it away for safe keeping and been patient. My brother pulled a bottle out this past weekend, offered it up, and I can say it’s truly one of the most remarkable beers I’ve ever tasted.

What was then a messy sour, is now a refined and minerally, bubbly and lemony, and bitter with a champagne-like-carbonation-to-it Wild American Sour. Oh dear god it’s good.

The Bret is still there as it was in ’12 though the barnyardiness has been replaced with lemon, banana, and citrus, and when combined with the minerally sharpness of the wild yeast creates something magical.

Don’t think fruity sours, but think somewhere in between a wild ale and a geuze…subtle, bubbly, bitter, and tart.

If you like Belgians, sours, or wild ales, and by some stroke of luck you find one available (it was brewed only once in ’12)  I’d recommend letting it sit for another year or so, inviting me over, and allow us to enjoy it together.

Cheers!