The Bruery Autumn Maple

Unconventional ingredients can really make something stand out. In the craft beer world, brewers will go to great lengths to use different different ingredients to produce unique blends of flavors in search of the ultimate beer. Maggie has looked at strawberry beers and Nick reviewed a beer with pomegranate used in the brewing process. As far as they were concerned, these brews had varying levels of success, so it's wise to keep an open mind when trying a beer that tries to push the limits on flavor. The Bruery's Autumn Maple vegetable beer is one of those beers that has used an unconventional ingredient for a different flavor - yams.

Pictured: Yams, not oddly-shaped rocks
Image courtesy of newgrounds.com

Sitting at a healthy 10.00% ABV, I was excited to try this beer. I poured it from its 22 ounce bottle into a tulip glass, as the brewer actually recommends a tulip glass on the label. There was about two fingers of a pale off-white foam sitting on top that settled down very quickly and left practically no lacing behind. For the remainder of the beer, there was always the thinnest head resting atop the body, but that's all. The color was a spectacular reddish brown that actually had a deep grapefruit pink color when you held it up to the light.

The aroma of the beer, amplified and concentrated by the shape of the tulip glass produced tones of pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves, bananas, and apples. It was like a typical pumpkin beer you see in the fall, but earthier and fruity. The taste wasn't much different. Again, pumpkin and spices, some fruitiness, a hint of hoppy bitterness, and just the slightest taste of alcohol were all present. It also had a bit of a marshmallow taste that I attributed to the yams. As for the mouthfeel, this beer drank kind of rough. It was medium-to-heavy bodied, pretty carbonated, and required a bit of effort to drink, even while sipping on it.

Craft brewing is an art form. Sometimes a masterpiece is produced and sometimes a kindergartner's crayon drawing destined for the refrigerator is made. While I tend to think most craft brewers try to produce masterpieces, some beers fall short, much like this one; The Bruery missed the mark with their Autumn Maple. I found myself a little repulsed at the smell and taste and I had to force myself to finish my glass. The only redeeming factor of this beer was its looks. Were it not for my thrift, I would have poured this bottle out.