Sierra Nevada / Russian River BRUX Domesticated Wild Ale

Sierra Nevada / Russian River BRUX Domesticated Wild Ale

What began as mutual admiration between Sierra Nevada’s Grossman Family and Russian River’s Cilurzos has grown and progressed into genuine friendship. Brux began as an idea and has grown into something altogether different:



The liquid manifestation of change over time.



Refermented in the bottle with Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Brux will change and develop over time. Copper-colored, dry and complex, with slightly tart notes of green grass, pear, spice and lemon - this ale will progress in the bottle for many years.
3.6
576 reviews
Chico, United States

Community reviews

3.8 Sampled February 2014 A soft pour into my large Tripel Karmeliet tulip produce a four-finger, plus more above the rim, pale tan colored head. The beer is a bright amber hue that has a touch of red to it perhaps, when held up to the light the beer is absolutely brilliantly clear, with a bright, light copper hue that is quite beautiful. The foam has a taste of cherry pie like Brettanomyces character. The nose smells fruity, with notes of light, floral, slightly tart cherries, floral flower nectar like notes, and a touch of rotting fruit. This is backed by a touch of dried grass like, and perhaps a hint of whole grain cracker like malt character. The beer tastes predominantly of fruit, with a mix of lightly tart cherry, perhaps some lightly rotting tropical fruit notes, and perhaps a hint of some vegetal flavor. The finish has a touch of phenolic like bite to it that is a touch plastic like, a bit musty, and with some light damp, ancient cellar character. The fruit character even has some tropical character to it, light pineapple perhaps, and maybe some hint of guava. The body is fairly light, and the carbonation seems to be less spritzy and effervescent than it should be given the amount of bubbles coming up through this beer; htere is a soft viscous character though. This is very light on the traditional secondary derived, Brettanomyces like character, but that is the point of such a beer. It has taken on quite a bit of fruity character, with just a touch of phenolic funkiness to it. I always have a soft spot for these beers that don’t use traditional yeast, just for the education factor, as long as they are well balanced a fairly tasty of course; luckily this one is.
3.8 Old bottle found in fridge. Pours an orange with white head. Aroma is a funky, bready, fruity brett. Get some apricot in the nose. Taste is light, dry, super dry, dont get the fruityness, or the funk, just drying, like a champagne. Better than I remember.
4.4 Aroma: earthy, hay, cider, grass Appearance: hazy gold, thin white head Taste: light sweetness, lightly bitter, lightly sour, cider Palate: light body, slick feel, average carbonation, long finish, Excellent
4.0 Dark red / copper color, poured from 22oz bottle from Blackwells. Banana was dominate in this, smooth and fruity flavor. Delicious beer, not even a fan of this style and loved it.
3.6 Bottle. Clear golden color with one finger head that stays. Wine and berry, grape aroma. Taste is funky, fruity, ends dry. Pretty good.
2.3 HELLO PLINEY DEVOTIES I AM BACK SO YOU CAN BE WELCOME! YOUR’E WELCOME HAHA! SO MY FRIENDS’ BOYFRIEND SISTERS M’ANS UNCLEs BABY TOLD ME THAT SERRA NEVEDA HOOCH MAKERS MAKE A NEW BEVERIDGES WITH PLINEY GODS AND CREATERS RUSHAN RIVERS. THIS CAME IN A SUPRISE TO MYSELF BECAUSE I THINK SERRA NEVEDA IS LIKE BUD LIGHTS OF THE WEST AND THEY USE MINIMAL IBU (NOT 200+++) AND NO HOP. THIS ONE HALF NOSES OF DRYED UP STEVEN SOX AND OLD MAN SMELLS THAT COME ON SWEATERS IN THE GOODWILLS OF AMERICAS. I DONT’ KNOW WHAT A BRUX ARE BUT I USE TO CLIMB ROCK BEFORE I GOT BEER AND HAVE GUNS AND WE SAYS CRUXES IN CLIMBS. BUT CRUX IS ROCK AND BRUX IS BEERS. HAHA SERRA NEVEDA IS STUPID ALONG TOP OF NOT KNOWING NIGHT FROM EVERY DAYS. NO PLINY TASTE HERE (I LOVE PLINY AS A GOOD BEER) LET ME TELL YOU. TIP ON THE HATS TO ALL MY FANS THANK YOU!
3.5 Bottle shared at Bruce’s farewell drinks. Many thanks to thepeter for this one. Hazed golden orange coloured pour with a thin white head. Aroma is orange peel, wit yeast, wheaty, doughy. Flavour is light and crisp mineral, hint of salt, wheaty, light citrus, orange peel. Palate is light crisp, bit thin, refreshing. Highish carbonation. Pretty fresh. Not much wild.
3.6 Bottle thanks to thepeter. It pours clear amber with a thick white head. The nose is earthy, doughy, brett, funk, must, vinous, white grape and a touch of alcohol. The taste is bitter, earthy, brett, wood, gooseberry, white grape, lemon sherbet, light spice, must and some underlying sweetness. Medium body, high carbonation and foamy mouth-feel. Pretty nice all in all.
3.4 Pours pale golden spritsy. Bret and booze on the nose. Dry, lots of earth and booze at the end. a bit straight forward and kind of boring. Not too complex. Soft on the palate, a bit of a disappointment.
3.8 750ml bottle pours out a cloudy golden topped with a white head. Nose is Brett green apple candy sugar and some barrel notes. Taste is fruit notes sweetness fruit some pit fruit and a nice touch of tart on the end.
3.8 Bottle shared with Brian at the house. Snifters. Pours a light colored golden orange with a lively head. Some lacing in the snifters. The aroma is a combination of light fruits, slight lemon citrus, hint of brett and Belgium yeasts, and pears. The taste is fruity up front with a little sweetness and then transitions into the brett and tartness on the back end. The Well balanced. It didn’t blow my socks off....but glad I held onto it for t few years. Tasty.
4.0 Really floral in both the nose and the taste. A really good collaboration. Tasty to say the least..
3.5 Pours a rich gold with light head it has a spicy aroma with a slight cherry hint. It has a very spicy favor upfront of coriander with subtle fruity notes. It is very intriguing and keeps drawing you back for another sip. And another sip. And another. And before you know it there is no more and you are sad.
3.8 750mL corked bottle. No indication of how old it is other than a code 2046611:40 on the bottle. It has been in my cellar for a number of years - at least 3 LOUD uncorking, slightly violent, didn’t gush though. Pours a very lively orange-straw body. Big foam flairs up before dissipating down to a firm cap. Aroma is quite fruity - grapefruit, white grape, pear, peach, apricot, some hard cheesy & leesy funk in there, sherbert, slight phenolic spice. Carbonation is high but quite fine, textually almost somewhere between a Belgian strong & Saison - dry, chalky, slightly tart, yet retains richness & creaminess to it. Rather enjoyable combination of flavours on the body; husky, lightly toasted cereals, ripe pears & apricot, citrus rind, buttery/cheesy character, green herbal (almost coriander-like) notes, peppery spice. Finishes dry, some vinous minerality to it, lingers, acidity not as pronounced as expected - more akin to a Saison than Lambic. Truly unique, and certainly fair well with a number of years under its belt. Glad for the opportunity!
3.8 let this one sit for a while and it got very bretty. People were says when it was released that it wasnt bretty enough and it was great now. Highly recommend opening these now. Great brett finish, high carb.
3.5 Pours a golden color with a longlasting off-white head. Has a fruity malty spicy yeasty bretty aroma. Fruity malty spicy yeasty bretty flavor. Has a fruity malty spicy yeasty bretty finish.
3.0 750ml bottle shared by crew at GTMW 2014 ticket line. Not impressive. Captures most of the negative traits of poorly made US sour. Light grainy infection. Low carbonation. Between SN and RR you’d think they’d nail this. In no way commanding a high price tag. Meh.
4.0 Big corked bottle. Hazy orange/gold with quickly disappearing head but very lively. Very funky nose. Earthy, funky tart dry and horse blanket. Authentic and well crafted. I’d expect nothing less. If I found this in a small Belgian brewery, I’d be happy with the find.
4.1 Earthy, tart aroma. Pretty champagne-like. A little dusty... Maybe subtle cleaning product? High carbonation. Sweet malt, with earthy and tart flavors. Pepper spiciness. Substantial bitter aftertaste.
3.5 Bottle shared at a private tasting. I missed this when it was first released so I’m glad to see it show up. Pours a hazy golden with no head. Aroma of stone fruit, brett, earth, citrus, caramel. The taste is citrus, earth, tropical fruits, pale malt, mild brett. Medium bodied, mild lingering bitterness.
3.7 "Pricepoint about half way between SN & RR 750’s. Pretty tame, but pretty tasty brett beer that seems to be a lightish tripel base. Slightly sweet, dry, fairly heavily carbonated, with light fruit and a hint of bubble gum over a decent grassy amount of brett. Not very sour or tart, but we’ll sit on one or two and see how it evolves."
3.6 750 ml bottle, and I can’t remember where I got it. I want to say it was one of the last bottles I acquired before moving from St. Louis to Cincinnati two years ago. Pours a clear deep, dark gold color with a finger of off-white head that settles quickly; later pours have some haziness. Aroma of bready and bretty funk, grass, mellow spice, pear, lime, dry grains, and straw. The flavor has the same slate of notes. Medium-bodied, with medium carbonation and a dry, funky mouthfeel. For being a bottle-conditioned beer with a couple years on it, this seemed pretty restrained still to me. I had higher expectations, even though it’s a good beer overall.
4.6 Very complex. Wonderful copper, gold color. The Brettanomyces creates a wonderful earthy, funk flavor that is perfect with the fruity undertones. Very effervescent. Favorite brew that I’ve had for a while. Not sure how old this bottle was.
3.5 Bottle at Craig’s. Pours hazy golden, light funk,sweet toffee, not too sour.
3.4 aged for a couple of years - not on purpose, just never really wanted to drink - was afraid it was way past prime but it worked out - complex aroma of many fruits, some citrus, funk and yeast. medicinal copper pour. taste starts sweet but quickly moves to bretts/medicinal and ends slightly tart. not my style but well constructed.
3.9 750 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled in late spring 2012. Pours fairly crystal clear golden orange color with a 1-2 finger foamy off white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a large amount of streaming carbonation retaining the head. Aromas of bright lemon, tangerine, pineapple, peach, pear, apple, white pepper, hay, straw, grass, candi sugar, bread, light musty funk, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with good balance and complexity of fruity/funky/spicy yeast and moderate pale malt notes; with great strength. Taste of lemon, tangerine, pineapple, peach, pear, apple, white pepper, hay, straw, grass, candi sugar, bread, light musty funk, and yeast earthiness. Good amount of earthy/peppery spiciness with slight tartness on the finish; with lingering notes of lemon, tangerine, pineapple, peach, pear, apple, white pepper, hay, straw, grass, light musty funk, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a short bit. Very nice nice complexity and robustness of fruity/funky/spicy yeast and moderate pale malt flavors; with a very crisp malt/yeast balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Moderately dry on the finish as well. High carbonation and light-medium bodied; with a very smooth, crisp, and moderately prickly mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with no warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very nice Brett Belgian pale ale. All around good complexity and balance of fruity/funky/spicy yeast and moderate pale malt flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink for the ABV. A very enjoyable offering.
4.4 750ml bottle, caged & corked. I wish I knew how old this bottle was. 2years old? Hazy orange color. Active fizz. funky fo sho. Fruity finish, hint of lemon acid, dry. Tastes of pale grains, funked up esters. Reminds me of a drier, funkier, Belgian Tripel. I don’t particularly care for beers with Brettanomyces Bruxellensis. Messes with my gut... But it’s my birthday so who gives a Fuck! (4158)
3.8 Bottle from 16 Tons Taphouse, Eugene. Pours a medium golden color, little to no head. Aroma fruity and funky, arch, fruity and lithe. Really pleasant.
3.9 Bottle pour. Really strong sour notes. Less pronounced flavor palate and weak palate. Still nice and light though.
4.0 2013-02-22 - tasting hosted by blankboy, with gregclow, jercraigs and mabel - 750ml corked & caged bottle c/o J&K. Bubbly and hazy amber-gold with a solid and lasting frothy white head. Dry spicy aroma, tart fruit, definite alcohol, some funk for sure - really,really dry, like curl up your nose hairs dry. Taste follows - plenty of dried wildflower bitterness - a funky trippel; fairly light and airy body, simple, not as boozy in the finish, spicy and dry, floral aftertaste - really really good beer.