The Bruery 3 French Hens
The third verse of our "Twelve Beers of Christmas" saga incorporates vinous and oaky notes into a bold and spicy dark ale. Happy Holidays!
75% Belgian-Style Dark Ale,25% Ale Aged in French Oak Barrels
75% Belgian-Style Dark Ale,25% Ale Aged in French Oak Barrels
3.6
287 reviews
Placentia, United States
Community reviews
"started out ho-hum, but opened up quite nicely. dark brown. smooth big body from the partial oak aging. no rough edges once this beer warms up. aroma and flavor are spicy yeast (maybe actual spices?) a hint of cocoa, and a sweet malt presence, with barely discernible hopping. definitely better warmer. fell short of 2 turtle doves only because that one was awesome. 2 years old it’s kickin ass"
This poured a dark amber color with a white head. Aroma was of lots of.caramel, Belgian yeast, and booze. Flavor was similar, lightly woody. Another booze bomb by the bruery.
How: Bottle.
Where: Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fà, Rome.
Appearance: Dark brown colour with an off-white head.
Aroma: Spices, sweet malt, sugar, alcohol, caramel.
Body: Medium body and carbonation.
Flavour: Spices, fruit, malt, sugar, alcohol, raisin, plums.
Chriso. Jammy, sweet, gummi bear, malty beer. Mouldy aroma. I like it. Yummy.
Aroma: Dark Fruit, Sweet Bread, Mild Belgian Yeast
Appearance: Dark Brown Hue, Passes Some Light, Off White Head Ring, Some Lacing
Taste: Sweet Bread, Mild Vanilla, Mild Oak, Mild Plum
Mouthfeel: Decent Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Mildly Sweet, Mildly Drying
750 mL bottle from Wine Warehouse, Charlottesville, opened 12/26/13. Pours a dark brown color with a medium sized creamy brown head. Decent head retention. Aroma of wood, caramel, bread and very mild vinous notes. The taste is buttery, bready malts, wood, spice, banana, peach and other stone fruits. Medium-full bodied, low carbonation, slight heat, very smooth. Nice beer.
Bottle, opened Christmas Eve. Light brown with a slight beige head. Tart flanders brown aroma to it, some oak, dry, fruit, moderate body and carbonation, booze is well hidden but everything didn’t seem to go well together - curious if the brett had too much time to go to work as it seemed overly tart considering what the bottle seemed to be going for.
Aged maybe 2-3 years. Murky darker copper under a foamy beige head. Nose is raisiny and musty, in a good way, with a touch of Bretty sour oak. Very complex and lovely nose. Flavor is mellow and slightly sour, with earthy cherry and date notes. Dry finish with some plantain/date flavor.
To me this one was aliek abeer that wanted to be sour but wasn’t, and its kind of rotten
Bottle for Thanksgiving eve 2013. $10.99 price tag -- those were the days!
Dark pours, moderate head. Aroma is almost Flemish red in character, slightly sour with cherry. Abundant spice, some oak. The beer itself is quite sweet with only the faintest hints of the sour flavor on the aroma. Oak, savory mushroom, spices plentiful but not gimmicky in the least. At three years of age it seems to be in its prime with almost no hint of the 10% ABV. Very nice Belgian style, on the sweet side, made interesting by a complex ingredient list -- exactly as expected from the Bruery.
Bottle shared with friends. Pours a reddish brown with a medium, dense head. Nose is yeast, sugar, figs, raisins. Flavor follows with some booze and oak. Medium mouthfeel. Surprisingly better than I was expecting.
750 ml bottle. Pours a hazy mahogany with light head. Aromas of stoned fruit, yeast/brett, and toasted malts. Flavors are similar with hints of raisins and port. Nice
12/29/2010: The Bruery 3 French Hens... Aroma: Sugary, caramel-toffee maltiness; Belgian-y fruit; fleshy fruits. Appearance: Brown-amber color; thin off-white crown. Flavor: Deep caramel; roasted malts; week coffee finish; plum; alcohol in the nose. Palate: Medium bodied; well-carbonated. Overall: Enjoyable, but nothing overly great.
1 pint 9.4 fl. oz. bottle (Alc 10% by Vol) shared by Tmoney99. Thanks Tom! Rating #256 for this beer.
[750ml bottle, courtesy of cgarvieuk] Clear burgundy colour (slightly reddish off-brown). Meaty oaked aroma, some slightly spicy fruit on the nose. Toffee, balsa, touch of smoke on the flavour, before more of that umami flavour and spiced elements round it out [21062013]
Aroma of typical fig and apple. Pours brown and heady. Tastes like a typical quad. Chewy figs and molasses. Not too special but very pleasant.
Bottle. Dark red with off white head. Aroma of spices, molasses and wood. Similar flavours, wood, spices, molasses and toffee. Quite sweet and a bit tangy
bottle at home(turned out to be 11111 rating .. thanks to Sev ... deep brown ... small tan head ... soft sweet cherry ... light spice roast malt nose ... spicedwoody fruity malts ... dark roast ... deep roast ... light woody bitterness ... deep dark rasisins
I was so tempted to rate everything 1 for this one :-)
Bottle- pour is dark brown with a ruby tint with an off white yellowish head..Nose is vinous, spices, fruits, dryness, oak, gingerbread..Taste is dried fruits, raisin, vinous, oak, dryness, chalky, dark spices, Belgian yeast, sweetness..
Deep copper/ruby, clear, tan head. Aroma of grainy malt, light toast, moderate tart/sour note, fruity. Flavor of toasty malt, raisins, dark fruit, tart sour note, a muddy/earthy character.
75cl bottle. Pours a deep brown/riby color with a small beige head. Beautiful boutique of aromas: prunes, molasses, nuts, sweet malt, caramel, some spiciness. Flavors of sweet malt, roasted nuts, raisins, brown sugar. Creamy palate. Alcohol nicely covered up with the rich flavors.
Red tinted brown with 1 finger tan head. Big raisin aroma with something else, almost fruity/tanic. Taste is mostly raisin, a bit tart, overall a bit lacking, but I feel I probably waited way too long on this one. Tingly carb, medium thin body.
Bottle shared at CBC First Birthday Party, London. I think I brought this one. Pours clear, rich ruby with a creamy, beige head. Nose holds ripe berries and light spice, some caramel, bread, honey and dark marmalade. Big sweet flavor with lots of caramel, light toasty toffee, great ripe fruits, plums, berries, raisins. Full bodied with average, heavy carbonation. Very sweet finish with plenty of ripe fruit sugars, cherries, plums, bready malts. Big sweet beer in general, some spices and plenty of ripe fruits all around.
27th March 2011
Very hazy dark brown beer, good pale tan head. Light dry palate. Even malt, slightly crispy and a little spicy. Trace of wood. Dry finish. Not much going on here, dull and disappointing!
A - Hazy dark amber pour with a beige head and minimal lacing. S - Strong notes of grapes, plums, cherries, raisins, chocolate and Belgian yeast. T - More dark fruits with chocolate, spices, brown sugar and definite alcohol as the beer warms, M - At the low end of medium carbonation with a tart, dry finish and slight alcohol burn. O - A nice BSA for the holidays, Glad I got to try this one.
Capped 750 bottle. Dense brown with fine tan head. Malty, estery aroma. Medium body. Serious texture. Slightly sweet malty flavors. No pronounced oaky notes. Nice.
750ml bottle-trade with jtclockwork-tan-dk copper. A-black licorice/molasses-sweet dk malt, dk fruit, wood. T-dk fruit-raisins, brown sugar/molasses-dk malt, wood, spice hops. Some drying at finish to offset the sweet.
Ive been staring at this beer for a while in the cellar telling it how much it was going to suck but alas it didnt suck. It was actually quite nice. Nice holiday spices with some chocolate and unique spicyness from the french oak i presume. Good beer.
750ml bottle $12. Dark brown, reddish color which is about what I expected. The smell was quite interesting, vinous, fruity, almost made me think this would be a sour beer but it was not. The flavor was more in line with what I expect from a quad with a very nice cherry aspect to it. I enjoyed this more than the two turtle doves from last season. As far as aging this for nine years, I wouldn’t do it and I can’t imagine it will be good. Seems more like a gimmick so that the geeks will buy additional bottles.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 12-21-2010 02:37:49
Slightly tart spicey holiday beer. Tastes kinda like a failed pumpkin beer.
Tasty Belgian style ale. Belgian strong as you can definitely taste some sweet heat. Candy. Nice mouth feel. John doesn’t like it but I think it’s solid