The Bruery 6 Geese A Laying
6 Geese-A-Laying is the 6th beer in our "12 Days of Christmas" series and is a return to the more classic dark and toasty winter ale, following the appropriately blonde 5 Golden Rings. Brewed with cape gooseberries, this malty ale displays notes of plums, dark cherry and bright, citrus-like flavors from the namesake berries. Delicious right now, but suitable for aging up to 6 years, upon the release of 12 Drummers Drumming.
3.6
247 reviews
Placentia, United States
Community reviews
Deep dark brown coloured body with a thinnish, fast-dying tan head that leaves a decent lace. Aroma of roasted malt, lactose, cherries, figs, earth and a touch of nuts, but this is all about the deep sugars. Medium-bodied; Assertive sweetness from the pitted fruits along with some caramelised sugar notes, a bit of malt and earth and some subdued spice complexities on the finish. Aftertaste shows a nice yeast strain flavour, a little breadiness, some dryness, but a lot of sugars, some malt and the fruitiness that shows well. Overall, a very nice beer that is structured well and has a solid complexity throughout. I sampled this 75 cL bottle purchased from New Beer Distributors in New York, New York on 19-June-2015 for US$15,95 sampled at home in Washington on Christmas Eve, 24-December-2015 with my family.
Flaska från Brill som stått i källaren ett par år. Ändå känns den fortfarande lite rå och kantig. Visst finns choklad och torkad frukt men mest maltiga lite råa smaker som nog kommer att mogna fram fint efter ett par år till för här finns kvalitéer från en stor kropp. Inte en tillstymelse av spritighet eller trötthet. Gott men kan nog blir ändå bättre.
Bottle..pour is golden with a light head...Nose is spice, caramel, sweetness, stale...Taste is stale, roast, berries, spice, sweetness, belgian..
Pours a golden mahogany with fizzy head. Aromas of sweet malts, dark fruit, and some chocolate. Flavors of dark fruits, tobacco, and some sweetness.
Pours a dark golden copper color with ruby red/purplish-plum hues and a half finger off-white head that quickly settles into a thin, lasting ring. Sporadic spotty lacing left behind. Nice color but not much head retention/lacing.
Slightly tart, vinous dark fruit aroma with subtle peppery spice, silky chocolate malt and boozy sweetness. Hints of pepper, clove and candi sugar along with tart fruit, plum, raisin and fig. I’m not really familiar with gooseberries but I’m assuming they are giving off the tart sweetness that compliments the other ester-y dark berry notes. The fruit and spice aromas are followed by silky chocolate malt sweetness and subtle roast. I’m picking up some cocoa, caramel, toast and cola. Nothing too out of the ordinary but the aroma is decent with a nice touch of tart fruit incorporated into the classic elements of a Belgian Strong Dark Ale.
On the lighter end of medium body with tight carbonation and a blast of sweet boozy heat that overpowers the others flavors with somewhat overwhelming fuesel alcohol. Some peppery spice and slightly tart fruit integrated into light malt sweetness and vinous dark fruit flavors. Some pepper, clove and ginger followed by strong alcohol heat, tart berries, plum, raisin and currant. Finishes with light malt sweetness giving off hints of caramel, milk chocolate, lactose, burnt toast and ash. The tart fruit presence isn’t as strong as in the nose and the spice and alcohol flavors are too prominent for my preference. After a while my palate adjusts to the alcohol and heavy spices, letting some Belgian candi sugar and vinous fruit sweetness come through. The high ABV is not well masked at all but the tart fruit, sweet ester notes and chocolate maltiness make this beer easy to drink than I expected. Not terrible like some of the other beers in this series but the carbonation is off, the spices are too strong and there is overwhelming boozy heat.
Bottle shared at the Cafe Abseits tasting during the Bamberg Excursion. Many thanks to Kenny! Pours lightly hazy gold with a creamy capping. Very sweet, heavy, lots of sugary fruits, bread and toffee. Full bodied with fine carbonation. Sweet finish, warming, with more toffee, toasty sugars, ripe fruits. Not bad overall, but certainly quite rich.
Poured into a goblet.
3.25 A: Lightly hazed deep amber color. One and a half fingers of frothy beige head. Retention is lacking, but it’s to be expected from such a big beer. No lacing either.
3.5 S: This is full of plum and figs foremost. Toasty malts with strong caramel components and notes of gingerbread. Something strange to me which must be the gooseberries. Peppery spiciness with hints of clove. A bit of booze, which is well hidden overall.
3.75 T: Taste is like the nose, except that the gooseberry portion is more prominent. Plum, figs, and grape finish up the fruits. Toasty, caramel, and bready malts. Peppery spice. Molasses and deep neutral maltiness.
3.75 M: Big, heavy body. Good moderate carbonation. Reasonably creamy and smooth. Well done here.
3.75 D: It’s a pretty good beer, but it’s a little more standard than the usual Bruery beer. Definitely worth a try
★ 896 characters
DavoleBomb, Jan 19, 2014
Bottle from Total Wine in Boca a few years back. Cellared bottle. Pours a very hazy stained oak with a one fingered head and some spotty lacing. Aroma is big dark fruits like plums, dark cherries, raisins, Belgian yeasts, and sweet breads. Taste is big dark fruits puree, sweet over ripe fruits, Belgian Yeasts, chewy caramel, toffee, and dark bread. Thick and chewy. Big car and flavors all around. A little too sweet for my taste though.
Bottle sampled at ZEBF ’15. Pours cloudy brown with a ring tan head. Aroma of dough, raisins, malt, overripe dark fruits, caramel and molasses. Flavour is heavy sweet. Full bodied with soft carbonation.
750 ml. bottle. Pours reddish brown with a small beige head. Aroma of fruit, yeast, caramel, and malt. Taste is dark fruit, yeast, malt, caramel, spice, and alcohol. Think it has held up well. Nice.
750 ml bottle. Color is a dirty orange with ruby hints, soft carbonation level, light head. Nose is dried fruits (mostly resembles apricot) with a light odd Berry. Not odd in a bad way but I don’t think I have ever had a Gooseberry.
The flavor resembles a sweet barely wine with tons of fruit. Sticky malt backbone with dark fruits, dried pears and apricots with the alcohol hidden under all the sweetness. The gooseberry is in the background and does give a slightly different flavor then the standard sweet Belgian ale. It seems like aging this brew any longer will only make it sweeter. The malt is just going to take over.
Botella. @El Cabanón, Avilés 18/04/2015.
Color caoba, carbonatacion baja, aromas maltosos, sabor dulce.
Bottle. Pours dark brown tan head. Nose/taste of gooseberry, sweet fruit, cocoa, grape juice, bubblegum and caramel - full bodied.
Hazy tan body with rapidly disappearing beige head.
Strong aromas of honey, vanilla, red berries, orange and croissant.
Powerful, sweetish, with fresh sourness. No bitterness whatsoever. Creamy, medium-lasting finish.
Bottle at catch 22 bottle share! Pours a hazy golden brown with minimal head. Aroma and taste are sweet and easy, fruity Belgian notes. Not the best but I guess it’s decent.
I’m a Bruery fan, in general, but this was terrible. Super artificial tasting fruit addition to a beer with little other character. Awful.
Wow. I'm really impressed with this beer. I'm usually not to have gooseberries, but I think I like them :)
Red amber colour, white head. Aroma of caramel, spices, yeast, alcohol, brown sugar, fruity notes. Sweet flavour, caramel, quite fruity, not necessarily physalis though. Sweet, spicy finish, caramel, red fruits.
(from 75cL bottle @ ZZT XI. Thanks for sharing today’s beers, Oirschot crew!)
Bottle @ ZZT XI. Murky reddish color, average to medium sized beige head that lasts for a decent while. Aroma is lightly malts, some overripe fruits, cherries, sweet alcohol. Taste malts, alcohol, sweet alcohol, overripe fruits. Quite heavy, not a beer to drink a 75 cl bottle of by yourself.
Bottle @ Zzt?11. Orange brown color with a small white head. Smells alcohol, herbs, sweet, fruity. Tastes alcohol, sweet, caramel, fruity.
Bottle @ ZZT11. Clear amber to copper colour with no real head. Smells sweet, barleywine, slightly almond, some alcohol, nice. Tastes sweet, barley wine, alcohol, dried apricot, herbs. Quite sweet and quite alcoholic, but not bad at all. Full body, soft to medium carbo.
My Bottom Line:
Raisins, alcohol and old newspapers surge from this barrel-aged monster, leading to lengthy candied sweetness and palate fatigue.
Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam covers the cloudy ochre-tinged red.
-Earthy tones are felt as well.
-The nose is nearly all oxidation (and not the good kind).
-Drinkability is really low, as you can imagine.
Bottle.
On tap: The aroma consists of apples, caramel, Belgian yeast, and a touch of spice. It pours a hazy orangish-brown with a one finger beige head that leaves a good amount of thin webbing on the sides of the glass. The flavor starts with moderate caramel apple and light Belgian yeast. The finish has more apple, spice, and alcohol. It’s medium bodied with light-moderate carbonation and a somewhat sticky mouthfeel. Overall, it’s a pretty solid Tripel, but just a tad sweet.
One year old bottle pours an auburn ish brown with off white fizz. Sweet aroma of Belgian fruits and toasted bread. The flavor follows with a sweet fruits, mostly cherry and very malty start, earthy Belgian lingering sweet fruits. Simple but strong malts make it dense with a light malty spice, a very nice Christmas time beer. I don’t see it holding up another 5 years tho.
I don’t think this was the brewer’s intention because it is far more tart to almost sour in flavor. Aroma is fruity and slightly sour, cherry, alcohol, cough medicine. Body is tart, dry and acidic on the finish with a medium mouthfeel and very soft carbonation. Flavor is better with lots of sourness, fruity, cherry, granny Smith apples, slight hint of spice and acidity. This tastes nothing like the description but still enjoyable.
bottle. hazy light brown with a small head. a nice nutty caramel aroma with berries. full, highly carbonated mouthfeel. robust caramel layered with lightly tart dark berries in flavor. juicy at times. prunes. lots of caramel and toast.
[6152-20140129] Bottle. Eggy nail polish malt aroma. Clear, light amber brown with a medium-lasting foamy off-white head with some lacing. Bitter grains and sweet biscuit flavour. Medium-full body. Tasty. (7/4-/7+/3/15) 3.6
(c/o mds)
11/27/2014. From bottle. Murky light brown with a tan head. Dried fruit and spice aromas. Tart and tight, fruit and citrus.
750 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 9/19/2013. Pours slightly hazy dark ruby red color with a 1-2 finger dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big caramel, toffee, molasses, raisin, plum, fig, red grape, orange zest, berries, cherry, toasted bread, light chocolate, clove, light pepper, and herbal/yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malt, fruity/earthy yeast, and berry spice notes; with great strength. Taste of big caramel, toffee, molasses, raisin, plum, fig, red grape, orange zest, berries, cherry, toasted bread, light chocolate, clove, light pepper, and herbal/yeast earthiness. Fair amount of earthy yeast spice and light fruity tartness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, toffee, molasses, raisin, plum, fig, orange zest, berries, cherry, toasted bread, light chocolate, clove, and herbal/yeast earthiness on the finish for a while. Damn nice complexity, balance, and robustness of dark/bready malt, fruity/earthy yeast, and berry spice flavors; with a great malt/yeast balance and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a smooth, fairly creamy, and lightly slick/bready mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming present after the finish. Overall this is an excellent Belgian strong dark ale. All around great complexity and balance of dark/bready malt, fruity/earthy yeast, and berry spice flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the big ABV. A very enjoyable offering.
Sweet dark Belgo Ale. You can really taste the yeast and sweet malt and gooseberry! Nice