The Bruery Batch No.1 - Levuds (2008)
The first ever batch brewed by The Bruery, Batch No. 1 is the result of a homebrew contest we held in order to determine our first batch. Loren Miraglia and Mark Graham entered a fantastic Belgian-style Golden Strong Ale that captured the judges attention. Batch No. 1 has a pepper-like spiciness and fruit forward flavors of pear and apricot. It is deceptively potent and will continue improving with age. (ABV: 11%, IBU: 20, SRM: 6, Release: One Time Only, Format: 750 mL bottles)
Editor Note: This entry is for the original 2008 release only. Ratings for the 2015 Levuds should go under that entry. You can identify the 2008 bottling by the ABV of 11% on the label (2015 Edition is 9.7% ABV), green bottle (the 2015 Edition is brown glass) and signatures of Tyler King and Patrick Rue.
Editor Note: This entry is for the original 2008 release only. Ratings for the 2015 Levuds should go under that entry. You can identify the 2008 bottling by the ABV of 11% on the label (2015 Edition is 9.7% ABV), green bottle (the 2015 Edition is brown glass) and signatures of Tyler King and Patrick Rue.
3.5
194 reviews
Placentia, United States
Community reviews
750 ml bottle from TheBeerSommelier- thanks, Matt! Bottle 1542/2157. Pours a rich, clear golden color with a small white ring for a head and some small bubbles on the surface. Aroma of grapes, honey, sweet and biscuity malts, candi sugar, graham crackers, and pears. Flavor of sweet malts, candi sugar, apple juice, grape juice, and Frosted Flakes. Medium-full bodied, with low carbonation and a sweet, chewy, juicy mouthfeel. A little fruity and sweet for my tastes. Still pretty good and interesting.
750 mL bottle courtesy of Nate at the 14th Richmond Ratebeer Gathering, 3/19/11, or as some call him... NastyNate. Bottle 105/2157. Pours a clear vibrant copper color with a medium sized creamy tan head. Good head retention and lacing. Aroma of leafy hops, citrus, toffee, berries, apricots. Very fruity. The taste is spicy hops, tart fruits, strawberries, apricot, citrus, leafy notes, burnt sugar, toffee, coconut and a bit of booze. Medium-full bodied, chewy mouthfeel. Damn good beer. This rocks my world.
Pours a medium yellow, slight haze, good white foam that dies down to sticky lacing .. . reminds me of an imperial saison, pepper, honey .. . light muddled mouth, a nice brew but not worthy of its rareness, still honored to have tried it with friends though.. .. Me fail English? That’s unpossible.
Bottle shared by someone at a private tasting. Pours a clear orange with a nice, white head. Nose is of stinky feet or funk and straw. Taste was sweet with hay and spice. Mouthfeel is medium and dry.
Tasted from a 750 ml. bottle at the Bruery. Golden copper in color with a small head. Aromas of yeast and bread. Good solid straight ahead flavors of a belgian golden ale. Some fruit flavors in the background. Full bodied beer and finishes rich on the finish. Stoked to try it.
Usuall when our US bredren do Belgian I like it. This hit high marks for me. Bottle thanks to mesandsim’s tasting again. Damn that was some tasting. Clear gold with a decent white head. Sweet malt aroma, alcohol is quite noticeable, cardboard. Flavour is sweet and yeasty, marmalade, oats. Palate was quite rich. First beer I’ve had from this brewer I think, good work fellas.
Bottle shared by Azurelimits. Served in a snifter.
Beer pours a light peach color with a good white head and just a bit of lacing. The nose is a bit peachy along with some other stone fruits. A bit of orange there as well. Mild sweetness and a bit of oxidation in the background. Light orange rind as it warms up. The taste offers a bit of stone fruits plus some mild citrus character and a bit of yeast. The body is medium and the beer has a lightly-bitter, dry finish. A bit of honey on the follow through. This is okay. I’m thinking it’s not really getting better at this point.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 01-17-2011
Batch no1 bottle provided by Chris at our latest tasting...a light honey gold pour with NO carbonation at all...Sweet aroma of mostly honey accented by apricots, with a light tart note on the back. Smells good at first, just too strongly sweet without anything breaking it up...The taste is sweet honey with oak, reminds me of a port, as its a total sipper. No way in hell you could finish this bomber without at least five people helping out. Like the aroma the sweetness is fine at first, but then it just gets boring.
A sipper that is not worth trading for, if you get a offered a sip worth a try but that’s about it.
(Sample Date: 3/19/2011 Source: Missing ) Bottle 105. Thanks to "Nasty" Nate. Caramel sweetness with candi sugar and hints of plum. Very slightly cloudy with fine white head. Spicy with fruity peach pear plum fruitiness. Warming with some peppery notes. Medium to full body and mouth feel. Finish is medium sweet with peppery warming lingering.
750 ml bottle. Big thank you to Eric. This beer poured golden with a slight dusting of bubbles for the head. A very delicate nose with lemon, citrus, some light malts. The taste followed, and finished sweet.
Bottle 64 of 2157: Vibrant amber, fairly clear, light carbonation, small white frothy head, spotty lacing. Malt sticky nose. &Nbsp Alcohol infused pear/apple skin as well. Seems a little peppery too. Very sticky on the tongue. This one is heavy, sticky, malt forward. Has a biscuity aspect as well. Not as bright or intense as most other Belgian Goldens, but this one seems heavier. Body and mouthfeel are moderate to full. Finish is warming, very warming. Seems bright on the finish. Certainly comes across as a Golden, a VERY big Golden. Big thanks to Tim for this treat!
Multiple times from bottle & draft @ brewvival. Pours a clear orange body with a small off-white head. Aroma of green raisins, citrus, orange, and pepper. Flavor of candi sugar, green raisins, apricot, orange, and light spices. On the verge of being cloying
750ml bottle (1494/2157) shared by footbalm
Appearance: Cloudy orange with a small white head and some lacing
Aroma: Tart apples and sweet malts
Taste: Tart fruits, oak and caramel malts
Nice, alcohols are hidden well.
750 ml bottle thanks to Eric, what a tasting. Pours a cloudy golden color with a large white head. The aroma is massive sweet fruit and candies. The flavor was nice; very warm but just huge apricot and tropical fruit, warm and spicy. Unique. Massive fruitiness.
750 ml bottle purchased from South Bay and shared at Natifest ’10. Pours a clear golden color with a small white head. The aroma is sprity citrus, pear, yeast and a hint of herbal spiciness. The flavor is citrus, pear, and even a hint of apple, moderately sweet caramel with some bitterness to the finish. I kind of liked this with the age on it.
16th January 2009
Bottle 361/2157. Hazy amber beer. Low carbonation. Supressed hop start. Just a little orangey grapefruit leading to a subtley sweet brandyish finish. No bitterness and not too dry. Warming afterglow. Drinkable but lacks a bit of identity.
750ml. What a treat getting this bottle at Naja’s was. Dark amber gold color. Thick bubbly head, oily lacing. Tons of malt in the aroma. Little fruity and pretty sweet. Pretty boozy and heavy on the palate. A slow sipping beer.
Poured from bottle into tulip glass. Wow probably my favorite brew from the Bruery. Pours a light golden color with little to no head. Very sparkly reminds me of a champagne. Lots of carbonation and a light body. Taste of oak, white grapes and sweet malts. Very unique beer. Love it.
Very excited to finally crack this open- Levuds batch 1- signed and numbered.
A- Body is a nearly transparent golden yellow hue. Pours with a minimal white head that eventually fades to a very thin collar- no lacing is left behind in the glass-but bubbles can be seen stradily rising to the top. Although there is no head on this brew I find the color fantastic with bubbles steadily rising to the top.
S- Nose is quite astringent- with a nail polish like ethanol scent. Behind this is a soft apple and soft pear scent.
T- Flavor is much more soft and well balanced than the nose. Tart apple and a hint of pear come through initially. A very mild yeast backbone is behind this. The overtones are boozy initially and the finish has the lightest touch of floral hops, belgian sugar, a moderate alcohol astringency, and a very large alcohol heat.
M-Soft medium carbonation and a lightweight body with minimal alchol consistency.
D- The flavor is soft-slightly sweet, slightly tart and well put together-but the alcohol is very persistent in this brew. This is a decent beer overall-but would be absolutely fantastic if the booze was kept in check.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 01-06-2011 02:37:42
Bottle from the brewvival afterparty. Thanks to nastynate? Clear golden pour with fair offwhite head. The honey notes are the most prevalent, not overly spicy, but with a light tartness. Hid the alcohol fairly well, but this just didn’t do all that much for me...
And again at the Richmond 14th Gathering. and again thanks to nastynate. Lightly fruity and sweet. Again, alcohol is there. This is definitely doing better with age.
Bottle - Pours light amber with a bubbly white head. Definitely getting the pear on the nose, with tons of caramel, more tropical fruit, and a touch of alcohol. Lots of tropical fruit up front, with dark chocolate on the backbone that comes out as the flavor cascades through your mouth. A bit of heat on the finish, but more warmth than sharpness. Sweet, but not overly so. Very smooth and viscous, but not overly so. Very nice.
Bottle at the 14th Richmond Ratebeer Gathering on 03/19/2011 courtesy of Nate. Bottle 105/2157. Hazy orange body with a small creamy off-white head. Somewhat tart fruit and spice aroma. Sweet fruit, caramel and citrus with a slight tart background. Medium light body with moderate carbonation. 8/3/8/4/16 - 3.9
After the Charleston Brewvival on 02/27/2010. Clear golden copper body with a medium creamy tan head. Slightly tart caramel and floral aroma. Sweet caramel and floral hop flavor. Medium full body with moderate carbonation. 7/3/8/4/16 - 3.8
Bottle shared at Natifest 10. Poured clear copper color with an average frothy off-white head that lasted and produced good lacing. Moderate to heavy complex citrus hop and malt aroma. Medium to full body with a smooth texture and soft carbonation. Medium to heavy sweet flavor with a medium to heavy bittersweet finish of moderate to long duration. This is a good beer.
Pours a hazy golden color with a white head aroma is pepper spices coriander pears yeast candi sugar. Flavor is spaces grass belgian yeasts hops oxidation is apparent but the beer itself is mellowed and well balanced.
Bottle at Grand tasting RBESG 10 ... amber ... sweet toffeee malt nose ... juicy sweet hone hop ... little pine ... little orange ... big whiskey.
Bottle 76/451 @ RBESG, Rome. Pours unclear golden with a small off white head. Nose is oak, coconut and barrel. Very vinous. Flat carbonation. Flavor is caramel, oak and fruit and some slight oxidation.
Pours a cloudy golden color with a thin white head. The aroma and flavor have some honey and fruits with yeast tagging along. The body is light to medium with an oily texture and moderate carbonation. It’s an interesting beer, but after tasting this brewery’s Saison de Lente and Saison Rue, my expectations were sky high!
Bottle. Hazy orange with a medium off white head. The aroma is bourbon, oak, vanilla, dark ripe fruit, light nutty. The flavour is alcohol, bourbon, vanilla and dark fruits. Long bourbon finish.
Caged and Corked 750ml bottle... # 1394 of 2157
Appearance: Copper orange body with almost no head. Some swirls of lace but they are few and far in btw.
Smell: Belgian candied sugar, belgian yeast, pale malt, a touch of sweetness and a touch of citrus.
Taste: Not my cup of tea which is dissappointing. Sweet malt dominates and isn’t very enjoyable. The sweetness and citrus come forward for a second towards the end. Pear and white grape notes are nice.
Mouthfeel: Simply not enough carbonation....I don’t care if its 11.00% this brew needs more carbonation.
Drinkability: Bad mouthfeel and bad flavor = poor drinkability.
A big miss in its present state. Perhaps putting some age on this bottle would help as the excessive amount of sugar might get used up and the brew might get a touch dryer / sharper. It actually does taste like it has the potential to be pretty nice in a few years. I regret opening it now but I wanted a fresh baseline.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 06-08-2009
A Mes rate. Bottle at home thanks to Mr & Mrs Fonefan.
Clean gold with a good white head, looks inviting. Alcohol, yeast and malt aroma. Sweet and faintly tart. Hints of marmalade, plenty of rest sugar, big yeasty finish. Some grain in the aftertaste. Interesting but not outstanding.