Bruery Terreux - Filmishmish (2017)

Filmishmish is an Arabic term for “when the apricots bloom.” This 2017 release from The Bruery’s Bruery Terreux line showcases fruity esters enhanced by a hint of fresh apricot jam and toasty wood. These 5%-ish sours from The Bruery are consistently among our favorites.

Filmishmish pours a bright, glowing golden yellow that’s capped by a fluffy, tiny-bubbled white foam. The head’s nicely retained and leaves great lacing. Gorgeous apricot aromatics lead: rounded, lightly sweet, like whole fruit. There’s a complex lemony acidity with just a touch lighter impact than in The Bruery’s Sour in the Rye.

There’s mouthwatering tartness leading, with a complex lemony acidity. Hints of warming oak underneath add welcome structure and, as in the aromatics, we get a ton of great apricot character playing out, a combo of dried and fresh apricot impact. There’s good balance between the citrusy tartness and the more mellow apricot, with just a hint of lambic-like funk adding depth. A brilliantly executed sour rendition from these folks.

This is drinking great at the moment, but will certainly tolerate a bit more cellar time. The Bruery suggests pairings of Moroccan lamb tagine, whole roast goat, or vanilla custard.

What The Bruery has done for beer in Orange County, California, while impressive, is just a part of their contribution to the greater brewing landscape. Once just a confusingly named, obscure little brewery from a curiously named little Southern California town, The Bruery is now known to the majority of beer geeks across the country and beyond. They’ve continued to develop their extensive barrel-aging program, launched the Bruery Terreux line, opened The Tasting Room at Bruery Terreux in Anaheim, and ultimately become one of the most respected breweries in the nation. They’ve even recently added a third Bruery location: The Bruery Store at Union Market in Washington, DC, establishing a wee East Coast outpost.

As a result of their unbridled creativity and skilled brewing practices, The Bruery’s beers are still some of the most highly coveted out there, period. It was back in 2009 that they released the beer that took the brewing community by storm: Black Tuesday, a massive imperial stout (clocking in around 20% ABV) aged in bourbon barrels for well beyond a year. Hugely oaky, rich, velvety smooth, and borderline nourishing, it caused both a stir and an annual tradition. The demand for this stout led people to drive and/or fly from hundreds (or even thousands) of miles away.

A handful of breweries have managed to take the “limited-release” concept as far as The Bruery has done with their beers, with annual vintages that sell out in a single day. Some folks have even gone one step further, creating the release equivalent of a serial novel, as The Bruery did with its recently completed 12 Days of Christmas series of annual beers.