The Bruery - White Chocolate

This beer is an experience. White Chocolate’s one of The Bruery’s most expressive and most coveted offerings: a mischievously pale, golden-orange offering that simultaneously provides a deftly balanced impact of bourbon, chocolate and cocoa. The TCHO cacao nibs and fresh vanilla beans that go into the core profile of this beer do exceptional work, providing a dense main structure for the rest of this to unfold. This for sure pours on the pale side for its ABV and profile, a modestly sized, fine-bubbled white foam crowning things along the perimeter.

Bold aromatics, even when first poured. Dense caramelization, candied sugars, soft bourbon and sweet vanilla. Tons of character from the outset—nothing rough, nothing outlying from that central theme of bourbon + chocolate + vanilla other than to mesh them together. The warming barrel character, toasty and charred, matches up well with massively smooth cacao nib contributions, ultimately bringing out notes like crème brûlée, nougat, and peppery milk chocolate. There’s a ton happening coherently in this beer. Those fresh vanilla beans? Just a perfect match to the natural vanilla character from the bourbon barrels, amplifying the sweet smoothness serving as a great counterpoint to that heat. An incredibly layered, complex beer.

At 13.8% ABV and densely built, this one’s definitely up to some months in one’s cellar. Just check a bottle occasionally to ensure the balance isn’t shifting into too-sweet territory. As far as food counterparts: a bourbon + chocolate + vanilla profile seems perfect for big desserts.