Bran Reserva
Birrificio Montegioco in Montegioco (AL), Piedmont, Italy 🇮🇹
Barley Wine - Barley Special|
Score
7.58
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Nel bicchiere è nera, impenetrabile, con schiuma color cappuccino; al naso convivono le tostature (con un sentore che ricorda la pasta del cacao) e le note derivanti dal passaggio in legno (che ricordano l’aceto balsamico).
In bocca è decisamente articolata: da un lato le evidenti note tostate, di cacao, di salsa di soia, dall’altra l’acidità.
Lunghissima in bocca, nel finale emerge il tannino del legno e una lieve astringenza di tostatura.
Birra molto complessa, difficile, per gli amanti delle emozioni forti.
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bhensonb (22726) reviewed Bran Reserva from Birrificio Montegioco 15 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9
333 from Pizza Port Bottle Shop. The plastic bottle cap liner is more 3D than any I’ve ever seen. Pours quite black with a fluffy, bubbly 3/16 inch tan head. It smells like sour wine. Not vinegar. Sour wine. Near full in body with very mild carbonation. The flavor is vinous and sour. Red wine yes. Barbera? It seems too smooth for such a crude wine. Maybe oak aged Barbera (vice E&J Gallo) does become smooth. So barley wine? No way. This is a sour ale. Friggin brilliant. Right in there with Flemish sours. Perhaps a discriminator is that there seems to be a hit of sweet at the end of each sip. Or this may be too complex for my palate. Friggin brilliant!!!!!
Leighton (35102) reviewed Bran Reserva from Birrificio Montegioco 15 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5
Bottle, at Jimmy’s No. 43 during a Lovullo Tasting Session. This was an interesting - and very good - beer. Poured a purple-brown, almost shiny, like a red wine but a little darker. Had a moderate, off-white head. Sweet, malty aroma with notes of oak, chocolate, some fruit. Flavor was complex, with some caramel and ripe fruit, along with burnt malt and roast, particularly in the finish. Full-bodied with average to light carbonation, some warming. Very nice beer overall. Definitely bend the definition of a Barley Wine in my estimation.
smith4498 (4269) reviewed Bran Reserva from Birrificio Montegioco 15 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Pours dark brown cola color with thin tan head. Sour, vinous, funky aroma with some chocolate and oak. Tart and vinous flavor with lots of oak. Medium body with soft carbonation.
jtclockwork (20063) reviewed Bran Reserva from Birrificio Montegioco 15 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Purplish pour. Nose is sour malt and merlot. Taste is lovely sour grape. Very wine like. Rated 8/24/08
Travlr (30174) reviewed Bran Reserva from Birrificio Montegioco 15 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Bottle shared with Nico, Philip and Felix. Pours slightly cloudy dark brown, almost black, barely detectable head. No lacing, but it has legs! Aroma of rye and pumpernickel bread. Taste starts slightly sour, dark fruits, dates, cereals, bread dough. Finishes tart and slightly bitter. Interesting, and worth trying again.
Oakes (33770) reviewed Bran Reserva from Birrificio Montegioco 16 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Dark brown. Vinous, chocolatey, barrelly with rich deep fruit notes - a very complex nose. Fruity front, almost juicy with some tartness. Light chocolate on the palate as well, maybe a hint of barrel. The palate is probably not as full and realized as the aroma, the body maybe a shade thin.
Ungstrup (52239) reviewed Bran Reserva from Birrificio Montegioco 16 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottled. A brown beer with a huge brown head. The aroma is sweet malty combined with notes of caramel, alcohol, and oak. The flavor is sweetwith notes of malt, straw, and caramel.
jgb9348 (11997) reviewed Bran Reserva from Birrificio Montegioco 17 years ago
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5.5
Deep muddy brown coloured body with a slight ruby and purple coloured side and an almost non-existant light brown head - interesting! Aroma of sour grapes, cherries, oak, vanilla pods and deep raw sugar. Medium-bodied; Strong assertive taste that somehow fits right between sour wine/grapes and roasted malt - like a slightly sour (not as much as a flemish sour) brown ale. Aftertaste shows more malt, raisins, brown sugar, oak, vanilla and a light sour note, all with no character on the tongue, since there is no carbonation at all. Overall, a pretty below par beer with odd notes and an even odder cap (neat though). I don’t think this is a Barley Wine - more of an ’American Strong’ because of the generality of the category - but perhaps a flemish sour. I wouldn’t really recommend this at all, but if you want an Italian beer that isn’t absolutely horrible, this one isn’t too bad. I sampled this 37.5 cL (split) bottle purchased at Merchant’s in Dearborn, Michigan on 03-August-2008, sampled at home in Washington on 18-March-2009.
Boutip (9839) reviewed Bran Reserva from Birrificio Montegioco 17 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle: Poured a cloudy and opaque deep burgundy color ale with light bubbly head with minimal retention. Aroma of sour and oak notes are pretty intense with distinctive sweet barley notes also noticeable. Taste is a unique mix between some vinous tart notes with light cherry (which may originated from the oak) and some sweet barley notes. Carbonation is low with a full non-filtrated body and no alcohol was showing. Very particular, complex and challenging.
Ibrew2or3 (10834) reviewed Bran Reserva from Birrificio Montegioco 17 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Pours deep dark brown with thin brown head. The aroma has a full wood note with a hint of booze and then some red wine like fruitiness creating a dry tannin sensation. Behind that are notes of dark fruity esters and a bit of malt roast. The taste feels thin to start bringing in dark fruits mixed with red wine and some wood. Nearing midway roasted malts mix with dry red wine tannins drying it out some into the finish. Very good stuff. A full flavored session barleywine.