Bruery's Black Tuesday Imperial Stout (2012)

The Bruery releases this Imperial Stout every last Tuesday of October.

You can only order it online at a specific time.  Think of it as, buying tickets online for a U2 concert.  In a matter of minutes, this beer sells out.  Luckily, I managed to grab a couple of bottles (the maximum you can buy is 2).  Excluding tax, each sells for $30!

 And the only way to get your bottle is to get your ass down to the Bruery in Placentia.  Aww really??  Do I really have to go all the way down there just to pick em up?  I did.  Besides, we planned around it so we hit up a few breweries and did a "tasting" or two.   

Anyway, here are some of the specs on this esteemed beer.  This release was a whopping 19.2% so that is how some of the cost factors in.  That, and the fact that it is and continues to be so good.  This was my first time trying it.  I wanted to keep the 2nd bottle and age it for at least 5 years and compare my mental notes but I didn't think I would be able to keep it chilled at optimal temperatures.  For that reason, I decided I didn't want to save it for that long a time, only to find out later that I ruined it.  Besides, Christmas was just around the corner (yes, I am way behind on my posts) so I decided to gift one of the bottles to my fellow craft-beer-loving bosses.  

While I was glad I got to try it, if all of the Black Tuesday's come out the same, I might have to spend my money elsewhere.  Been there, done that, you could say. I hear the beer varies from year to year and this one wasn't as good as it had been in previous years so I'll give it a whirl again this year or next.  

Again, it was great and definitely a sipper due to the high alcohol content but I found it surprisingly sweet.  This was another reason that I wanted to age it.  I could imagine how that sugary sweetness would develop and transform the beer in a few years.  And the ABV would just go through the roof, I'd imagine! 

I'm glad I got to try this Bruery release.  It was a treat that I look forward to experiencing in the foreseeable future.  If you have a chance to try it, I'd highly recommend you do so, if only for the experience if anything else.