Belt’s Beer Garden: BRU’d Awakening

Cypress Brewing was founded in Edison, New Jersey in June of 2013. At the moment they’re still only available in New Jersey (or through Tavour) so finding their brews outside of the Garden State can be tricky.

They are constantly changing their lineup and currently have 13 options at their taproom - including a few beers that come from part of a series. I have one of those “series beers” today, as I tried their BRU’d With Mosaic.

Their “BRU’d With” series features a new hop variety, BRU-1, which was released just last year and features a heavy dose of pineapple flavoring. To compliment the BRU-1, Cypress added a heap of Mosaic hops to this Pale Ale. Each 16-ounce can has a modest 5% ABV and cost me $5.50. It was packaged on 9/18 and this review was written on 10/27.

BRU’d With Mosaic poured an incredibly hazy light straw color with about a finger and a half of bright white foam. The head was rather dense and slowly...very slowly fizzled down.

Tropical fruits and a resinous grassy aroma flowed from the beer. Pineapple, tangerine, and mango led the way with some grapefruit, lemon, and those earthy notes lingering behind. There was also a bubblegum sweetness to the brew as well. The look and aroma made it seem like it would be a heavier beer than the 5% it’s listed at.

A nice fizzle of carbonation started off my first sip, and it continued to hum underneath everything once the hops started to swarm over my taste buds.

As expected with the BRU-1 hops, it’s a tart pineapple note that kicked off the flavors. The acidic fruit prickled my taste buds before the other flavors were able to get there but, soon after, bursts of juicy mango and tangerine popped up randomly.

What intrigued me most, however, was how this didn’t drink like a Pale Ale. It was actually really light and easy to drink (despite my initial thoughts to the contrary) but there was also a slight funky quality and some hints of lemon to it that, combined with the bubbly start, reminded me more of a saison or, at the very least, a beer brewed with Brett yeast.

The beer ended with just a touch of dryness and some pithy tropical fruit bitterness lingering behind for a few moments but, overall, it was a very clean finish.

This was quite a crushable beer. That lemony funk and pineapple kicker really made it a smooth and enjoyable brew that fans of saisons and other less hoppy styles would also enjoy. If you’re able to snag a can or two, it’s worth it!