Brewery: Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company
Beer: Brown Buffalo Rye’d
Style: American Brown Ale
ABV: 7.3%
Character: Brewed with raisins and cinnamon
Ratings at time of Review: BA: 84 | RB: n/a
Metal Connection: BUFFALO – Dead Forever

Rating: 3.5/5

Another offering from Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company from Houston, TX. This time, we have an American Brown Ale that is brewed with raisins, cinnamon, and other spices. This beer is part of their ever growing series, the Secessionist Series, which is their boundary-pushing, special batch beers. most of their line-up is part of this series, as they brew some experimental styles throughout the year.

The label for this beer is in the typical fashion as most of their beers. The label features a large silhouette of buffalo head with the name of the beer written within, with with tag line of “Handcrafted in Houston, TX” displayed below the beer name. The one thing that separates this label from most of their other beers is that the buffalo horns and some text are in blue versus a typical red or orange that is used most of the time. It’s funny how such a small portion of the label is colored different, but makes such a stand out difference.

I used a Guadalupe Brewing Company logo pint glass for this session. Brown Buffalo Rye’d poured an amber red color crowned with a thick inch and a half foamy tan colored head. Great head retention as it dwindled down to a think layer, leaving a sheet of sticky lacing down the glass.

There is a good blend in the nose. Right up front are scents of caramel and toffee, followed by mild milk chocolate, cinnamon, raisins, figs, and a touch of rye grains. There is definitely a good whiff of a handful of spices. The cinnamon and mild chocolate linger in the nose.

The taste has the same characteristics as the nose. Strong body of caramel, toffee, and rye grains. The cinnamon and spices are nicely blended within, and not overpowering at all. I really enjoy the hint of mild milk chocolate which hits at the end and lingers along side the cinnamon.

The body was a bit heavier than medium. The mouthfeel was smooth and full and had a nice dry finish which I usually pick up on when rye is included in a beer.

Overall, I enjoyed this beer. I liked the complexity and ability to show off all ingredients with strong aroma and flavor. So far I have been thoroughly impressed with all the beers I have had from Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company. They are quickly becoming a brewery I am seeking out for their newest releases and when in Houston, I look for them on draft at the craft beer bars I visit. If you are ever in the Houston are, I do recommend doing the same, and visiting the brewery on the weekend, I have been there once and had a great time there.

Metal Connection: Well, this one is easy as to why I chose this band as the Metal Connection here for this review. Here we have a band by the name of Buffalo from Australia. This band was a Hard Rock/Heavy Metal group that had a career from 1968-1977. There was tons of groove in their music, and was definitely a pioneer for today’s Stoner Rock genre. I can hear this band in a lot of the music of that genre. Of course, there is no mistaking the heavy Black Sabbath influence, which we all know released their masterpiece debut in 1970. This song I have paired here is from Buffalo’s debut full length album, which shares the same title as the song, Dead Forever…. I love the song’s opening, as this was also the album’s first song, so right off the bat, this band shows off their awesome groove right away. Please enjoy this trippy return to the 70’s with Buffalo’s “Dead Forever…”