The Bruery Bakery: Boysenberry Pie 16OZ

The Bruery Bakery: Boysenberry Pie 16OZ is an 8.1% ABV imperial stout brewed with boysenberries, cinnamon, and natural vanilla flavor, packaged in a 16oz can. Scoring between 4.1 and 4.25 out of 5 on BeerAdvocate and carrying a 3.9 on Untappd across more than 4,500 ratings, this pastry stout draws directly from Orange County's deep-rooted boysenberry farming tradition.

Quick Facts: ABV: 8.1%  |  Origin: Orange County, California  |  Style: Imperial Stout  |  Brewery: The Bruery, Placentia, CA

Production & Heritage

The Bruery operates out of Placentia in Orange County, California, a region with a boysenberry heritage stretching back to the late 1920s when berry expert Walter Knott — of Knott's Berry Farm fame — became one of the first farmers to cultivate the fruit commercially. The boysenberry itself is a hybrid cross of raspberry, loganberry, blackberry, and dewberry, and this beer was originally brewed for Knott's Berry Farm's annual Boysenberry Festival. Unlike earlier barrel-aged iterations of the Bakery series that reached 10.2% ABV, this expression is a non-barrel-aged imperial stout at 8.1%, allowing the fruit, cinnamon, and vanilla additions to occupy center stage without competition from oak or bourbon character.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Dark berries and chocolate emerge first, followed by layers of toffee, sweet caramel, and a dusting of cinnamon. The boysenberry presence is unmistakable, with a jammy, slightly tart quality underneath the malt sweetness.

Taste: The entry is rich and sweet, leaning heavily into the pastry-stout profile with prominent vanilla and berry flavors that recall actual boysenberry pie filling. Mid-palate, chocolate and toffee notes develop alongside toasted caramel, while cinnamon weaves through at a measured level — present but never overpowering. The boysenberry shines with a natural tartness that balances the imperial stout's inherent sweetness.

Finish: Medium in length with lingering dark berry sweetness and a faint cinnamon warmth. The malt backbone provides a slightly roasty close that grounds the dessert-like character.

How to Drink Boysenberry Pie

Pour this stout into a tulip glass or snifter at cellar temperature (50–55°F) to let the aromatic complexity open fully; drinking it too cold will mute the berry and spice nuances. While this is fundamentally a sipping beer, it also brings interesting dimension to beer cocktails: try it in a Black Velvet floated over sparkling wine for a fruit-forward twist, in a Beer Float paired with vanilla bean ice cream to amplify the pie character, or as the stout component in a Black and Blue layered with a tart wheat ale for a striking contrast of sweet and sour.

Best For

• Sharing as a dessert course substitute at a dinner party
• Gifting to a craft beer enthusiast who collects pastry stouts
• Pairing alongside an actual pie or baked dessert tasting
• Adding to a curated imperial stout flight for a tasting event

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Boysenberry Pie taste like? It delivers a rich, dessert-like profile dominated by jammy boysenberry fruit, vanilla sweetness, chocolate, toffee, and a gentle cinnamon spice. The imperial stout base provides roasted malt depth that keeps the sweetness from becoming one-dimensional.

How does Boysenberry Pie compare to other Bruery Bakery stouts? The Bakery series rotates through various pastry-inspired flavors using the same imperial stout foundation; Boysenberry Pie is distinguished by its specific use of boysenberries and cinnamon, and at 8.1% ABV it is notably lighter than The Bruery's barrel-aged offerings like Black Tuesday, which typically exceed 19% ABV. This makes it more approachable while still delivering full pastry-stout character.

Is Boysenberry Pie good for sipping neat? Yes — at 8.1% ABV it is well-suited for slow sipping from a tulip glass at cellar temperature, where the berry, vanilla, and cinnamon aromatics can fully express themselves.

Where is Boysenberry Pie made? It is brewed by The Bruery at their facility in Placentia, located in Orange County, California. The recipe was inspired by the region's boysenberry farming history, which dates to the late 1920s.

What foods pair well with Boysenberry Pie? Dark chocolate truffles complement the stout's cocoa and toffee notes. Vanilla cheesecake mirrors the beer's creamy vanilla character. Smoked pork belly benefits from the berry acidity cutting through fat. Sharp aged cheddar creates a classic sweet-savory contrast. Fresh boysenberry cobbler served alongside makes for an obvious but rewarding pairing.

What sizes does Boysenberry Pie come in? The standard release is packaged in 16oz cans.

Is Boysenberry Pie worth the price? It positions as a premium craft pastry stout from a well-regarded specialty brewery, and its BeerAdvocate scores of 4.1–4.25 out of 5 place it firmly in the upper tier of the style. For drinkers who value fruit-forward imperial stouts with a genuine regional story behind them, it represents strong value within the specialty beer segment.

Why Boysenberry Pie?

What separates this beer from the crowded pastry-stout field is its direct connection to place — it was originally created for Knott's Berry Farm's Boysenberry Festival, tying the recipe to the very region where commercial boysenberry cultivation began nearly a century ago. The fruit itself, a complex hybrid of four berry varieties, delivers a tartness and depth that single-berry stouts rarely achieve. With consistent BeerAdvocate ratings above 4.0 and strong community reception on Untappd, Boysenberry Pie has proven itself across thousands of independent reviews as a standout within The Bruery's extensive Bakery lineup.