Half Acre Daisy Cutter

Brewed By: Half Acre Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 1-Pint CAN from a 4-pack purchased at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, Illinois; 2011

Style/ABV: American Pale Ale, 5.2%

Half Acre Beer Company

When you think India Pale Ale you probably think California, and I can't say I blame you if you do. When I hear Pale Ale, I usually smile and think, "Yup, the Midwest has you covered." Between Three Floyds and Half Acre, you would be doing juuuussssttt fine out here in middle America. Up in Chicago, you can find Half Acre's Daisy Cutter on tap at a lot of places these days. Or, in my case, in an awesome 1-pint can.

Let's back up real quick. The Half Acre Beer Company was founded in October 2006, making it a really young enterprise in the world of beer. This is a brewery with humble roots. The founders of Half Acre started out by working with the Sand Creek Brewery in Black River Falls in Wisconsin. They eventually developed their Half Acre Lager, and began distributing and selling it in Chicago during the August of 2007. The beer was successful enough that Half Acre was able to buy out a space in the Bucktown area of Chicago. With continuing sales, Half Acre was eventually able to purchase equipment from Ska Brewing Co. and moved to their current location on Lincoln Avenue on the north side of Chicago. Half Acre has been brewing at their Chicago location since 2009, and seems to be really expanding in both amount of distribution and popularity. Check out the full story HERE, and check out their website for a low-down on all their beers and info.

I love supporting the local guys, so I hope to get my hands on some more Half Acre beer in the future. If you check out their "The Beer" section, you can find a bunch of cool info on all their current and seasonal offerings. Today's beer is a Pale Ale, brewed with around five varieties of hops. Pale Ales are a dime a dozen, and are in no foreseeable short supply. On one hand this is a good thing: Pale Ales are crisp, light, and easy drinking, but they also usually pack enough punch to keep the beer interesting; on the other hand, EVERYONE makes a Pale Ale these days, so it is hard to distinguish them apart. 

Today's beer is somewhat exceptional, rising above the pack in many ways. I'm happy to report that in advance, but let me dive in and give a play-by-play review of this beer.

 

Let me tell you I LOVE this 1-pint can. How is this not the prefect beer storing vessel? Today's beer is in a can so it is protected from light, it is easy to transport, and it's a frickin' pint! I get sick of keeping track of quarter-pints or half-pints, or one pint and insert number of ounces here. And millilitres are great, if you're a chemist! This is one pint folks. I also like to pour my Pale Ales into nonic pint glasses, the British standard; or, in tonight's case, an awesome 1-pint Samuel Smith's tulip shaker.

This beer pours absolutely fantastic, with a great one-finger head that is slightly orange or off-white. Maybe eggshell? The body of this beer is a pleasant murky color, almost hazy, and certainly not transparent. The color of this beer is a super sexy golden-orange-bronze color, and I swear this beer is glowing. I wish I could tell you about the carbonation, but the glowing murky quality is making it hard to tell. I can tell you that after dissolving a bit there is still a nice coating of head hanging around, and there is a ton of lacing. This is a gorgeous looking Pale Ale, and although aesthetics are not a factor in how the beer tastes or the rating, they do contribute to the drinking experience. If you pour something that looks like someone diarrhea'd into your glass, you probably would lower your expectations before even drinking it. Anyway, I'm not planning to boink this beer...at least not yet...so shall we move onwards?

This beer is quite aromatic, with lots of hops coming off the nose. There is quite a bit of grass and pine, but also big floral components and some citrus. The citrus is not the star here, but there are some pulls towards orange and lemon. There is also a hint of bread and maybe some caramel. The take-home point is that there is a malt component on the nose. 

Half Acre Daisy Cutter

As a hop-head and someone who loves hops dearly, I often find myself not being wooed or wowed when I first try a Pale Ale. I have to remind myself of the style, and tune my taste buds into Pale Ale frequencies. I don't have to do that with the Daisy Cutter. This beer delivers some serious flavor right across the middle of the palate. 

Some of my fondest memories involve all the stupid shit I used to do as a kid. Back in Grade School my friends and I would spend most of our days outdoors during the summer, and would occasionally try to eat dandelions or grass. Why? Because that's what kids do. At least I was never dumb enough to drink the pretty blue stuff under the cabinet that the folk's used to clean windows with. At any rate, I have a pretty good idea what dandelions taste like. I have firsthand experience. (It turns out that I'm actually a child genius, Dandelions are QUITE nutritious and are an edible weed: Health Benefits of Dandelions). This Daisy Cutter packs a mean dandelion and grass note, and it is powerful and delicious. 

Besides the wonderful dandelion component, I am pulling out quite a bit of malt. It's not the star of the show, but there is a good amount of bread, biscuit, and even some toast in here to level out the serious hop flavors. The hops are quite punchy, and even slightly dank. I'm getting really complex floral and herbal components. There are big flower notes, from dandelions to fresh flowers. There is also a good amount of grass and pine in here. I'm getting some pulls towards citrus, mostly an herbal tea quality; maybe some orange or lemon.

This is crisp and refreshing, and at 5.2% this is incredibly drinkable. I could see myself making a 4-pack of this disappear in one night if I wanted to. But despite being so crisp and refreshing, this beer does not sell you short. This beer has a huge mouthfeel, and is full-bodied. It's not heavy though...so I would call it a light-full beer, if that makes any sense. There's a huge range of depth as the beer unloads malt and hops across your entire palate, and this beer finishes slightly dry and crisp. The front end is carbonated and SHARP: you get blasted with hops right away. The middle rolls into even more hops, and then you pick up on some nice malt notes. The back end is hoppy, malty, and slightly drying, but still pretty crisp and refreshing. It's a balanced beer, as a Pale Ale should be.

After sucking down a couple of serious hop-bombs this week, my palate is officially wasted. The Daisy Cutter isn't super bitter, but it does have a bite. This beer is balanced nicely with a strong malt backbone, but there is still some bitterness. I would guess this is pulling around 50-60 IBUs. 

Rating: Divine Brew 

Score: 96%

What more could you ask for from a Pale Ale? Need I say more? The fact that this beer, Daisy Cutter, tastes as advertised - floral as hell and with legit dandelion notes - is incredible! I have no plans to eat a daisy anytime soon, but I imagine this beer channels a lot of the bitterness you would get from the stem of a flower. 

This is a fan-frickin-tastic beer, so if you are ever in the Midwest or the Chicago area, try and grab this beer. This is a super drinkable, but highly competent Pale Ale. I could see this beer pairing nicely with pizza, wings, or any bar food in general. This stuff could also stand alone on game day, or whenever. 

I'm honestly impressed. So check this out.