Two Brothers Pāhoehoe (15 Years With 15 Beers Series)

Brewed By: Two Brothers Brewing Company in Warrenville, Illinois

Purchased: 22oz bomber from Evolution Wine & Spirits in Chicago, Illinois; 2012

Style/ABV: Golden Ale/Blond Ale, 7.1%

In celebration of 15 years of brewing (Two Brothers opened in 1996), Two Brothers has been rolling out 14 of their past artisan beers as part of a limited series. The 15th release in this limited series is going to be a new artisan beer. A bit about Two Brothers:

Two Brothers are based out of Warrenville, Illinois, a town not far from Chicago. Two brothers was founded in 1996 by brother Jason and Jim Ebel. Their brewery and Tap House Restaurant are both located in Warrenville. Their distribution and production seems to be increasing with each year, and along with their beer you can buy home brewing equipment and supplies at the Tap House Restaurant.  

The Pāhoehoe is release number 10 of 15. The bottle states: 

Pahoehoe was originally inspired by a trip to Hawaii to participate in the 2011 Kona Beer Festival on the Big Island. This beer is named after a type of lava flow found at the Kilauea Volcano. This light colored ale uses coconut water and coconut milk in the brewing process and fresh toasted coconut meat in the fermenter. It was produced one time and has been requested regularly ever since then. 

My understanding is that this beer has been available on tap from time to time, but was hard to find in bottles. Ratebeer and BeerAdvocate also peg this beer at 5.0% ABV, which may have been indicative of the original release back in 2011 or whenever it came out. The bottle states that this beer packs 16.1 IBUs, and the addition of coconut water, coconut milk, and coconut meat should give this beer some interesting flavors and aromas.

Since this is such a limited release, this is more like a cheers to Two Brothers. And cheers, indeed. I'm happy to have Two Brothers in my backyard, and look forward to whatever they are doing in the future.

Two Brothers Pāhoehoe

The pour yields a hazy, orange/straw colored beer, with 2-fingers of white head. The head is made up of finely packed bubbles, and maybe has a slight straw tint to it. At 7.1%, you can see a little alcohol on the side of the glass. The head did dissolve fairly quick, but a nice, foamy, centimeter coating is sticking around. There is some lacing. When held to a bright light, this is a hazy, golden beer, with moderate to high carbonation in the form of small bubbles rising upwards. It actually looks fairly effervescent.

The aroma on this reminds me of a Pils or a Kölsch. I'd have a hard time pulling coconut out of this aroma in a blind taste test. But you do get a sweet, fruity, mellow aroma on the nose. I'm pulling out a sweet Kölsch fruit/floral note, some pineapple, and coconut water. There is maybe a bit of grain on the nose as well. It smells very light, and refreshing.

The taste is effervescent, tingly, and refreshing. I'm getting some grains in the back end, and a little bit of alcohol heat in this. The coconut does come through in the taste a little more than the nose, and I'm pulling out the coconut in two or three ways. I definitely get a grainy/heated alcohol-coconut note that reminds me of coconut rum. When I swish the beer on my tongue, the creamy carbonation plays off the coconut and I get hints of coconut milk. And you do get some hints of coconut pulp in here. But all of these coconut flavors are pretty subtle. It's not like drinking an Almond Joy or whatever. I'm tasting grain, alcohol, various coconut flavors, some fruity notes....ethanol and fusel alcohols are in this.

I sort of wonder what it would be like to age this beer. It's a bit hot right now, and I wonder if this would mellow out at all over time. You get a nice lingering pineapple/bread taste on the back palate, which is nice. This is carbonated and effervescent, which makes it drinkable despite the 7.1% ABV and the slight heat. Palate depth is full, complexity is low, and the mouthfeel is somewhere around medium-light. Up front you get carbonation, grain, and burgeoning coconut water; the middle is coconut water, alcohol; the back end is coconut, grain, heat, and some warming. It's smooth, and it does have a slightly creamy profile if you let it sit on your tongue.

Rating: Average 

 

I'm feeling a light Average on this. It's interesting, but I wish the coconut was a little more prominent, and the heat a little bit less. I wish I had a second bottle to throw into the cellar for a year, because I bet that would be interesting. I'd totally drink this on an island though, and I bet this would pair nicely with some coconut infused shrimp or food. I bet you could also pair this with some coconut curry, or anything Asian. I'd love to see Two Brothers brew this again, perhaps with a greater emphasis on the coconut. Seriously, Two Brothers...brew this again. And cheers to 15 years!