Pipeworks Blue Lady (Batch #31)

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Capone's Liquor in Chicago, IL; 2012 

Style/ABV: Berliner Weisse, 4.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

It's been a long time since I've been scared of a beer. Tonight's beer is 750ml of sour beer aged on blueberries. Why am I so fucking scared? The reviews. And the fact that my bottle is Batch #31...which has been recalled. It's unclear if this batch was infected, or if they just messed something up during the brewing process...but reading reviews, this beer is described as "blue cheese," "vomit," and other lovely descriptions that suggest drain pour. I'm terrified, and kind of excited anyway. I also like blue cheese.

Pipeworks Brewing Co.

Pipeworks has humble roots. The brewery was founded in Chicago in 2011 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis. The duo were both homebrewers that met while while working at West Lakeview Liquors. In 2011, they began to raise money for their brewery using the online Internet site, Kickstarter. Olson and Lewis were both educated at De Struise Brewery in Oostvleteren, Belgium. With that knowledge, and the money from their kickstarter, Olson and Lewis created a unique brewery that is smaller in size, and intended to brew smaller batches of beer. The company's motto is "small batches, big beers." And indeed, since the brewery has been around, they've been releasing a lot of one-offs and small batch releases. At one point - and maybe still - the goal was the release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

I don't have hard feelings about bad batches and all that jazz. It is what it is, and it's the nature of the game. Plus, you can learn a lot about beer by investigating bad batches. Did I mention I'm terrified? Let's crack this open and see how bad Batch #31 is.

Blue Lady Cheese

This beer is fucking gorgeous on the pour. It's a damn shame about the aroma...which I peaked at before pouring the beer. Blegh. The beer pours a sexy purple-red color, with one finger of purple head. The beer crackles on the pour, like soda, and has a lot of carbonation. When held to bright light, the beer is a murky reddish-purple-pink color, and there's a lot of visible carbonation in the beer in the form of tiny bubbles. It's just bright and effervescent. It's a gorgeous looking beer...

..and then you smell it. This is some messed up stuff. Again: I'm not sure if this is an infection, or what, but this is the type of yeast infection you go to the doctor for. You get Greek yogurt, stomach acid, blue cheese, baby diaper...and then you get a blast of refreshing, tart blueberry. Yeah, there are some lovely tart blueberry notes on the nose that are REALLY inviting. Unfortunately, it's after you get a whiff of "baby diaper" and "Greek yogurt." 

I'm pretty fucking stupid and brazen, and even I'm debating taking a taste of this. The taste is a lot better than the aroma, sort of. You are assaulted with acid overkill up front, with blasts of blueberry vinegar  And then, the yeasty finish hits you, and you get blue cheese, and stomach acid. This is so fucking acidic. Tart blueberry up front; followed by drying cheese in the middle; the finish is trailing acidity, stomach acid, and unpleasant dryness with cheesy finish.

I have nothing to say about complexity or palate depth...or drinkability. Drain-ability is really high though, as this pours at a solid rate down the sink.

Rating: Sewage (WTF did I just drink?) 

I'm feeling a very strong Sewage rating on this. I understand that this is a fucked up batch, and this is NOT a slight against Pipeworks or their Blue Lady. I'm looking forward to trying to hunt down an okay bottle of this stuff from a different batch. Here's a reminder that brewing beer with wild yeast is difficult. Add fruit into the mix and it gets even harder. If you see this beer, definitely try it, UNLESS IT IS BATCH #31. Then you should avoid, like the blue cheese diaper plague this batch is.