Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL
Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2012
Style/ABV: Berliner Weisse, 4.0%
Reported IBUs: ?
Today: REDEMPTION
I didn't chisel through a wall, and crawl through a sewer full of shit, just to drink a beer that tastes like someone dropped a brick of blue cheese in a diaper full of grape drink. I'm talking about mother fucking redemption, people. As promised, I want to give Pipeworks' Blue Lady a fair shake. In case you missed my earlier review, I had a bottle of Pipeworks' Batch #31 Blue Lady. That batch was recalled; and many drains suffered.
Evidently, Batch #31 had varying levels of "infection." Some people reported mild buttery qualities, and mild cheese/yogurt aromas and flavors. The bottle I had took the Greek Yogurt funk one step too far. Which is FINE. As I said in my earlier review, this isn't a slight against Pipeworks. I love Pipeworks, and if you're a Chicago native or someone visiting Chicago, you should check them out. Grab a few bottles of their stuff when you hit up Binny's or whatever. I'm going to be reviewing their Pastrami On Rye ale in the near future, and I'm very excited.
The thing is...brewing beers with wild yeast is a difficult thing to do. The Blue Lady starts with a sour mash (mmm...lactic goodness), and then is fermented on 150 pounds of blueberries in secondary. That's a long process, dealing with wild yeast, bacteria, fruit, two fermentations...shit happens, and I don't hold it against Pipeworks. Which is why I snagged a bottle of Batch #51, which should be a lot less funky. I hope. With that said, let me introduce Pipeworks, and get on with this review:
This is a fun play on the Berliner Weisse, and reminds me of Dogfish Head's Festina Pêche. This is effervescent, carbonated, and has a light mouthfeel. At 4.0%, this is easy-drinking stuff. This finishes pretty dry, and has a sour finish. This is definitely sour and acidic, but I'm finding it to strike a pleasant balance. Palate depth is great, and this is fairly complex with a big lactic finish. Up front is sharp carbonation, and a balance of sweet/acidic currants and fruits; the middle rolls into some hints of vinegar, acidic fruits, and burgeoning lactic kick; the back end is sour mash, acidity, and nice woody/acidic lactic funk. Pretty spectacular.
Rating: Divine Brew
I gotta go with a light Divine Brew rating on this thing. I love blueberries, I love currants...this shit is striking the perfect balance between acid and fruit, lactic and sweet. This has great palate depth, it's drinkable, it's complex. But OH MY GOSH! What a difference an infection makes. Batch #31 is literally an undrinkable mess; it's overly acidic, it tastes like cheese, and smells even worse. Batch #51 smells great, and tastes great. THIS IS REALLY GOOD. Good job, Pipeworks. Food pairings: a nice garden salad, a fruit salad, a nice ceviche, earthy Mexican food (flour tortillas, mole sauce, etc), white fish, or anything that goes well with fruity wheat beer. I'd pair this with some grill food and watermelon slices. Yummm.
Random Thought: I love Pipeworks, and I love the fact that these guys are in my backyard. I feel blessed to have the Chicago beer scene, and I look forward to a long career of drinking Pipeworks beer. Having said that: STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM BATCH #31. You were warned.
Reported IBUs: ?
Today: REDEMPTION
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| REEEDEMMMPPTIOOONN!!!!! |
I didn't chisel through a wall, and crawl through a sewer full of shit, just to drink a beer that tastes like someone dropped a brick of blue cheese in a diaper full of grape drink. I'm talking about mother fucking redemption, people. As promised, I want to give Pipeworks' Blue Lady a fair shake. In case you missed my earlier review, I had a bottle of Pipeworks' Batch #31 Blue Lady. That batch was recalled; and many drains suffered.
Evidently, Batch #31 had varying levels of "infection." Some people reported mild buttery qualities, and mild cheese/yogurt aromas and flavors. The bottle I had took the Greek Yogurt funk one step too far. Which is FINE. As I said in my earlier review, this isn't a slight against Pipeworks. I love Pipeworks, and if you're a Chicago native or someone visiting Chicago, you should check them out. Grab a few bottles of their stuff when you hit up Binny's or whatever. I'm going to be reviewing their Pastrami On Rye ale in the near future, and I'm very excited.
The thing is...brewing beers with wild yeast is a difficult thing to do. The Blue Lady starts with a sour mash (mmm...lactic goodness), and then is fermented on 150 pounds of blueberries in secondary. That's a long process, dealing with wild yeast, bacteria, fruit, two fermentations...shit happens, and I don't hold it against Pipeworks. Which is why I snagged a bottle of Batch #51, which should be a lot less funky. I hope. With that said, let me introduce Pipeworks, and get on with this review:
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.
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| Blue Lady (Batch #51) |
Before I get on with the pour...Batch #51 (which is hand written on the bottle!) features some sexy blue wax. It really is a lovely bottle, and the beer itself is gorgeous as well.
For the most part, I prefer wax to foil. Wax is classy... foil...is what you do to binomials. Har har! Not much has changed between Batch #31 and #51 with regards to the pour. This beer is all sex and candy on the pour. I imagine this beer is what unicorn blood looks like. Really fantastic stuff...with a body that has a dark purple/reddish-pink color, and one finger of pink/purple-tinted head that doesn't hang around for very long. When held to bright light, this beer is ever so hazy...with tons of visible carbonation (tiny bubbles; very effervescent). In bright light, the head is white with hints of brilliant purple. This is just an amazing looking beer.
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| Waxed |
I'm not going to lie, I peaked at the aroma before I poured. And PRAISE JEBUS!!! REDEMPTION!!!! REEEEDEEEMMMPPPTIOOON! This beer smells great. There's big lactic acidity, blueberries...the stuff I was looking for. There is no Greek Yogurt, or diaper, or blue ass cheese. REDDEMPPPPTIIIIOOOONNN!!!! I'm getting big currants on this, tea, blueberries, raspberries, and some nice sour lactic funk. The sour lactic funk is grounded and balanced by the fruit. Oh! What a difference aroma can make. Batch #31 did not beckon for a sip...this batch does.
Holy shit! This is some tasty goodness! This is fruity, sour, acidic, dry...and then finishes with some fruity lactic funk. The finish is reminiscent of a sour wheat beer, as per the style. You get a lot of refreshing, juicy, fruit-kick up front; it's balanced with acidic sourness, and just a bit of sweetness. Big currants, herbal blueberry and raspberry, blueberry. There's some nice tartness throughout, with just a hint of vinegar. The back end features that sour malty thing, with lingering acidic fruit, and big lactic kick. You do get that slightly milky/woody/acidic thing on the finish...but it's nothing like the horrors of Batch #31.
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| Proof of purchase! |
I gotta go with a light Divine Brew rating on this thing. I love blueberries, I love currants...this shit is striking the perfect balance between acid and fruit, lactic and sweet. This has great palate depth, it's drinkable, it's complex. But OH MY GOSH! What a difference an infection makes. Batch #31 is literally an undrinkable mess; it's overly acidic, it tastes like cheese, and smells even worse. Batch #51 smells great, and tastes great. THIS IS REALLY GOOD. Good job, Pipeworks. Food pairings: a nice garden salad, a fruit salad, a nice ceviche, earthy Mexican food (flour tortillas, mole sauce, etc), white fish, or anything that goes well with fruity wheat beer. I'd pair this with some grill food and watermelon slices. Yummm.
Random Thought: I love Pipeworks, and I love the fact that these guys are in my backyard. I feel blessed to have the Chicago beer scene, and I look forward to a long career of drinking Pipeworks beer. Having said that: STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM BATCH #31. You were warned.
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