Brewed By: Half Acre Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois
Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 8.0%
Reported IBUs: ?
It's been a while since I've had anything from Half Acre:
For all the nice flavors, this one is more refreshing than anything, with a medium-light mouthfeel, and light to moderate carbonation that is supportive and smooth. The finish is bitter and dry, with slightly aggressive hop acidity. Drinkability is uber high...really, at 8.0%, this is a dangerous beer. Palate depth is good, and complexity is good as well. It's literally...kind of like a beefed up version of its little sister. Up front is biscuit, hard water, and earthy and spicy hops; mid palate rolls into big hops, with onion, citrus rind, watery tropical fruits; the back end is lingering tropical fruits, onion, lime/spice, grass, and fade to a dry, grassy, acidic finish.
Reported IBUs: ?
It's been a while since I've had anything from Half Acre:
The Half Acre Beer Company was founded in October 2006, which is young for craft beer in general, but great for the local Chicago scene. 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'm pretty excited about tonight's beer. I'm a big fan of the Daisy Cutter, which is a grassy and aggressive Pale Ale. The Double Daisy Cutter is a beefed up version of the regular Daisy Cutter...with more malts, and double the dry hopping. I really love the artwork as well, and I'm reminded of the M.O.A.B.s and B.F.B.s from Bloons. Without further adieu...let's glass this up.
This one initially pours golden, but quickly picks up a nice orange hue, and ends ups looking orange with gold/yellow highlights. This is transparent, with a nice stream of small bubbles rising upwards. The carbonation is quite lively. This one poured with two finger's worth of yellowish, super-foamy head. It's your typical double-I-PA fare. When held to a bright light, the head still radiates yellow/gold, and the body is a vibrant orange yellow. A finger of dense, cloudy head is persisting, and swiringly this leaves mad lacing. Overall, this looks nice...but smells better.
This one is fresh and hot off the press, and it smells pretty vibrant. I'm getting a ton of grass, a hint of hemp, tropical fruits, pineapple, mango, hints of aggressive and spicy citrus, and a ton of hop spice. There's almost a salty lime thing going on, with hints of citrus zest, and peppery grass. The nose isn't quite as expansive as the monstrous, resinous, West Coast offerings...but like the Daisy Cutter, I think grass and spice could be conflated with "watery."
The taste really mimics the nose, with lots of biscuity snap and grain up front, earthy hops, spicy hops, and a citrus and grassy mid-to-back palate. It's acidic, and has that enamel-crushing thing going on, but it's not expansive and resinous like a West Coast I-I-PA. I'm getting grass, lime/salt, soap, earthy hops, onion, and hop bitterness that builds quite nicely. As the hop bitterness compounds, you pick up on grapefruit, citrus rind, hints of watery tropical fruits, and some more onion.
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| Half Acre Double Daisy Cutter |
This one initially pours golden, but quickly picks up a nice orange hue, and ends ups looking orange with gold/yellow highlights. This is transparent, with a nice stream of small bubbles rising upwards. The carbonation is quite lively. This one poured with two finger's worth of yellowish, super-foamy head. It's your typical double-I-PA fare. When held to a bright light, the head still radiates yellow/gold, and the body is a vibrant orange yellow. A finger of dense, cloudy head is persisting, and swiringly this leaves mad lacing. Overall, this looks nice...but smells better.
This one is fresh and hot off the press, and it smells pretty vibrant. I'm getting a ton of grass, a hint of hemp, tropical fruits, pineapple, mango, hints of aggressive and spicy citrus, and a ton of hop spice. There's almost a salty lime thing going on, with hints of citrus zest, and peppery grass. The nose isn't quite as expansive as the monstrous, resinous, West Coast offerings...but like the Daisy Cutter, I think grass and spice could be conflated with "watery."
The taste really mimics the nose, with lots of biscuity snap and grain up front, earthy hops, spicy hops, and a citrus and grassy mid-to-back palate. It's acidic, and has that enamel-crushing thing going on, but it's not expansive and resinous like a West Coast I-I-PA. I'm getting grass, lime/salt, soap, earthy hops, onion, and hop bitterness that builds quite nicely. As the hop bitterness compounds, you pick up on grapefruit, citrus rind, hints of watery tropical fruits, and some more onion.
Rating: Average
I'm feeling a strong Average on this...with the disclaimer that I really enjoy this beer, but the lack of complexity and lack of expansive flavors just doesn't hold up to the giants that rule this style. Style guidelines are a bitch, but those are the restraints I choose to bare. That's not to say that this beer isn't awesome or enjoyable...I picked up a few bottles, and look forward to its annual release. In some regards, this beer plays our more like an Imperial Pale Ale rather than an Imperial India Pale Ale. If such a style guideline existed [Imperial Pale Ale], I would probably bump this up to Above Average. I suppose IPAs fit the bill...and I'm just being an ass over semantics. As far as food pairings here: bar food. The price is right, at around 8 or 9 bucks a bomber. Will drink again.
Random Thought: Untappd just updated their app to allow half-star ratings. This means instead of giving the Double Daisy Cutter a 3, I can give it a 3.5!!! In other non-news, BeerAdvocate is rolling out their web app....which is hilarious. Because, native apps are sex, and web apps are like dry humping that Christian girl who is waiting til marriage. At least you have anal.
I'm feeling a strong Average on this...with the disclaimer that I really enjoy this beer, but the lack of complexity and lack of expansive flavors just doesn't hold up to the giants that rule this style. Style guidelines are a bitch, but those are the restraints I choose to bare. That's not to say that this beer isn't awesome or enjoyable...I picked up a few bottles, and look forward to its annual release. In some regards, this beer plays our more like an Imperial Pale Ale rather than an Imperial India Pale Ale. If such a style guideline existed [Imperial Pale Ale], I would probably bump this up to Above Average. I suppose IPAs fit the bill...and I'm just being an ass over semantics. As far as food pairings here: bar food. The price is right, at around 8 or 9 bucks a bomber. Will drink again.
Random Thought: Untappd just updated their app to allow half-star ratings. This means instead of giving the Double Daisy Cutter a 3, I can give it a 3.5!!! In other non-news, BeerAdvocate is rolling out their web app....which is hilarious. Because, native apps are sex, and web apps are like dry humping that Christian girl who is waiting til marriage. At least you have anal.
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