Pipeworks Well Read Temptress

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 750ml bottle/1 Pint, 9.4oz (Batch #83) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013 (2012 bottle)

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

Because libraries and red is hot? About Pipeworks:

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.

Today's beer is the second beer in the Pipework's sour, fruity, wheat beer series. That's... disconcerting, because of this. Then again, the fresh, new batch, was pretty tasty (divine for what it is...a local, blueberry sour). The Well Read Temptress has a big ol' disclaimer on the bottle that says: "Drink Fresh! Store Cold!" Oh...wild yeast, you are a bitch. The bottle states:

"The WELL READ TEMPTRESS is the second of our sour and seductive ladies. This ravishing raspberry berliner weisse knows how to read between the lines with her cheeky tartness and crisp finish. Aged on fresh raspberries from our friends at the Seedling farms, this beer is sure to educate the palate. Just don't be late for this, the Red Temptress doesn't like when you're overdue."

The joke's on us. If you drink it past due, it tastes like Greek Yogurt in a diaper. Zing! Also see: jokes about ovulation/drinking in its prime. Zing! Zing! Zing! I do think the bottle strikes a nice balance of provocative, puns, and covert sexism, rather than the overt kind. Anyway...

Pipeworks Well Read Temptress

This one pours a lot like the Blue Lady...the Blue Lady poured out like grape drink, or unicorn jizz (contrary to popular belief, unicorn jizz is not carbonated naturally, it's just sparkly). Basically, this beer looks like pink lemonade. Carbonated pink lemonade. I'm happy to report this passed the initial smell test, with just mild blasts of lactic funk and yogurt. On the other hand, I was grossed out as a white, sticky glob hit the bottom of my glass before the beer cascaded in....in Pipework's defense, I didn't "rest the beer upright for 2 hours" prior to pouring. Bring on some of that funky yeast. This one poured with a spritzy, finger's worth of carbonated, red-tinged head. It fizzled out pretty quickly, and has settled into an infected looking cauldron effect. In bright light, this beer is wicked pink. Seriously, is this all natural? This shit radiates pink, like radioactive Pepto-Bismol. This one is super hazy, and has lots of tiny, lively, carbonation. Dat effervescence, man. It's a nifty looking beer...

There's a ton of tart raspberries on the aroma, with huge lactic overtones. You get very sutble gym bag/locker, subtle funky cheese (the good kind...), and a dash of mild, pleasant Greek Yogurt. It's all kept in check by the nice tart raspberries, sour mash, some basement funk...nice raspberry, and as it warms up, a dash of malt.

The taste is really nice, especially for a 4.0% wheat beer. I'm getting a lot of raspberry currants, raspberry puree, fresh raspberry, unsweetened raspberry jam...there's nice acidity, and good tartness/mild sour. The lactic kick almost reminds me of apple butter, only more like raspberry butter (this isn't buttery, however). I'm getting dashes of lemon, super acidic grapefruit and orange, cranberry, and nice raspberry. The finish is super dry, with lingering wheat/sour mash on the palate. From fruity, to sour, to sweet, to sour, to dry...this is quite cleansing.

As far as local options go, I'm loving this. Like the non-infected batch of the Blue Lady, this really makes me happy. It's priced reasonably well, too. This is light-bodied, has good palate depth, and has moderate complexity. But it's so balanced and drinkable at 4.0%. It's tart, acidic, slightly sour, and finishes with nice wheat notes. Up front is carbonation, raspberry, currants; this rolls into acidic and tart raspberry, lemon; mid palate hits you with sour, raspberry, lemon, various fruits, some funk, light cheese/must; the back end finishes with wheat, sour mash, super dry.

Rating: Divine Brew 

I gotta go with a light light Divine Brew on this. I'm sure there are more legit Berliner Weisse beers out there, and it's a bummer that aging this beer comes with so many risks. But this really works for me, and it's local, and it's cheap, and I heart raspberries almost as much if not more than blueberries. And that's it folks. I wouldn't trade too hard for this, but if you're in Chicago, pick this up. I would pair this with a barbecue in the summer...grilled hotdogs, grilled chicken, a nice fresh salad, fruit salad, or fruity desserts. Yum.

Random Thought: What's the best berry? Raspberry? Strawberry? Blueberry? The elusive blackberry? I'll take them all, please.