Half Acre Chocolate Camaro

Brewed By: Half Acre Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Half Acre in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Milk Stout, 6.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

Staying with the local option this Friday night....about 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. 

If you roll over to the Chocolate Camaro page, you can get the vitals on this beer. This is a Milk Stout brewed with lactose and cacao, clocking in at a very reasonable 6.0% ABV. Let's glass this up.

Half Acre Chocolate Camaro

The beer pours with 3-fingers of thick, bready, coffee-brown head. The body of the beer is cola-black, with hints of red/brown. As the head drops, you get some nice lacing. You can also see some carbonation in this. This is standard stuff, but a nice pinky's worth of head won't die. Solid.

The aroma is fairly mild, with ash, ashtray, dirt, a lot of grain, some malt (like malt balls), faint chocolate, coffee, a hint of earthy roast, and some faint lactose. It's a very earthy and grainy nose, with hints of chocolate and coffee.

Wow! This actually tastes really nice, with noticeable burnt sugar/caramel, coffee, espresso, light cacao, and bitter chocolate. There's a bit of molasses up front, and the beer finishes roasty with some lactose to round things out.

This has a medium to medium-full mouthfeel, with carbonation that is just there to support the beer, like your deadbeat dad that showed up once a week to pay alimony. This is slightly thick/oily, with mild hints of lactose on the finish. Palate depth is good, complexity is average. What this lacks in complexity, it makes up for in balance and drinkability. At 6.0%, this goes down with ease. Up front is molasses, followed by caramel, coffee, chocolate; that turns into some roast, with more malt sweetness; the back end is lingering coffee, roast, rounds out with lactose.

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. I could see myself drinking a few of these at the bar over the course of a night. This has tremendous drinkability and balance. Also, if you are aversive to the more lactose-forward Sweet Stouts, you might like this. You could pair this with a burger, things with chocolate, things with coffee, and a pantheon of desserts. Considering this was like 10 bucks, I'd say this beer is worth checking out.

Random Thought: I just listened to the Michigan comeback on the radio. I can't imagine being a Kansas fan right now.

Pipeworks Raspberry Truffle Abduction Imperial Stout

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 1 Pint 9.4oz (750ml) bottle (Batch #94 - Purple Wax) bought at Binny's in IL; 2013 

Style/ABV: Imperial Stout (Spice/Herb/Vegetable), 10.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

I am excited for tonight's beer. Why? Because Pipework's Abduction Stout is awesome. And their Coffee Break Abduction Stout was just a stellar beer in every regard. 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.

The back of the bottle states:

"It is a shame human, that we must wipe from your memory the rich chocolate delight that is Raspberry Truffle Abduction. Its soft raspberry flavor blossoming like frivolous human emotion, both subject to dissection during your galactic absconce at the long fingered hands of we cosmic plumbers."   

This giant stout is brewed with raspberries and cacao, and should age with the rest of them. Let's get this into a glass.

Pipeworks Raspberry Truffle Abduction

This one pours a reasonably dark black color, with a finger's worth of coffee-brown head. The head is thin and apathetic, and quietly dissolved into a nice cauldron effect. There's a few bubbles popping away in the middle of the glass. There's some aggressive lacing on this, and the head coats the glass like paint. There's also some nice legs. In bright light, you catch some brown on the edges...but that head. It reminds me of the Ten FIDY.

For a beer brewed with raspberries and cacao, the nose is really refined. I'm getting a lot of coffee, roast, orange, and raspberry. If you drink a lot of coffee, you'll know that coffee has a very astringent/bitter/earthy flavor that is kind of similar to orange or berries. I'm getting a lot of that in the nose of this. Earthy coffee, light cacao, big roast, elusive booziness, and assorted chocolates: dark chocolate with cherry fruit in the center; and that chocolate you get in the assorted Fannie May packs that has orange/marmalade in the center. You definitely get raspberry truffle on the nose, or similar smells. Good stuff.

On my first sip, I would say this is surprisingly fruity up front. The fact that this is slightly thinner and lighter helps give that impression too. This has long palate duration, as the fruit turns into intense roast and coffee, and then fades into really complex booziness and raspberry. You get a ton of bitter/earthy cacao dancing around in here, and the whole thing has strong coffee flavors. I'm getting canned coffee, spent coffee in the filter, chicory, and fruity/bitter/astringency that you find in really dark coffee blends. I know the base beer is THE TITS with coffee, but the base beer works really well with the tart/acidic fruitiness of the raspberries as well.

But seriously, if you don't know what I'm talking about. Go get some extra dark, black (no milk/sugar/cream) coffee from Starbucks. Let it cool down a bit so you can actually taste it. Take a sip and appreciate it like a good beer. There are fruity notes in coffee, with that tangy, bitter/astringent berry-citrus thing. 

This beer is medium-full to full-bodied, with some fruity acidity/astringency driving the mouthfeel, and a ton of roast and boozy complexity dropping in to keep things in check. This is maybe slightly oily, and has thin, non-assertive carbonation. This is uber complex, and has solid palate depth for the style. Up front is a blast of cacao, coffee, and raspberry (with raspberry truffle); the middle rolls into raspberry truffle, truffle, and earthy coffee/chicory and big roast/elusive smoke; the back fades to lingering roast, and awesome boozy/fruity complexity. I'm belching straight up raspberry truffle, so this beer is doing something right.

Rating: Divine Brew

Oh man, I gotta go with a Light Divine Brew on this. You know, I love coffee...and I'm a big fan of that fruity note you get in super dark coffee. So there's that. The raspberry note in this beer is kept in check by the big coffee and roast flavors. But you definitely get raspberry in this, and you do get waves of "raspberry truffle." I don't know if this is quite as good as the Coffee Break Abduction, but for 11 or 12 dollars a bottle, this beer right here is a steal. I would pair this with raspberry cheesecake, dry chocolate cake, ice cream, or a nice medium-rare steak. The slightly lighter mouthfeel might work well with a burger too, and I'm sure this beer could stand up to some strong cheeses. If you can snag a bottle of this, do it.

Random Thought: I don't really listen to music on the radio anymore...but I do occasionally dabble. Back in the 90s, I spent hours everyday listening to the radio. Is this a generation thing? A people thing? Do most people pick a decade and declare it their wheelhouse? Since the 90s, I've continued to pursue music, but mostly on my terms. The obscure hip-hop, metal, and other shit I listen to likely won't be seen on mainstream radio for a long time, if ever. But 90's radio...we could jam.

Three Floyds Gumballhead

Brewed By: Three Floyds Brewing Company in Munster, Indiana 
Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack purchased at Three Floyds in Munster, Indiana; 2013
Style/ABV: American Wheat Ale, 5.6%/4.5%/5.0%?????
Reported IBUs: 35

If you don't feel the magic in the air tonight, you are DOING IT WRONG. About Three Floyds:

Today we go to Munster, Indiana, where Three Floyds has been brewing beer since 1996. The brewery was founded by brothers Nick and Simon, and their father Mike Floyd - hence, the name, Three Floyds. The first brewery was originally located in Hammond, Indiana. Eventually Three Floyds outgrew their original location, and moved to Munster, Indiana. After moving to Munster, and seeing an increased demand for their beer, Three Floyds began to bottle their beer. Since 2000, the brewery has continued to grow. And in 2005, the brewery opened its first brewpub. The brewery is probably most famous for their Dark Lord Stout. If you haven't heard of it, Google "Dark Lord Day." And then weep at the beer you probably will never be able to drink.

The Gumballhead is one of those "American Wheat Ale" beers. I'm actually a big fan of this style, and this is one of my favorite beers. Full disclaimer: this is the next best thing to session after Zombie Dust. Buy this by the 6-pack and there's your Friday night. The bottle states: "Red Wheat and boatloads of Amarillo hops give this American wheat brew a lemony finish. Slight haze in the bottle is yeast added for bottle-conditioning." How badass is that? This beer is named in honor of the underground comic book cat created by Rob Syers. The artwork is badass. Drink this fresh because DEM HOPS.

Three Floyds Gumballhead

This pours a sexy, slightly hazy, golden yellow color. I kicked up two finger's of thin, soapy, white head. The head sticks around (thanks, Wheat!), and this beer has a ton of streams of carbonation rising upwards. In bright light, the beer takes on a beautiful dark-golden/yellow color, with a finger of off-white head that won't die. There's nice lacing already forming; the carbonation is still streaming. This is a good looking beer.

Again...crack this open fresh. The aroma on this beer is out of this world. At 35 IBUs, it really isn't even cheating. I'm sure they dry hop this, but damn. You get blasted with huge grapefruit, mild hop spice, lemon, pine, and a hint of grass. The nose is bright, vibrant, and lively. There's a touch of pleasant astringency, rye, bubble gum, and a dash of ice tea/tea leaves. 

The taste is a wonderful follow-through. You pick up on the wheat, and there's a dash of bread/biscuit/honey snap in this. This initially opens with big bright hops, including grapefruit, strawberry, grass, pineapple, peach, and lemon. There's some rye and hop spice in the mix, and some light/pleasant astringent bitterness ala a typical American Pale Ale. 

This has a light to medium-light mouthfeel, with great palate depth and great complexity -- I mean, for the style. This is light, drinkable, and refreshing. But not at the cost of good flavor or aromas. Even if this is clocking in at 5.6%, this is STUPID drinkable. You could easily kill 6-12 of these over the course of a Saturday afternoon, or Friday night, or Monday evening, or your lunch break on work, or whenever....

Rating: Divine Brew 

This is a straight up decent to strong Divine Brew. This is a great summer beer, a great session beer...and it's cheap, and drinkable, and vibrant, and blah blah blah. It's not Zombie Dust, no. But that will do, Pig, that will do. Food pairings? Bar food, barbecue, pizza, fast food, salads. You could even go with a light pasta dish, I think. Again, this is a great beer to kill by the 6er on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Random Thought: My biggest regret this year was not making an effort to get tickets to the giant clusterfuck that is Dark Lord Day. Next year, I swear.

Pipeworks Unicorn’s Revenge

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #96) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 10%
Reported IBUs: ?

Continuing with the Pipeworks' IPA train....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.

The bottle states:

"The assassin of the east may have drawn first blood, but the mythical horned beast is back for UNICORN'S REVENGE. Grazing on fruity and floral New Zealand hops, this vindictive double IPA drives a horn through straight through the heart of any Ninja brazen enough to stand in the way of its peerless flavor. Behold! Beyond the piles of lifeless Ninja bodies a rainbow will rise, and on its breast, this rampaging beast of a beer will have its revenge!"

As with the Ninja vs. Unicorn, the bottle art is done by Jason Burke from "Ink & Lead Designs". Clocking in at 10.0% ABV, this one is slightly bigger than last night's beer. Let's glass it up.

Pipeworks Unicorn’s Revenge

This one pours a little darker than the Ninja vs. Unicorn, but not by much. Typical Double IPA stuff here: golden yellow/orange, with honey and orange tones in low light. This kicked up 4-finger's worth of foamy, sticky, slightly amber, off-white head. This one seems to be a little more murky/hazed than the Ninja vs. Unicorn. In bright light, the beer takes on a lovely golden-orange color, with lazy, mid-sized carbonation bubbles at the bottom, and vibrant streams of tiny bubbles up top. A pinky's worth of wispy, white/off-white head has settled in, and there is nice lacing. 

This is very much reminiscent of the Ninja vs. Unicorn, only with the malts kicked up. I'm getting a ton of woody citrus, grapefruit, orange, orange rind, and tropical fruits. There is also more high-acid hop bite in this, reminiscent of the Daisy Cutter/Double Daisy Cutter. I'm getting some grass, bread, spice, and biscuit as well.

This is a sweet, malty, bready, and then hoppy Imperial IPA. I'm getting big sugary oranges, tropical fruits ala mango, honey, biscuit, white bread, and then big hoppy citrus. There's some noticeable booze on the back end for sure. There's also some nice grapefruit, and woody hop bite in this. Hints of lemon zest, salt, and brown sugar. 

At this point, this is becoming an interesting experiment in how malts + ABV can change a beer. This beer is sweeter, maltier, and more dense than the Ninja vs. Unicorn. We aren't quite at a Barleywine, but this has a full-bodied mouthfeel, and is sticky, dense, and dry. As such, this is drinkable for 10.0% (and for the style), but the big palate depth makes you want to slow down. While this has great palate depth, the complexity is moderate for the style. Up front is malt sweetness, sweet citrus, bready hops; this rolls into spice, hoppy citrus, hoppy tropical fruits, some woody grapefruit; the back end is hop bitterness, dryness, slightly sticky. I'd be curious to see the reported IBUs for this.

Rating: Above-Average

I gotta go with a Decent Above-Average on this. I think I might like this better than the Galaxy vs. Unicorn, in that this has a bigger mouthfeel, better palate depth, and sort of straddles that Barleywine line. The woody grapefruit in this is REALLY NICE, and the malt sweetness is excellent. Straight up honey, sweet biscuit, pine sap, and orange candies. As with last night's beer, I would pair this with strong Americanized food, bar food, Americanized Mexican food..or you could get all classy and shit and mull over this in a tulip snifter.

Random Thought: Since St. Patrick's Day is coming up, how about a little known fact about Guinness:

...during The Great Barley Famine of 1823, Guinness almost went out of business. They had to improvise, so they substituted various ingredients for Barley, like brown rice, buckwheat groats, quinoa, and even potatoes. Of course, people noticed a discernible decline in quality, and started to preference other drinks like Light Porter and Single Porter. Naturally, this is where confusion around the term "Potato Porter" comes from. True, the term is often used as a derogatory to refer to an Irishman handling your luggage, but the term originated from the Irish peasants that would drink Guinness' Stout -- as brewed with potatoes -- during The Great Barley Famine. Thankfully, the famine was largely fatal, killing thousands of the Irish. As a result, breweries had less patrons to serve, and were able to cut back on their production (saving the Guinness brewery!!!). Many people focus on the negatives of large famines, but they rarely focus on the benefits. For example, when a brewmaster accidentally added the amounts of malt called for when Guinness was being brewed for the pre-famine Irish population, he created what we now call today the "Strong Porter" or "Stout." This is because that brewmaster's name was Fitzpatrick Kilheny Strong, and the Irish wanted to honor him (before stoning him to death with potatoes).

There's a lot of great history around Guinness. I recommend checking out this great source: wikipedia.com.

Pipeworks Ninja vs. Unicorn Double IPA

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #91) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 8.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

Awwww yeah. Another Pipeworks' IPA. These guys know how to make a bitchin' IPA. I'm excited. 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.

The bottle states:

"Ninja Vs. Unicorn celebrates the epic battle between two of the biggest hop-heads of lore. Brewed with over five pounds of hops per barrel, this unfiltered double IPA is sure to please the most discerning hop lover. Whether you're rooting for the mythical horned horse or the deadly assassin of the east, we hope you'll enjoy Ninja Vs. Unicorn."

The bottle notes that the bottle art is by Jason Burke from "Ink & Lead Designs". I believe this bottle is mad fresh...and should be aaammmazing.

Pipeworks Ninja vs. Unicorn Double IPA

I poured this into my awesome Dogfish Head buttplug, and was greeted with your standard Double IPA fare. In low light, this beer has a really nice golden/yellow color, with hints of honey and orange. I kicked up 2-finger's worth of fluffy, sticky, off-white head. And even in low light, tons of carbonation is visible in this. I tip my hat to the Dogfish Head buttplug. There's a TON of carbonation rising upwards, in the form of streams of tiny, tiny bubbles. The head is a creamy white color in bright light, and a finger's worth is still sticking around. There's some nice lacing, and the beer is a vibrant gold/yellow/orange color. Nice looking stuff.

Oh man, oh man, oh man. That aroma is divine. Bright hops just explode off the nose of this. I'm getting huge grapefruit, citrus, oranges, tropical fruits, biscuit/bread/malt, and some sweet honey. There's maybe a touch of spice, and grass/pine, but mostly big, dank, citrus, and some sweet malts.

This one is a bit more dense and bready than I was expecting, especially when compared to the nose. You get a big mouthful of thick, slightly woody/slightly bready/slightly resinous hops up front. There's a ton of grapefruit in here, hints of lemon/pledge, hints of spice, lots of citrus, and big tropical fruits. It's all very nice, and features a big bready/biscuit backbone, with tons of noticeable malt character.

This is smooth, with lazy, unassertive  supporting carbonation. This is very drinkable at 8.5% ABV, with a little bit of noticeable booziness on the back end. Palate depth is okay, and complexity is so-so. This finishes with some nice biscuit kick, and then a little woody hop dryness comes in. Up front is woody grapefruit, big bready malts; this rolls into bready malts, bitterness, citrus and tropical fruits, a dash of spice; the back end is trailing malts, trailing woody hops...fade to biscuit then slightly dry.

Rating: Above-Average

I gotta go with a Light Above-Average on this. I think the Galaxy Unicorn was slightly better...I have a bottle of Unicorn's Revenge that I might pull out later this week. But, there's not a lot to complain about here. This is a straight up grapefruit and bready explosion. Good stuff. I would pair this with anything, really. Bar food, strong cheeses, burgers, BBQ, things that are bacon or served with bacon. It's an American IPA, honky. Pair it with obnoxious American foods.

Random Thought: DAE think Guinness is the best beer in the world? It's so dark, and it has the best head. Seriously, Guinness in Ireland is the best. And if the bartender doesn't take exactly 90 seconds to pour Guinness the proper way, you should LEAVE THE ESTABLISHMENT. Your bartender is a cunt.

Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot (WTF) Ale

Brewed By: Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, Illinois; 2013

Style/ABV: American Strong Ale, 7.85%

Reported IBUs: 59.00

Isn't that Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? About Lagunitas (Pronounced: "LAH-goo-KNEE-tuss"):

Lagunitas is a brewery I dabbled with when I hit up their controversially named "Kronik" (Lagunitas Censored) back in November 2010. The Lagunitas website has some cool info on the brewery and the beer, and can be found here. The brewery was founded in 1993 out in Lagunitas, California, and has since moved to Petaluma in California. It seems like Lagunitas is run by a bunch of deviant madmen geniuses, and the brewery appears to be a true grassroots movement, if you catch my drift.

According to Lagunitas, the WTF is a malty, robust, "jobless recovery ale." This is a big, Imperial Brown Ale, that is "rich, smooth, dangerous and chocolatey." Clocking in at 7.85% and packing 59 IBUs, this beer is no slouch. I'm going to be paying attention to the 59 IBUs, which is getting into IPA-territory.

Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot

I love it when I'm right. This one is basically an Imperial Red, and I was greeted with a ton of hops when I popped the top. This one pours a muted, reddish color, with hints of brown. Even in low light, this beer is carbonated, and has moderate carbonation. The head was another giveaway, as this kicked up 3-finger's worth of super soapy, sticky head. There's still a finger's worth of head clinging on, and a ton of sticky lacing running down the sides. In bright light, the beer is a reddish/brown color, with a ton of effervescence in the form of tiny carbonation bubbles. The head remains off-white, and there's a ton of sticky lacing. How is this not an Imperial Red Ale? 

The aroma is a nice blend of bread, toast, biscuit, nondescript malt, and a ton of hop spice. I'm getting pepper, lemon, lemony pepper (<-try me), and a fuckton of rye. I think rye is the dominating spice on the nose. There's some caramel, and some fat, resinous citrus; woody oranges/grapefruit. 

This is basically what I expected. A hoppy, spicy, bready, Imperial Red ale thing. You get a ton of grapefruit, orange, and citrus rind. The citrus hop-kick gets pretty soapy and bitter, and eventually finishes woody and dry. This has great flow through the palate. The big flavor here is the rye bread, with bready rye hitting you up front. The citrus then comes in as a secondary character, along with some nice hop and rye spice. The whole thing cleans up nicely with hop dryness and some nice wood.

This one is medium in the mouthfeel, with good palate depth, and moderate to low complexity. This is more in line with the Imperial Red Ales/American Strong Ales (ala Arrogant Bastard) compared to Brown Ales. Where's the cacao and/or chocolate? For 7.85%, this drinks good. The 59 IBUs is very evident, but it's enjoyable. This is very much a "Lagunitas beer." Up front is a dash of malt sweetness (a blast of chocolate?), spicy rye, and bread/toast; the middle is rye spice, hop spice, pepper, lemon, and citrus; the back fades to woody citrus, and some dryness. All around, really drinkable and nice.

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this. This one is very reasonably priced around 6 dollars a bomber, and would pair well with a good burger, some wings, fried chicken, pizza, assorted bar foods, and Americanized Mexican foods. I could even see myself pairing this with some bread or pasta. This is nice stuff from the Lagunitas wheelhouse. It's also drinkable, and available...worth checking out.

Random Thought: Seriously though, I don't get it. That's whiskey. Right?

Bourgogne des Flandres Brune/Bruin

Brewed By: Timmermans [John Martin (brouwerij)] in Dilbeek-Itterbeek, Belgium

Purchased: 1 Pint, 9.36 Fl. Oz (750ml) bottle at Evolution Wine & Spirits in Chicago, IL; 2013 

Style/ABV: Flanders Oud Bruin (blended with Lambic?), 5.2% 

Reported IBUs: ?

There's not a lot of info out there on tonight's brewery, which is Timmermans brewery/Anthony Martin. According to their website, the brewery was founded in 1909 by British brew master, John Martin. Since then, Timmermans has been making a variety of beers. However, it also appears that the Timmermans Brewery dates back to 1702 (over 300 years), when the Timmermans started brewing Gueuze Lambics under the brewery name of "Brasserie de la Taupe." Whatever. 

Tonight's beer is an Oud Bruin. According to the Bourgogne des Flandres Brune page, this beer is blended at the "legendary Timmermans brewery," which is apparently the oldest lambic brewery in the world. This beer is described as going through a process known as "lambic infusion," where the best lambics are blended with a top-fermented brown ale. This beer is matured in oak barrels. So I guess this beer might not be a straight up Oud Bruin, and might be a blend of Oud Bruin with Lambic? Eh? 

Bourgogne des Flandres

In low light, this beer pours a dark brown/plum/raisin color, with 2-finger's worth of foamy/soapy tan, soda-colored head. Head retention is surprisingly good on this...with about a pinky's worth of soapy/creamy foam hanging around. In bright light, this beer is a swapy orange color, with a ton of tiny bubbles streaming upwards. This is very effervescent. The head still has a really nice reddish-brown color in bright light.

This almost smells like a Dubbel that crashed into a Bretty brown ale. I'm getting brown sugar, worn leather/band-aid, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and other spices, and some big candied/perfumey dark fruits; raisin, plums, apples, other stone fruits. There is a hint of vinegar and tart/sour, but it's very subtle and mild. It's really fucking sweet...like cherry cola. Maybe a touch of oak/wood?

There is virtually no sour or funk in this, with assertive cherry cola sweetness just blasting your palate. You get cherry cola, sweet sugary caramel, sugary vanilla, and maybe a dash of wood. The finish sort of dries out with some wood, and maybe some elusive spices dance around in this, but this is one-note, and it plays that note hard. This sort of reminds me of the very underwhelming Petrus Dubbel.

Before I pile on the mounds of hatorade, it is worth noting that this beer is likely a blend of an Oud Bruin style ale with a fruity Lambic. I swear I'm getting cherries in here...and they are okay. As I continue to drink this, I'm getting some apples and cherry skins, and hints of tartness. The whole thing has a very rich, chewy mouthfeel, and it's quite thick and smooth. There's some lingering buttery/diacetyl on the finish. Low complexity, good palate depth, lower carbonation and a thicker mouthfeel than I was expecting...this is medium in terms of mouthfeel, and drinks okay for 5.2%. And by "okay," I mean really fucking sweet. Up front is cherry cola, sugary vanilla, sugary caramel; this rolls into a dash of spice, a dash of wood, more sugary stuff; the back end is lingering everything, maybe an elusive flash of hops, more cherry, more wood...not very dry.

Rating: Average 

I'm feeling a light Average on this. This is a one-trick pony. With that said, I bet this would taste great with a scoop of ice cream in it, or if you blended it with a Stout. Hmm...it's way too pricey to justify purchasing again (imo), at around 13-17 for a 750ml bottle. Fuck that. You could pair this with a red sauce...I'm tasting a meatball sub from Subway, and this would go great with that. But meh. I'd pass on this for now.

Random Thought: I feel a cold coming on. FML. Sleep time.

Traquair House Ale

Brewed By: Traquair in Innerleithen, Borders, Scotland  

Purchased: 500ml (1 pint, 0.9oz) bottle bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2013 

Style/ABV: Scotch Ale, 7.2%

Reported IBUs: ?

I love those random beer purchases that turn out to probably be good investments. I was at Jewel, as I'm wont to do when I need stuff for dinner, and I decided to walk by their beer. I usually don't buy anything, favoring specialty shops, but they occasionally will hit a dinger (remember: I found Bourbon County and Madame Rose just chilling at Jewel). I saw tonight's beer, and thought: "Oh hey, a Scotch Ale aged in Oak Barrels...what could go wrong?" So here we are.

I guess Traquair is a house or farm or something; like Downton Abbey, with less banging. You can read up on the family history on their website. Traquair is a Celtic word meaning, "dwelling place or hamlet," and the original house was a hunting lodge and defensive tower. Between 1500 and 1700, the Traquair transitioned from a defensive tower to a home. Between 1700 and 1800, the house faced turbulent political times, and during the 1800s the house was on decline. The house was eventually inherited by Frank Maxwell Stuart, who opened the house to visitors in 1953. The current Traquair house is a tourist attraction, and hosts events like weddings, and receives guests for bed and breakfasts.

The aforementioned history is all dandy, but what really matters is the brewery. The Traquair House Brewery was founded in 1965 by Peter Maxwell Stuart (the 20th Laird of Traquair). The brewery has origins in the 18th century, when beer was produced for house and estate workers. The brewery currently produces around 600-700 barrels annually, with brewing taking place all year except August. The Traquair House Ale is made only from malted barley, hops, yeast, and spring water. The malt comes from Muntons in Suffolk, and the hops used are East Kent Goldings. The water is local to the underground springs on the Traquair Estate. 

I love the organization and ease of finding information on the Traquair website. I mention that, because I always take the time to check out a brewery's website. And I do hate it when a brewery's website is shit. This is not that. If you check out the Traquair beer page, you can see that tonight's beer, the Traquair House Ale, dates back to 1964. This beer clocks in at 7.2%, features rich oakiness, and is described as a boozy, fruity, winter ale. Let's glass this up and see how it stacks up.

Traquair House Ale

This one pours a dark ruby red/brown color, that is deceptively black/purple/raisin in low light. This one yielded two finger's of creamy, ivory/tan head, with a careful pour. Bright light tells the whole story, as it often does. This beer looks to be filtered, somewhat transparent, and bright ruby red. The head has settled into an impressive, creamy, centimeter of tan/sandy/ivory coating. There is some nice lacing, and just a touch of legs.

The aroma here is really nice and subtle for the style (America has sort of bastardized the extreme versions of this style...not that there's anything wrong with that). I'm getting really smooth malts, with big caramel, and tons of fruits. I'm getting cherries, plums, raisins, figs, and molasses. There's also a really nice English hop bitterness noticeable on the nose, with mild spice, earthiness, and mild floral aromas. I really have to search for the wood/vanilla/oak, and I barely get some elusive wood/vanilla. I would be hard-pressed to call out "oak/vanilla/wood" in a blind tasting.

This is just so refined in the taste...this beer graduates from amateur hour, and dresses up with fineness. I feel embarrassed drinking this in my shorts and hoodie. You get creamy smoothness, with chewy malt, and layers of complex malts, dark fruits, nuttiness, a hint of bread/toast, and some underlying alcohol complexity. I'm tasting velvety malts, caramel/toffee, bread/toast, cherries, plums, figs, dark fruits, mild alcohol bite, and a dash of wood and vanilla. This has a refined sensibility, and really nice palate depth.

At 7.2% ABV, this drinks remarkably well, and is very smooth. Nevertheless, the bottle says you can age this til June, 2018...that could be interesting. As I continue to sip this, I'm getting a ton of that caramel, nut, and toasted character trademark to the style. The whole thing is kept in check by really subtle hop spice/kick, and dark fruits are all over the place. I'm also pulling out a dash of peat, and as this grows on my palate, I'm picking up some wood/oak tannins, and a dash of vanilla. For the style, this is complex, drinkable, and has good palate depth. This is medium-full to full (especially as you drink it). Up front is bread, caramel, dark fruits, booze; this rolls into caramel, hop bitterness, more dark fruits, spice; the back end is toast, trailing caramel/toffee and toast. The finish is malty and dry, with a touch of peat/mineral/salt, and wood/vanilla that builds over the session. Slightly sticky on the lips.

Rating: Divine Brew 

I'm going with a confident and strong Divine Brew on this. As if this wasn't multidimensional enough, I'm getting some butterscotch/buttery/diacetyl flavors lingering in my mouth, and some nice boozy warming in my tummy. This is a balanced, well-thought-out beer. It's a shame I just now discovered this, because I could see myself picking this up to pair with chocolaty desserts, strong cheeses, or even a nice smoked/barbecued meat. At around 6 or 7 bucks per 500ml bottle, this is relatively inexpensive. It also has the potential to age for around 5 years (according to the bottle). I don't need to recommend this, as the BJCP lists it as the first example for a Strong Scotch Ale. But I'm glad to know this beer exists.

Random Thought: It finally stopped snowing! This is the winter that just won't quit....7 inches later, and I'm seriously ready for Spring.

Goose Island Madame Rose

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2012 (bottled 7/31/12)

Style/ABV: Flanders Oud Bruin/American Sour Ale, 7.1% 

Reported IBUs: 25

Tonight I'm looking at Goose Island's Madame Rose. This beer is a "Brown Ale aged in French oak Cabernet Sauvignon barrels with the addition of Michigan cherries and heavily inoculated with Brettanomyces." Goose Island suggests giving this beer to Bordeaux enthusiasts, and beer drinkers fond of Belgian Kriek and Flanders Brown Ales. This beer is sort of like a Flanders Brown, but not really. Anyway, about Goose Island:

Goose Island is a Chicago-based brewery that began as a brewpub on Clybourn, which opened on May 1988. The actual brewery opened on 1995, and is located on the Southwest side of Chicago. The second brewpub, located in Wrigleyville by the Chicago Cubs, was opened in 1999. On March 28, 2011, Goose Island sold 58% of the brewery to Anheuser-Busch. The remaining 42% of the brewery is supposed to be acquired by A-B InBev in the future, and there has been much discussion about the brewery's takeover. On November 16th, founder and CEO, John Hall, announced he would be leaving Goose Island. On January 1st, 2012, Anheuser-Busch "veteran" Andy Goeler will take over Goose Island. Additionally, around the same time as John Hall's departure, resident barrel-program leader John Laffler also announced his departure from Goose Island. There have been many changes regarding Goose Island...so we will see what the future has in store for Goose Island. 

Since this beer is sort of Flanders Brown/Oud Bruin-inspired (with that Kriek thing), I'll go ahead and jot down what I've found on Oud Bruins. Flanders Brown Ales/Flemish Brown Ales/Oud Bruin/Old Brown Ales is a Flemish style of beer indigenous to East Flanders, which dates back to the 1600s. The Dutch name, "Oud Bruin/Old Brown," refers to the long brewing/aging process, which can take up to a year, plus additional time spent in secondary fermentation. The beer can also be bottle aged for extended periods of time. The extended brewing/aging allows the beer to pick up natural/wild yeast, which develop the sour characteristics typical to this style. This beer is typically not aged in oak (unlike the Flanders Red Ale); this beer is usually aged in stainless steel vessels. Traditionally/typically, the wild yeasts Saccharomyces, Lactobacillus, and Acetobacter all contribute to this style's flavor. This beer can also be brewed with a sour mash to help develop the sour character.

According to The Beer Connoisseur, because the Oud Bruin is often aged in stainless steel rather than oak, the brewing process is more controlled (since stainless steel doesn't harbor live bacteria, and the souring yeasts often come from controlled sources). As such, Oud Bruins may be used as base beers for fruit Lambics (like Krieks). You can consult the style guidelines, but overall, the Flanders Brown Ale is less acetic, and maltier than a Flanders Red, and the fruit flavors are balanced with the malt.

All things considered, I don't think the Madame Rose is quite a straight up Flanders Brown. Goose Island mentions Belgian Kriek when they describe this beer. Belgian Kriek is a style of beer where Lambic is fermented with cherries. The Madame Rose is a "Belgian style brown ale," fermented with wild yeast, and aged on cherries in wine barrels. It seems a lot like an Oud Bruin, aged on cherries (like a Kriek), with a bit of an American twist. Clocking in at 7.1% ABV, and packing 25 IBUs, this beer is brewed with Fuggle hops; and 2-row, caramel, wheat, dark chocolate, and victory malts. This beer is bottle conditioned, and will develop in the bottle for up to 5 years (and maybe longer?). Suggested food pairings for this beer include red meats, rich chocolate desserts, and aged cheddar. 

Goose Island Madame Rose

This one pours out a brown/purple color that is very cola-esque. I barely kicked up a pinky's worth of struggling, bubbly, brown head. The head has settled into a funky, murky, cauldron effect...it's like the beer version of the designs on a cappuccino. Bright light highlights the swampy/murky and brown/unfiltered body of this beer. The head is ivory/tan, and you can see a lot of carbonation in the form of tiny bubbles.

The aroma here is really nice, and I'm glad I've been on a bit of a sour/wild/Brett kick lately. This beer has some nice underlying Brett notes, with some band-aid and worn leather. I'm also getting sour cherries, sour, a dash of apple cider vinegar, and a ton of wood/Cabernet, and maybe a dash of woody oak. Other aromas include apples, berries, must, a hint of acetone. The dominant aromas are sour cherries, Brett, and huge Cabernet/wine/wood. This one definitely leans towards sour on the aroma (at this point in time).

Even in the eight months since I've last had this, this has changed towards more sour, with just a hint of sour candy ala Warhead/Sour Patch Kids. Overall though, it's more tart, with some apple cider vinegar, acetic Cabernet, and nice malt and sweet cherries to smooth things out. This is finishing uber dry. I'm getting wood, wine, and cherry skin/tart up front. There's some must, and worn leather in here, along with a ton of cherries. Cherry skin, meaty cherries, and a flash of cherry pie filling. You get some caramel/toffee/bread malt sugars in here balancing everything out, but after the hint of sweet cherries, this veers towards tart again and finishes dry.

This is very drinkable, even refreshing, and the 7.1% is absolutely non-existent in this. The mouthfeel is medium to medium-full, and this has lots of tartness, with flashes of sour, and big acetic Cabernet/oak/wood. There is some sweetness abound as well, but it all finishes super dry. Palate depth is good, and complexity is good. This has some nice potential to age. Up front is fruity cherries, cherry skin, hints of sour candy; this rolls into malts and leather; the back end is trailing malt and sweetness with a fade to dry finish.

Rating: Above-Average

I gotta go with a Strong Above-Average on this. This would be a great Cabernet substitute, and the oak/wood/cherry thing would go great with red meats. I would love to pair this with some flank steak, filet mignon, or even a medium-rare burger with some aggressive cheese. The only caveat to this beer is the availability. I won't even complain about the price, which ranges from 18 to 25 bucks a bottle, depending on if you hit up Binny's vs. the mom and pop shops. I stumbled upon this at Jewel...and paid around 20 dollars a bottle. For something aged in wine barrels on cherries, the price seems about right. I'd trade for this or seek it out. I reserve the right to revisit this and re-rate this. 8 months ago, this was a light Above-Average. In a year or two? Who knows.

Random Thought: Another week, another snow storm. We are supposed to get pounded with 4 to 8+ inches of snow tomorrow! Woo! During rush hour too. That's good and bad...it's good in that I will likely open a wintery beer. I do want to move forward to Spring, however.