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:
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.
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.
"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.
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