Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL
Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #110) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 9.5%
Reported IBUs: ?
Thursdays are the best night in the week. There's an optimism about Thursdays, something hopeful to look forward to. You know everyone is going to be relaxed at work the following day, and then you get to go home, fix a drink, and crash. Or go out, or do whatever. Fridays are great too, but before you know it, it's Saturday. And then it's Sunday, and you're like: "Where did the weekend go?" Fridays and Saturdays fly by, but Thursdays have potential. On that note, keeping up with the unofficial Pipework's Thursday...about Pipeworks:
Reported IBUs: ?
Thursdays are the best night in the week. There's an optimism about Thursdays, something hopeful to look forward to. You know everyone is going to be relaxed at work the following day, and then you get to go home, fix a drink, and crash. Or go out, or do whatever. Fridays are great too, but before you know it, it's Saturday. And then it's Sunday, and you're like: "Where did the weekend go?" Fridays and Saturdays fly by, but Thursdays have potential. On that note, keeping up with the unofficial Pipework's Thursday...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 Citra Ninja bottle states:
"When ninjas take a break from their battles with the mythical unicorn, they like truly embrace their inner hop head. This particular ninja has chosen to walk the path of the Citra hop. Absolutely loaded with Citra hops, this imperial IPA is brimming with juicy hop character from nose to palate. Enjoy a break from life's own battles with Citra Ninja."
Clocking in at 9.5% ABV, this should be delicious. Citra (also found in Zombie Dust) is a lovely hop with tons of citrus and tropical fruit characteristics. It's basically magical, like Ninjas and Unicorns. Into the glass...
This one pours a dark orange color in low light, with two fingers of orange-tinted head. When held to a bright white light, this beer takes on a rich, vibrant orange color. There's good head duration, with a finger of creamy, off-white head sticking around. The head is leaving nice lacing, and I can see some nice streams of small carbonation in this slightly hazy beer. Overall, not a bad looking beer.
The aroma on this is really nice, and jumps out of the glass. I'm getting grassy/marijuana hops, mango, pineapple and zesty tropical fruits, sweet hints of citrus (grapefruit, orange), and some strawberry and kiwi. There's also some light bready/caramel malt sitting in the back of the nose.
The mouthfeel dials up the malt thickness, and you pick up some resinous hop kick along the way. This one is fairly chewy and dense as well. I'm getting orange, candied orange, grapefruit, grass/hemp, resinous and chewy hops on the mouthfeel, and some nice malt/bread/toffee towards the back. There's a hint of lemony spice and white pepper as well.
Sticky, thick, chewy, resinous, and definitely medium-full to full-bodied, this is a fat Imperial IPA. However, the 9.5% is well hidden, and this has nice carbonation to smooth things over. You don't pick up any assertive heat, but there is some booze/warming on the back end. This one occasionally veers into thinner/lighter territory, but mostly has good palate depth. Complexity is good for the style. Up front is bready orange, candied oranges, toffee, sweet hops; this rolls into grapefruit and tropical fruits, with some lemony/peppery hop spice; the back end is resinous bitterness, bread/toffee, lingering sticky hops. Hints of grass/hemp/strawberry come and go.
Rating: Above-Average
This is another great Double IPA from the Pipeworks wheelhouse, so I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. I still think the Galaxy Unicorn has been their best Double IPA, and this one might edge out the Unicorn's Revenge, but it's close. What I do know is this is a great homegrown, local beer. Especially for around 10 or 11 bucks a bomber. Get it while you can, if you can...I like to pair these sweet Imperial IPAs with Korean BBQ...I'm thinking Kimchi Fries, mmm. This would also work well with a burger with some leafy toppings, or upscale bar food.
Random Thought: Seriously though, who would win in a battle? The Ninja or the Unicorn? Hmmm.
"When ninjas take a break from their battles with the mythical unicorn, they like truly embrace their inner hop head. This particular ninja has chosen to walk the path of the Citra hop. Absolutely loaded with Citra hops, this imperial IPA is brimming with juicy hop character from nose to palate. Enjoy a break from life's own battles with Citra Ninja."
Clocking in at 9.5% ABV, this should be delicious. Citra (also found in Zombie Dust) is a lovely hop with tons of citrus and tropical fruit characteristics. It's basically magical, like Ninjas and Unicorns. Into the glass...
 |
| Pipeworks Citra Ninja Imperial IPA |
This one pours a dark orange color in low light, with two fingers of orange-tinted head. When held to a bright white light, this beer takes on a rich, vibrant orange color. There's good head duration, with a finger of creamy, off-white head sticking around. The head is leaving nice lacing, and I can see some nice streams of small carbonation in this slightly hazy beer. Overall, not a bad looking beer.
The aroma on this is really nice, and jumps out of the glass. I'm getting grassy/marijuana hops, mango, pineapple and zesty tropical fruits, sweet hints of citrus (grapefruit, orange), and some strawberry and kiwi. There's also some light bready/caramel malt sitting in the back of the nose.
The mouthfeel dials up the malt thickness, and you pick up some resinous hop kick along the way. This one is fairly chewy and dense as well. I'm getting orange, candied orange, grapefruit, grass/hemp, resinous and chewy hops on the mouthfeel, and some nice malt/bread/toffee towards the back. There's a hint of lemony spice and white pepper as well.
Sticky, thick, chewy, resinous, and definitely medium-full to full-bodied, this is a fat Imperial IPA. However, the 9.5% is well hidden, and this has nice carbonation to smooth things over. You don't pick up any assertive heat, but there is some booze/warming on the back end. This one occasionally veers into thinner/lighter territory, but mostly has good palate depth. Complexity is good for the style. Up front is bready orange, candied oranges, toffee, sweet hops; this rolls into grapefruit and tropical fruits, with some lemony/peppery hop spice; the back end is resinous bitterness, bread/toffee, lingering sticky hops. Hints of grass/hemp/strawberry come and go.
Rating: Above-Average
This is another great Double IPA from the Pipeworks wheelhouse, so I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. I still think the Galaxy Unicorn has been their best Double IPA, and this one might edge out the Unicorn's Revenge, but it's close. What I do know is this is a great homegrown, local beer. Especially for around 10 or 11 bucks a bomber. Get it while you can, if you can...I like to pair these sweet Imperial IPAs with Korean BBQ...I'm thinking Kimchi Fries, mmm. This would also work well with a burger with some leafy toppings, or upscale bar food.
Random Thought: Seriously though, who would win in a battle? The Ninja or the Unicorn? Hmmm.
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