Pipeworks Nisperos de Batata

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #98) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013 (2012 batch/bottle???)

Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable, 7.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

Dear Thursday, how about another Pipeworks beer? That sounds good, Jon, that sounds good. Maybe we should officially make Thursday, "Pipeworks Thursday?" No Jon, that's like dividing by zero; what would happen if you drank a non-pipeworks beer on Pipeworks Thursday? You're right, Thursday, you win. 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.

Tonight's beer takes inspiration from the Puerto Rican dessert, Nisperos de Batata. Nisperos (also known as loquat) are a yellow, tangy fruit, native to central China. The fruit was introduced to Spain around 2000 years ago. Batata means "potato," and comes from a Carib language of Haiti. When you combine the two, the dessert literally translates to "Nispero [fruit] of Potato." According to THIS WEBSITE/RECIPE, the explanation for the name is:

"The reason the treat is named "nispero" is that this dessert paste is shaped into balls that resemble the fruit of the nispero tree also known as Loquat or Medlar in English." 

There's another recipe here. It looks like you cook the sweet potatoes, and then put them through a ricer. You then add your coconut, sugar, egg yolk, and spices. You cook that mixture out, and then shape it into small balls. You then coat the balls with cinnamon. It actually sounds pretty legit, and I'm kind of sad that I didn't try making some to pair with this beer. Oh well. The show must go on. The back of the bottle reads:

"Inspired by the Puerto Rican dessert of the same name, this ale is brewed with the dishes' core ingredients: sweet potatoes, cinnamon, clove, vanilla, and toasted coconut, and is an equatorial delight. Pipeworks is proud of our roots in Humboldt Park, grateful to neighbors like Junior of Puerto Rican Food Mart for their support. And also, we love dessert."

Pipeworks Nisperos de Batata

The bottle art is kind of ominous for a sweet dessert beer. Either way...this one pours a hazy copper-orange color, with a finger's worth of copper-tinted head that (literally) fizzled out in a matter of seconds. Cinnamon: the head killer. In bright light, this beer is a swampy orange color, with no head to speak of except for a thin ring of bubbles clinging to the side of the glass. There's bubbles in this...but I'm worried.

Sweet potatos and cinnamon are an awful lot like pumpkin spice and Christmas spice. And while I do get a lot of clove and cinnamon on the nose, I'm not ready to pull out my Jack-O-Lanters just yet. There's big vanilla sweetness on the nose, a hint of starch, a hint of booze, and some subtle waves of sweet potato/pumpkin pie. If this was a pumpkin beer, it has good aroma vibes.

Ah, yes. The carbonation here is very flat, giving this a wine-like feel. I'm getting big sweet potato/pumpkin pie in this, with plenty of tannins from the potatoes. Surprisingly, the cinnamon and clove are very restrained and mild, and there's a nice kick of vanilla with suggestions of coconut. There's some booze on the mid and back palate, but it's not hot.

I feel like this is what you might get if you took some sugar, put it into a pumpkin, and let it sit for a couple of weeks. Pumpkin wine! Or whatever.

I'm semi-joking, of course...while the carbonation is thin and lazy at best, the spices help to give the impression of carbonation. As such, the mouthfeel is medium-full to full, and fairly dense. It never hits syrupy levels, but the mouthfeel is a bit flaccid. If spiced beers aren't your bag, you'll probably hate this. Otherwise, palate depth is fine, and complexity is meh. This is pretty boozy for 7.5%, but it's not hot. I'm kind of digging that fact. Up front is sweetness, pumpkin pie, sweet potato, hints of elusive sweets (fruit? malt?); that turns into some nice cinnamon and clove spice, with maybe a touch of hop bitterness; the finish is big vanilla, coconut, and booze, with lingering pie/potato.

Rating: Average 

I'm feeling a Light Light Average on this. I don't know how to rate this. This beer would be good to serve to any foodies you know. And this beer also shows that you can brew some tasty shit with sweet potatoes and coconut. I'm curious how much coconut was needed to make this, because you get a really nice vanilla profile in this beer. Honestly, this beer makes me wonder if adding sweet potatoes to pumpkin beers is the way to go. I digress...

I love the big vanilla flavors in this, the pleasant booziness, and the balanced spices with the big pie/sweet potato notes. I think a little more carbonation couldn't hurt, and maybe they should release this beer in October so I can wax nostalgic while I drink it. I would pair this beer with Thanksgiving dinner, Thanksgiving dessert, pie, or a home-style meal. Next up: I make some Nisperos de Batata, and see if they taste like this beer.

Random Thought: Speaking of October/Halloween, I'm hoping to go see the remake of the Evil Dead. Now that will get me in the pumpkin beer mood.