Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Milk Stout, 8.0%
Reported IBUs: ?
Tonight I'm looking at a beer from the Chicago-land area. This beer was brewed by the folks at the 18th Street Brewery. At this point...we are getting pretty local. The 18th Street Brewery is a tentative brewery that is going to be based in Gary, Indiana. Why you would want to open a brewery in that dump is beyond me. The good news is, putting a brewery in Gary is like painting racing stripes on your crappy ricer. Yuppies love racing stripes. Their Kickstarter was a success...and they are already brewing their own beer, so I expect to see them rolling any day now.
Tonight's beer is a hefty Milk Stout pushing that 8.0% ABV. The bottle reads:
The bottle art for this beer is pretty badass. Like Three Floyds-esque. The appearance is squid-ink black, with a pinky's worth of dark brown head. The head is sustaining nicely. There was initially a little carbonation visible on the edges, but the body is mostly opaque and obsidian-looking. The head is absolutely filthy, coating the glass in thick brown residue, leaving some alcohol legs behind.
This beer has a big aroma, with roasty malts, espresso/coffee, earthy dirt, and surprisingly some big hoppy kick with some floral pine/orange. There's also some big chocolate and cacao, and some big waves of lactose on the nose.
I didn't think I'd top the Espresso Yeti's mouthfeel in such a short period of time, but this beer is oily, thick, and fills up your mouth like a milkshake. The palate duration is outstanding too. Up front is I'm getting a blast of sweet caramel, burnt molasses, and citrus/acidic/berry hops; this rolls into huge espresso, roast, lactose, cacao, chocolate, and vanilla; there's a big oily coating that lingers on your lips and tongue, as you pick up more roast, cacao, and lactose. On another sip, I was blasted with cacao, vanilla, lactose, and then roast up front.
There's curvy, thick, and fluffy. This beer is fluffy. This is a "Milk Stout" like Precious is big-boned. This has a full-bodied mouthfeel, with an oily coating, and a thick, sticky, dry finish. The palate depth is outstanding. This coats your mouth, lips, tongue, and supplies a blast of hops and roast that would make Oskar Blues blush. Complexity is not bad either. Because this is so dense and heavy, drinkability is called into question. The 8.0% is hidden, but this one isn't particularly sessionable. It's a sipper...or grab a friend. Up front: huge cacao, roast, lactose, caramel/molasses, piney hops/citrus/berries; this rolls into more coffee/espresso, earthy roast, lactose; the back end is lingering vanilla and lactose with sticky/oily/dry happenings.
I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. I wanna go higher, but I feel like this could ramp up the complexity a bit. Throw this in a barrel or hit it up with some cherries...and damn. Then again, this beer has a DYNAMITE mouthfeel. So it's a conflicting situation. The mouthfeel and palate depth are certainly divine, and are up there with the best of them. Add in the fact that this is only at 8.0%...and yeah. It's impressive stuff from 18th Street. I'll revisit this down the road and perhaps notch it higher. A beer like this beckons to be enjoyed slowly in a snifter, but if you MUST pair this with food, go with some vanilla ice cream. And that's pretty much it. This beer is dessert unto itself.
Random Thought: Gary is basically Chicago...so, like, it's a good time to be a beer fan and living in Chicago.
Reported IBUs: ?
Tonight I'm looking at a beer from the Chicago-land area. This beer was brewed by the folks at the 18th Street Brewery. At this point...we are getting pretty local. The 18th Street Brewery is a tentative brewery that is going to be based in Gary, Indiana. Why you would want to open a brewery in that dump is beyond me. The good news is, putting a brewery in Gary is like painting racing stripes on your crappy ricer. Yuppies love racing stripes. Their Kickstarter was a success...and they are already brewing their own beer, so I expect to see them rolling any day now.
Tonight's beer is a hefty Milk Stout pushing that 8.0% ABV. The bottle reads:
"Here is a father’s toast to his son. Brewed with cocoa nibs and lactose, Hunter boasts a creamy texture and rich chocolate flavor. Vanilla, roast, and caramel sweetness are met with a bright hop bitterness. Complex enough to pair with dinner or dessert. Suave enough to skip the meal altogether. A chip off the old block, alright."
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| 18th Street Hunter |
This beer has a big aroma, with roasty malts, espresso/coffee, earthy dirt, and surprisingly some big hoppy kick with some floral pine/orange. There's also some big chocolate and cacao, and some big waves of lactose on the nose.
I didn't think I'd top the Espresso Yeti's mouthfeel in such a short period of time, but this beer is oily, thick, and fills up your mouth like a milkshake. The palate duration is outstanding too. Up front is I'm getting a blast of sweet caramel, burnt molasses, and citrus/acidic/berry hops; this rolls into huge espresso, roast, lactose, cacao, chocolate, and vanilla; there's a big oily coating that lingers on your lips and tongue, as you pick up more roast, cacao, and lactose. On another sip, I was blasted with cacao, vanilla, lactose, and then roast up front.
There's curvy, thick, and fluffy. This beer is fluffy. This is a "Milk Stout" like Precious is big-boned. This has a full-bodied mouthfeel, with an oily coating, and a thick, sticky, dry finish. The palate depth is outstanding. This coats your mouth, lips, tongue, and supplies a blast of hops and roast that would make Oskar Blues blush. Complexity is not bad either. Because this is so dense and heavy, drinkability is called into question. The 8.0% is hidden, but this one isn't particularly sessionable. It's a sipper...or grab a friend. Up front: huge cacao, roast, lactose, caramel/molasses, piney hops/citrus/berries; this rolls into more coffee/espresso, earthy roast, lactose; the back end is lingering vanilla and lactose with sticky/oily/dry happenings.
Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. I wanna go higher, but I feel like this could ramp up the complexity a bit. Throw this in a barrel or hit it up with some cherries...and damn. Then again, this beer has a DYNAMITE mouthfeel. So it's a conflicting situation. The mouthfeel and palate depth are certainly divine, and are up there with the best of them. Add in the fact that this is only at 8.0%...and yeah. It's impressive stuff from 18th Street. I'll revisit this down the road and perhaps notch it higher. A beer like this beckons to be enjoyed slowly in a snifter, but if you MUST pair this with food, go with some vanilla ice cream. And that's pretty much it. This beer is dessert unto itself.
Random Thought: Gary is basically Chicago...so, like, it's a good time to be a beer fan and living in Chicago.
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