Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL
Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #153) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 9.0%
Reported IBUs: ?
It's been a while since I've done an Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™. Shit, patent pending, man. The folks at Pipeworks will be happy to know that I still have been buying/drinking their beer, so hopefully we can get more of their beer on here sometime soon. Until then, we have yet another hoppy Ninja. About Pipeworks:
Reported IBUs: ?
It's been a while since I've done an Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™. Shit, patent pending, man. The folks at Pipeworks will be happy to know that I still have been buying/drinking their beer, so hopefully we can get more of their beer on here sometime soon. Until then, we have yet another hoppy Ninja. 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.
A few weeks ago, I had the Citra Ninja. It was good, certainly better than average, but not quite the beer epiphany that something like Zombie Dust is. Tonight we will try our luck with another one of the American "Three Cs" hops. Centennial is an American hop, and features plenty of big citrus. The back of the 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 Centennial hop. Absolutely loaded with Centennial hops, this imperial IPA is brimming with juicy hop character from nose to palate. Enjoy a break from life's own battles with Centennial Ninja."
DAE copypasta?
This one pours a hazy/juicy dark gold/bronze color, almost approaching amber. The beer kicked up three fingers of thick, foamy, IPA-esque head. The aroma off this is awesome, and was popping when I opened the bottle. In bright light, the beer remains a hazy golden color, with some lazy carbonation rising upwards, and a sustaining golden/white head. There is lacing.
Oh man, this smells amaaaazzing. I'm getting a lot of big spicy citrus on this nose. There's huge peppery orange, lemon, crushed pineapple, light resinous citrus, strawberry, tangerine, and some light apricot. Damn. And historically, Pipework's Imperial IPAs tend to maybe be a bit heavy with the malt hand, but this beer is just dialing up the hops, with a hint of honey/cracker on the nose. This could be a sign of good things...
Mmmm...the taste is a big blast of spicy/herbal citrus. This doesn't veer towards sweet at all, as it hits you with some resinous pine, tons of peppery citrus, peppery lemon, grass, impressive bitterness/light woodiness, and a bitter, herbal finish. You also pick up some trailing cracker/biscuit on the backside.
This may just be my favorite Pipeworks' Imperial IPA, certainly rivaling the fantastic Galaxy Unicorn, and maybe even surpassing it in some regards. This beer has a medium-full mouthfeel, features good supportive carbonation, and shifts the focus to the hops. This is attenuated nicely, and starts out with a big juicy hop kick, and trails off into a wonderful dry, hoppy, bitter finish. It's outstanding...great palate depth...this is what you want in an Impy IPA. A big spotlight on those hops. The complexity is nice too. You get sweet citrus, lemon, tangerines, strawberries, and hints of resinous pine up front; that transitions into resinous pine, peppery citrus, big herbal spice, some wood; the back end is trailing wood/hop bitterness, light biscuit/cracker, and fade to a dry, hoppy finish. Fuckin'ell, mate.
Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)
I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna bump this beer up to a light Divine Brew. Everything about this beer is clicking for me right now, and I love the aggressive hop bite. This beer is anything but balanced, with a full on Centennial onslaught. But balance, in an Imperial IPA? That's not supposed to happen. If you're a fan of the herbal/super bitter/peppery/spicy citrus-forward Centennial hop, you are going to love this beer. Hop heads need not worry. I'm about to pair this beer with some crostinis topped with cucumber mayo sauce. It's going to be the tits. But you could also pair this beer with a good burger, upscale bar food, wings, and the works. This is delicious, get on this now if you can.
Random Thought: Speaking of food, is anyone NOT surprised that Paula Deen is a giant, racist scumbag? The real question is: who is a bigger putz. Paula Deen and her shitty racism, or Serena Williams and her ig'nant dumbassery. Also, fuck celebrities. Why do we look up to these morons for philosophical and political advice? But seriously, fuck Paula Deen's shitty ass food too.
"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 Centennial hop. Absolutely loaded with Centennial hops, this imperial IPA is brimming with juicy hop character from nose to palate. Enjoy a break from life's own battles with Centennial Ninja."
DAE copypasta?
 |
| Pipeworks Cientennial Ninja |
Oh man, this smells amaaaazzing. I'm getting a lot of big spicy citrus on this nose. There's huge peppery orange, lemon, crushed pineapple, light resinous citrus, strawberry, tangerine, and some light apricot. Damn. And historically, Pipework's Imperial IPAs tend to maybe be a bit heavy with the malt hand, but this beer is just dialing up the hops, with a hint of honey/cracker on the nose. This could be a sign of good things...
Mmmm...the taste is a big blast of spicy/herbal citrus. This doesn't veer towards sweet at all, as it hits you with some resinous pine, tons of peppery citrus, peppery lemon, grass, impressive bitterness/light woodiness, and a bitter, herbal finish. You also pick up some trailing cracker/biscuit on the backside.
This may just be my favorite Pipeworks' Imperial IPA, certainly rivaling the fantastic Galaxy Unicorn, and maybe even surpassing it in some regards. This beer has a medium-full mouthfeel, features good supportive carbonation, and shifts the focus to the hops. This is attenuated nicely, and starts out with a big juicy hop kick, and trails off into a wonderful dry, hoppy, bitter finish. It's outstanding...great palate depth...this is what you want in an Impy IPA. A big spotlight on those hops. The complexity is nice too. You get sweet citrus, lemon, tangerines, strawberries, and hints of resinous pine up front; that transitions into resinous pine, peppery citrus, big herbal spice, some wood; the back end is trailing wood/hop bitterness, light biscuit/cracker, and fade to a dry, hoppy finish. Fuckin'ell, mate.
Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)
I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna bump this beer up to a light Divine Brew. Everything about this beer is clicking for me right now, and I love the aggressive hop bite. This beer is anything but balanced, with a full on Centennial onslaught. But balance, in an Imperial IPA? That's not supposed to happen. If you're a fan of the herbal/super bitter/peppery/spicy citrus-forward Centennial hop, you are going to love this beer. Hop heads need not worry. I'm about to pair this beer with some crostinis topped with cucumber mayo sauce. It's going to be the tits. But you could also pair this beer with a good burger, upscale bar food, wings, and the works. This is delicious, get on this now if you can.
Random Thought: Speaking of food, is anyone NOT surprised that Paula Deen is a giant, racist scumbag? The real question is: who is a bigger putz. Paula Deen and her shitty racism, or Serena Williams and her ig'nant dumbassery. Also, fuck celebrities. Why do we look up to these morons for philosophical and political advice? But seriously, fuck Paula Deen's shitty ass food too.
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