Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL
Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #161 [or 151???]) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Imperial Red Ale, 9.0%
Reported IBUs: ?
Nothing says America like random shelf-grabs. I wasn't planning on buying this beer, as I was never overly smitten with the Santa vs. Unicorn, but you know how these things go. So on this Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™, we celebrate July 4th, part II. About Pipeworks:
"When the weather warms and minds turn to summer's delights, true Americans celebrate our great nation's birth the best way we know how...drinkin' beers and blowin' stuff up. In honor of this most hallowed of traditions we present Sam vs Unicorn, an Imperial Red Ale brewed exclusively with American grown hops. We're sure you'll find to be the perfect pairing for Life, Liberty and the pursuit of semi-controlled explosions."
The beer pours into a hazy, reddish-brown body, and kicks up a finger of caramel-tinted head. The head is sticky, leaving lacing and alcohol legs, and a nice cauldron effect is forming on top of the beer. In bright light the beer is a murky red-orange, with the head picking up some nice amber/orange tones. The bottle art is pretty cool, and definitely has an, "America, fuck yeah!" vibe.
The aroma features bright, spicy hops. I'm getting huge resin, resinous hop punch, some wood, pine, orange, tangerine...and there's some underlying spice like tingly brown sugar or rye or something. There's also some hints of non-specific malt sweetness, hinting at caramel or bread.
Woah-hey. The taste is surprisingly big and bold. As I recall, this is an immediate improvement from the Santa vs. Unicorn. This really does remind me of something Lagunitas would brew...there's tons of bready/caramel malt sweetness in this, with big blasts of brown sugar and rye-like spice. Between the malt and spice is fat resinous citrus (grapefruit, tangerine, orange, marmalade), some dank hops, resin/sap, and hints of wood and rind. There's big sweetness on the finish, and you feel the weight of the 9.0% ABV with light booze on the end (with some berry?).
My expectations were low, but I'm pleasantly surprised. This beer is doing everything right, and delivers what I want in an Imperial Red Ale. You have a big malty base, lots of brown sugar/rye-esque spice, and tons of resinous hops. Palate depth is outstanding, and complexity is aight. This is medium-full to full-bodied, with perfect carbonation. This is kind of boozy, as you'd expect for 9.0%. But the booze is masked, with just a hint popping up on the back (and the inevitable warming). You get citrus and bready/caramel malts up front; that rolls into brown sugar, rye-esque spice, and more hops; the back is lingering spice/hops, with a flash of malt sweetness. The finish is slightly woody and slightly dry.
Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)
This is a Strong Above-Average. Imperial Reds are one of my favorite styles of beer, IF they have that huge malt body and accompanying brown sugar spice. This beer nails the style, with a huge body to support all the hop/malt/spice trimmings. I would definitely recommend grabbing a bottle of this if you see it in the Chicago-land area. I also hope Pipeworks continues to brew this beer or similar versions. The Santa vs. Unicorn was average at best, but this beer is bangin'. I like to pair these malty/spicy Red Ales with spicy Mexican food. You could also pair this beer with pizza, a burger, wings, etc. But spicy Mexican food will really hit the spot. Get some pork or fish tacos...mmm.
Random Thought: So I guess today was the release for Lost Abbey's Duck Duck Gooze, and apparently it was a complete clusterfuck. You'd think they would know by know what with Dark Lord day and all.
Reported IBUs: ?
Nothing says America like random shelf-grabs. I wasn't planning on buying this beer, as I was never overly smitten with the Santa vs. Unicorn, but you know how these things go. So on this Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™, we celebrate July 4th, part II. 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 is a big ol' Imperial Amber/Red Ale. The bottle talks abut American hops, and the ABV is dialed up to 9.0%. I'm expecting malts and hops in the Laguintas ballpark. I can dream, right? The back of the bottle states:
"When the weather warms and minds turn to summer's delights, true Americans celebrate our great nation's birth the best way we know how...drinkin' beers and blowin' stuff up. In honor of this most hallowed of traditions we present Sam vs Unicorn, an Imperial Red Ale brewed exclusively with American grown hops. We're sure you'll find to be the perfect pairing for Life, Liberty and the pursuit of semi-controlled explosions."
The beer pours into a hazy, reddish-brown body, and kicks up a finger of caramel-tinted head. The head is sticky, leaving lacing and alcohol legs, and a nice cauldron effect is forming on top of the beer. In bright light the beer is a murky red-orange, with the head picking up some nice amber/orange tones. The bottle art is pretty cool, and definitely has an, "America, fuck yeah!" vibe.
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| Pipeworks Sam vs Unicorn |
The aroma features bright, spicy hops. I'm getting huge resin, resinous hop punch, some wood, pine, orange, tangerine...and there's some underlying spice like tingly brown sugar or rye or something. There's also some hints of non-specific malt sweetness, hinting at caramel or bread.
Woah-hey. The taste is surprisingly big and bold. As I recall, this is an immediate improvement from the Santa vs. Unicorn. This really does remind me of something Lagunitas would brew...there's tons of bready/caramel malt sweetness in this, with big blasts of brown sugar and rye-like spice. Between the malt and spice is fat resinous citrus (grapefruit, tangerine, orange, marmalade), some dank hops, resin/sap, and hints of wood and rind. There's big sweetness on the finish, and you feel the weight of the 9.0% ABV with light booze on the end (with some berry?).
My expectations were low, but I'm pleasantly surprised. This beer is doing everything right, and delivers what I want in an Imperial Red Ale. You have a big malty base, lots of brown sugar/rye-esque spice, and tons of resinous hops. Palate depth is outstanding, and complexity is aight. This is medium-full to full-bodied, with perfect carbonation. This is kind of boozy, as you'd expect for 9.0%. But the booze is masked, with just a hint popping up on the back (and the inevitable warming). You get citrus and bready/caramel malts up front; that rolls into brown sugar, rye-esque spice, and more hops; the back is lingering spice/hops, with a flash of malt sweetness. The finish is slightly woody and slightly dry.
Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)
This is a Strong Above-Average. Imperial Reds are one of my favorite styles of beer, IF they have that huge malt body and accompanying brown sugar spice. This beer nails the style, with a huge body to support all the hop/malt/spice trimmings. I would definitely recommend grabbing a bottle of this if you see it in the Chicago-land area. I also hope Pipeworks continues to brew this beer or similar versions. The Santa vs. Unicorn was average at best, but this beer is bangin'. I like to pair these malty/spicy Red Ales with spicy Mexican food. You could also pair this beer with pizza, a burger, wings, etc. But spicy Mexican food will really hit the spot. Get some pork or fish tacos...mmm.
Random Thought: So I guess today was the release for Lost Abbey's Duck Duck Gooze, and apparently it was a complete clusterfuck. You'd think they would know by know what with Dark Lord day and all.
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