Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL
Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #206/7/8) bought at Binny's in IL; 2013 (bottled 9.??.13)
Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 9.5%
Reported IBUs: ?
It's Thursday, so you know the deal: Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™. Or should I say, gud evenin' ya cunt, s'ummer is ere for a bit langer, ya cunt, so cheers 'n' salood, ya funny fuckin' cunt! About Pipeworks:
"Summer is here and the Ninja is up for some sun in the Southern Hemisphere. Showcasing the new Australian Summer hop, this ninja is ready for a hopped up beach party in your mouth."
The Summer hop is local to Australia, and is supposed to provide melon and apricot notes. The beer pours into a dark, reddish-orange body that is pretty hazy. I kicked up a finger or two of caramel/amber-tinted head, and the head is sustaining nicely (with some bubbles on the surface and a nice cauldron effect), and leaving some lacing as it falls off. The beer is a vibrant bright orange in bright light, and the head soaks up those orange tones. There's peppery carbonation dotting its way up to the beer's surface.
I do love me a fresh IPA, and this beer is fresh. The aroma crushes you with huge, juicy hops....I'm getting grass, melon, fruit salad, apricot, some peppery-floral, and some bready and biscuit malt backing. It kind of reminds me of Half Acre's Daisy Cutter.
Thankfully, this dials up both the ABV and the malt bill. I have nothing against Half Acre's Daisy Cutter (their Double Daisy Cutter is a different story...), but that's a Pale Ale and this is an Imperial IPA. This beer punches you with juicy, malt-driven hops. You get tons of fruity grass, floral fruit sweetness, hints of pepper, and BIG melon, mango, and apricot. The beer stays on the juicy side of things, and trails off with a bitter and slightly peppery finish.
Pipeworks has this IPA thing down, and this is another winner. This beer is stupid drinkable, and you don't get any of that 9.5%. This is also perfectly carbonated, with a medium-full mouthfeel, a juicy body, and a slightly peppery and dry finish. This isn't just a Summer Ninja, it's a Summer Ninja. Palate depth and complexity are both above average: You get sweet malts, honey, and bread up front, followed by big grass, and melon; that rolls into some floral sweetness, apricots, mango, juicy hops; the finish shifts to bitter, with some peppery hop spice on the finish.
Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)
This is easily a Strong Above-Average. This is good stuff, and makes me excited about all the hop varieties coming out of Australia. I like this Summer hop...pair the Summer hop with the big malt bill, and BAM! In defense of Imperial IPAs, it seems like sometimes overdoing it with the malts can be a detractor. Not here. Pair this beer with a fish burger or chicken sandwich, or with a tropical/fruit salsa. You could also pair this with Caribbean spices, or mildly spiced habanero. How about mango habanero wings? Yum. If you see this one, check it out.
Random Thought: Serious L-O-Ls at some of the reviews for this beer on BeerAdvocate. DAE love the hop blend used in this beer? My favorite was definitely the Centennial Ninja. Loved that hop blend. Actually...the latest batch of the Citra Ninja was pretty solid too. Anyway, for lulz, read reviews.
Reported IBUs: ?
It's Thursday, so you know the deal: Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™. Or should I say, gud evenin' ya cunt, s'ummer is ere for a bit langer, ya cunt, so cheers 'n' salood, ya funny fuckin' cunt! 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. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.
I'm glad to see that the Ninja vs. Unicorn series travels well. Tonight, we go to Australia (as if you haven't inferred that by now). The back of the bottle states:
"Summer is here and the Ninja is up for some sun in the Southern Hemisphere. Showcasing the new Australian Summer hop, this ninja is ready for a hopped up beach party in your mouth."
 |
| Pipeworks Australian Summer Ninja |
The Summer hop is local to Australia, and is supposed to provide melon and apricot notes. The beer pours into a dark, reddish-orange body that is pretty hazy. I kicked up a finger or two of caramel/amber-tinted head, and the head is sustaining nicely (with some bubbles on the surface and a nice cauldron effect), and leaving some lacing as it falls off. The beer is a vibrant bright orange in bright light, and the head soaks up those orange tones. There's peppery carbonation dotting its way up to the beer's surface.
I do love me a fresh IPA, and this beer is fresh. The aroma crushes you with huge, juicy hops....I'm getting grass, melon, fruit salad, apricot, some peppery-floral, and some bready and biscuit malt backing. It kind of reminds me of Half Acre's Daisy Cutter.
Thankfully, this dials up both the ABV and the malt bill. I have nothing against Half Acre's Daisy Cutter (their Double Daisy Cutter is a different story...), but that's a Pale Ale and this is an Imperial IPA. This beer punches you with juicy, malt-driven hops. You get tons of fruity grass, floral fruit sweetness, hints of pepper, and BIG melon, mango, and apricot. The beer stays on the juicy side of things, and trails off with a bitter and slightly peppery finish.
Pipeworks has this IPA thing down, and this is another winner. This beer is stupid drinkable, and you don't get any of that 9.5%. This is also perfectly carbonated, with a medium-full mouthfeel, a juicy body, and a slightly peppery and dry finish. This isn't just a Summer Ninja, it's a Summer Ninja. Palate depth and complexity are both above average: You get sweet malts, honey, and bread up front, followed by big grass, and melon; that rolls into some floral sweetness, apricots, mango, juicy hops; the finish shifts to bitter, with some peppery hop spice on the finish.
This is easily a Strong Above-Average. This is good stuff, and makes me excited about all the hop varieties coming out of Australia. I like this Summer hop...pair the Summer hop with the big malt bill, and BAM! In defense of Imperial IPAs, it seems like sometimes overdoing it with the malts can be a detractor. Not here. Pair this beer with a fish burger or chicken sandwich, or with a tropical/fruit salsa. You could also pair this with Caribbean spices, or mildly spiced habanero. How about mango habanero wings? Yum. If you see this one, check it out.
Random Thought: Serious L-O-Ls at some of the reviews for this beer on BeerAdvocate. DAE love the hop blend used in this beer? My favorite was definitely the Centennial Ninja. Loved that hop blend. Actually...the latest batch of the Citra Ninja was pretty solid too. Anyway, for lulz, read reviews.
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