Pipeworks CA$H 4 Golden Ale

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 750ml bottle (Batch #132) bought at Binny's in IL; 2013  (bottled 5/8/2013)

Style/ABV: Belgian Golden Strong Ale, 10.0% 
Reported IBUs: ?

Heyyyy, it's Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™. That means good times ahead, I hope. Actually, I am confidently optimistic tonight, as the Denver Mannings beat the defending Super Bowl champs. The real question is why is John Fox even coaching? We all know what's actually going on. If you're a Denver fan you have a lot to look forward to...just hope they don't botch basic coaching decisions in the Playoffs like they did last year. Anyway, 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.

Finally Pipeworks brews a beer that understands me. At first I thought this beer was a clever play on the shitty Cash4Gold commercials that plagued Midwest radio and late night TV for the past few years, but this beer is clearly gangsta like Snoop Lion. I wish I wasn't pimping so hard, but sometimes slapping bitches is more important than drinking beer. Imagine where I'd be if I could catch a break. The back of the bottle isn't quite as gangsta as Snoop, but some egregious grammar errors do boost street credit: 

Gangsta

"Pipeworks is bringing the bling with Cash 4 Golden Ale. This Belgian inspired ale aint frontin, with it's Pilsner malt base and hint of rye. Czech Saaz, German Tettnanger, and a blend of Pacific Northwest hops are stuntin. But the number one stunna here is the Belgian yeast, stepping with notes of pineapple, tropical fruit and a dry tart finish. We think this beer is the shiznit. Real talk!"

Let me get my gat glass. This is probably my favorite style of beer, and I'm happy to report that this beer is true to the style in appearance. The beer pours into a super hazy, lemon-yellow/straw color, and kicks up tons of fluffy, wispy  white head. The head is thick and sustaining, and in bright light you can see streams of carbonation violently erupting upwards. This beer would make Duvel blush. The beer looks much the same in bright light, with a hazy straw/yellow body, a rocky white head, nice lacing, and some yeast suspended in the body. 

Pipeworks CA$H 4 Golden Ale

The aroma features tons of tropical fruits, with big pineapple, peach, some mango and papaya, and hints of coconut. You get mad tropical vibes off this, and this smells like something that would go well with Summer. I'm getting some lemon zest on the nose as well, along with a hint of peppery spice. There's a touch of white cake/bread/biscuit/Pils malt in the mix as well. Big peaches.

Hmmm...so curb your expectations, because this isn't Duvel. At 10.0%, this beer REALLY dials up the malts, and there's big hop/Pils bitterness to round things out. This is dense and sticky even, but I'm not finding it difficult to drink. Still, I wonder if the intention was to make something a bit more attenuated? We'll never know. HAVING SAID ALL THAT, this is pretty good. You get bready malts up front: I'm getting white cake, vanilla, vanilla wafer  and creamy bananas. There's some peppery spice in the mix, with some pepper/rye. And there is some nice fruitiness that shows up as you get pineapple, lemon zest bitterness, and tropical fruits. I'm getting egg whites and sugar on the finish, Pils malt dryness, and some hop bitterness. There's also a dash of booze in this.

For a Belgian Golden Strong, this is dense and full-bodied in terms of mouthfeel. There is creamy, supportive carbonation, but I would still describe this beer as "cakey with a slightly bitter and dry finish." Palate depth is good, complexity is alright. At 10.0% you get a bit of booze, but this rides the line between being drinkable and being a total fucking nightmare. You get bready, Pils-driven malt sweetness up front, with cake, bananas, and creamy vanilla; that rolls into tropical fruits, spice, some clove, more Pils malt, and some bitter dryness; the back end is lingering bitter dryness, dry Pils malt, and some heat. This is a heavy-handed beer, but it just gets by without being obnoxious.

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this. This beer isn't really true to the Golden Strong Ale style, but it never claimed to be. Regardless, this is a heavy-handed beer that is drinkable and enjoyable, but rides the line between being a cloying mess. If they took this up one more notch it wouldn't work. But what you have here right now is a dense, cakey beer, with some good malt complexity and nice supporting hops. This has cakey, tropical fruit vibes...and would pair well with a mango or papaya sauce, coconut, coconut curry, wings, Caribbean jerk, or anything with a spicy, tropical twist. This one is worth checking out if you are a Pipeworks fan, but this is low-priority stuff as far as Belgian Golden Strong Ales are concerned. 

Random Thought: I am so excited for Sunday. I will be watching 12 hours of football, and it will be awesome. There will be beer.