Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL
Purchased: 12oz bottle (Batch #75) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013 (bottled ??.??.2012)
Style/ABV: Imperial Stout/Milk Stout, 11.0%
Reported IBUs: ?
Tonight isn't a Thursday, but it has been a while since we've had an Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™....so let's just pretend tonight is Thursday. And we can also pretend that the Bears don't suck, or that their horrible defense and safety-who-will-not-be-named didn't blow a freebie game against the Green Bay Packers. And that I don't have any feelings about that. And that tonight's beer is going to be amazing. Now that's optimism! About Pipeworks:
"Our Jones Dog Milk Stout, brewed with cacao nibs and vanilla bean, aged in Buffalo Trace Barrels."
This one punches in at 11.0% and features some nice art work. The Buffalo Trace barrels were sourced from West Lakeview Liquors. This one pours into a dark brown body that looks deceptively darker/blacker than it really is. It is opaque, even in bright light, but you catch some serious brown tones. This one also pours with a finger of rapidly-dissolving, short lived brown head. the head was nice and brown, but has been the victim of dat whiskey burn. There is some nice lacing on this, along with some residuals along the glass, and carbonation is present in the body.
I'm getting two big things on the aroma...big, strong, bourbon-forward aromas and woody oak tannin and some vanilla. I'm also getting some big cocoa aromas, and some dark fruits ala complex boozy plums and figs, and some molasses.
Huh...werd. I like this, although I'm going to say right up front this isn't the most dense barrel-aged Stout nor the most complex. But this is well blended and very easy-going. Up front I'm getting a wash of cocoa, molasses, and dark fruits...that rolls into awesome barrel-aged character, with sweet bourbon, vanilla, oak, woody tannin, some tobacco/leather, and molasses with dark fruits. Once that starts to fade, I'm getting hit with lingering bourbon/vanilla/oak, some coconut, and a little roast and coffee and lingering Milk Stout goodness. I'm happy to see the base beer creepin' towards the back, and the barrel character stands out in the front. This is perfectly carbonated, so if anyone tells you this is under-carbonated they are wrong (or there is bottle variation).
This is sticky and sweet, and way too fucking drinkable for 11.0% ABV. It's a medium to full-bodied beer, but I'm leaning towards medium-bodied. The barrel character isn't too boozy or overwhelming, so it keeps things drinkable. Despite the slightly less dense body, this one still has fantastic palate duration and good palate depth. The complexity is somewhere in the mdidle for a barrel-aged beer. After a wash of cocoa, molasses, and dark fruits up front; you get big barrel character with oak, vanilla, some hints of coconut, oak/wood tannin, bourbon, booze; the back end trails off with lingering sweet bourbon, and some hints of the stout base. The finish is sweet, with sugar, vanilla, and bourbon trailing off on the finish. Overall...I honestly really like this.
Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. I really, really like this...and I don't want to be contrarian just for the sake of being contrarian. But I've been reading reviews for this beer complaining that it's too thin or that the barrel character is too strong? Are people serious about that? Like, I'm curious how many of these people have had a wide range of barrel-aged Stouts, because this beer seems about par the course if not better than par the course. Anyway, I digress. As usual, I say, "fuck the haters." This is fantastic stuff, and I'm glad to see Pipeworks finally rolling these out. Also, I'm glad to see that Pipeworks is sticking these beers in 12oz bottles! Now I can crack one of these open without feeling guilty for drinking a whole 22oz bomber or 750ml bottle. Uh...food pairings here...rich, dry, chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream, and a cigar.
Random Thought: Seriously though, as a Bears fan, my heart is so broken right now. I look forward to next year...and props to Jay for playing a great game.
Reported IBUs: ?
Tonight isn't a Thursday, but it has been a while since we've had an Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™....so let's just pretend tonight is Thursday. And we can also pretend that the Bears don't suck, or that their horrible defense and safety-who-will-not-be-named didn't blow a freebie game against the Green Bay Packers. And that I don't have any feelings about that. And that tonight's beer is going to be amazing. Now that's optimism! 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.
Tonight's beer was bottled a long, long time ago. The early batch of Jones Dog that I reviewed was batch #65 and came out around 2012, by my estimation. I think that tonight's beer is that same beer, aged in Buffalo Trace Barrels. This beer is part of Pipework's "Tales From The Oak" series, and the back of the bottle states:
"Our Jones Dog Milk Stout, brewed with cacao nibs and vanilla bean, aged in Buffalo Trace Barrels."
 |
| Pipeworks The Jones Dog (Barrel Aged #75) |
This one punches in at 11.0% and features some nice art work. The Buffalo Trace barrels were sourced from West Lakeview Liquors. This one pours into a dark brown body that looks deceptively darker/blacker than it really is. It is opaque, even in bright light, but you catch some serious brown tones. This one also pours with a finger of rapidly-dissolving, short lived brown head. the head was nice and brown, but has been the victim of dat whiskey burn. There is some nice lacing on this, along with some residuals along the glass, and carbonation is present in the body.
I'm getting two big things on the aroma...big, strong, bourbon-forward aromas and woody oak tannin and some vanilla. I'm also getting some big cocoa aromas, and some dark fruits ala complex boozy plums and figs, and some molasses.
Huh...werd. I like this, although I'm going to say right up front this isn't the most dense barrel-aged Stout nor the most complex. But this is well blended and very easy-going. Up front I'm getting a wash of cocoa, molasses, and dark fruits...that rolls into awesome barrel-aged character, with sweet bourbon, vanilla, oak, woody tannin, some tobacco/leather, and molasses with dark fruits. Once that starts to fade, I'm getting hit with lingering bourbon/vanilla/oak, some coconut, and a little roast and coffee and lingering Milk Stout goodness. I'm happy to see the base beer creepin' towards the back, and the barrel character stands out in the front. This is perfectly carbonated, so if anyone tells you this is under-carbonated they are wrong (or there is bottle variation).
This is sticky and sweet, and way too fucking drinkable for 11.0% ABV. It's a medium to full-bodied beer, but I'm leaning towards medium-bodied. The barrel character isn't too boozy or overwhelming, so it keeps things drinkable. Despite the slightly less dense body, this one still has fantastic palate duration and good palate depth. The complexity is somewhere in the mdidle for a barrel-aged beer. After a wash of cocoa, molasses, and dark fruits up front; you get big barrel character with oak, vanilla, some hints of coconut, oak/wood tannin, bourbon, booze; the back end trails off with lingering sweet bourbon, and some hints of the stout base. The finish is sweet, with sugar, vanilla, and bourbon trailing off on the finish. Overall...I honestly really like this.
I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. I really, really like this...and I don't want to be contrarian just for the sake of being contrarian. But I've been reading reviews for this beer complaining that it's too thin or that the barrel character is too strong? Are people serious about that? Like, I'm curious how many of these people have had a wide range of barrel-aged Stouts, because this beer seems about par the course if not better than par the course. Anyway, I digress. As usual, I say, "fuck the haters." This is fantastic stuff, and I'm glad to see Pipeworks finally rolling these out. Also, I'm glad to see that Pipeworks is sticking these beers in 12oz bottles! Now I can crack one of these open without feeling guilty for drinking a whole 22oz bomber or 750ml bottle. Uh...food pairings here...rich, dry, chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream, and a cigar.
Random Thought: Seriously though, as a Bears fan, my heart is so broken right now. I look forward to next year...and props to Jay for playing a great game.
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