Pipeworks Simcoe Ninja

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #306, 307, 322, 323) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled ??.??.2014)

Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 9.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

DIPA her? I hardly know her! Tonight is Saturday, so it's Not Pipeworks Thursday™....but I had a serious Lupulin craving. 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.

The Simcoe Ninja is is brewed with 2-row, munich, special roast, white wheat, acidulated malt, and caramel 40 malts; this one uses Chinook, falconner's flight, simcoe, and zythos hops. The back of the bottle states:

"A new clan of warriors is ready to do battle with your taste buds. A true combatant, the Simcoe's only foe is the bland. With massive notes of pine and citrus, Pipeworks Simcoe will slash at your senses and leave you thirsty for another battle."

Pipeworks Simcoe Ninja

The beer pours into a pretty typical Pipeworks IPA pour. That is....a hazy, juicy, dark orange color, with a finger of off-white head. The beer has really nice lacing, with sheets of lacing, and the head settles into sea foam and a nice cauldron effect. It's a good looking beer.

Forget the appearance though, you are here for those hops. The aroma on this beer is exploding with hops. As I was pouring this beer into the glass, I was getting tons of hops. This beer reminds me of the Arctic Panzer Wolf. I'm getting huge Simcoe and Chinook: grapefruit, catty notes, spice, BIG orange, pine, and lemon, and some crushed leaves and iced tea. The hops are wet, bright, and sharp. The hint of resin that you do get on the aroma is razor sharp...the exact opposite of drinking an Imperial IPA in a hemp field.

And the taste conveys similar...this is juicy and slightly earthy/woody, with big iced tea and crushed leaves, earthy spice, pepper, and big orange/pine/grapefruit/lemon. Simcoe is kind of aggressive, and this beer definitely has that razor sharp resinous-bitterness thing, veering towards spicy and woody and bitter and dry. It is a little harsh, but there is a blast of sweeter pine/citrus/grapefruit/orange/lemon that helps even things out. This one is pretty dry and hop-forward, I'm not getting a ton of sugar, bread, or malts. There's a hint of caramel sweetness in the back.

I love all things bitter, woody, astringent, and spicy...but it's hard to pull that off. A great example of an aggressively hoppy beer made out of an aggressive hop was the Pipeworks Centennial Ninja. That beer was fucking spectacular. This beer right here is pretty solid. It's medium to full bodied, appropriately carbonated, and nicely attenuated. Palate depth is good, and complexity is alright. The 9.5% is completely hidden. You get wet leaves, iced tea, woody/resin/bitter hops and spice up front; that rolls into more spice, peppery bitterness, coriander, catty Simcoe, PINE, big pine; the back end has a blast of sweet citrus/orange/grapefruit/lemon, and then the finish is spicy and dry. It's formidable, and pretty good for the style. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. Pretty, pretty good...not my favorite Ninja by a long shot. It's vibrant though. The aggressive Chinook and Simcoe are on full display. If you like that fuck-your-face-grapefruit assertiveness you get from Simcoe, along with the catty/woody bitter, and the spicy Chinook goodness, you'll enjoy this beer. Food pairings: peppered steak, chicken, game hen, potatoes, buffalo wings, sausage pizza, and fried chicken. This is bright and fresh, you can't beat this local IPA if you live in Chicago.

Random Thought: I can't believe I'm still finding Bourbon County just sitting on shelves. I do believe that Goose Island can turn Bourbon County into a beer that is a available year-round if they get enough supply, there seems to be a drop in demand.