Solemn Oath Ravaged By Vikings

Brewed By: Solemn Oath Brewing in Naperville, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Galleria Liqueure in Chicago, IL; 2013 

Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 8.0%

Reported IBUs: 99

You might have heard, Solemn Oath are doing some limited release bottles of their beer. This is good news for all the Chicago peeps who can't make it out to the burbs on a regular basis to get Solemn Oath on tap or in a growler. It also means I can take some quick and dirty tasting notes too. About Solemn Oath:

Solemn Oath is a brewery based out of Naperville, IL, and was founded in 2012 by brothers John and Joe Barley, and former Rock Bottom employee Tim Marshall. Marshall's experience was with Belgian-style beers and barrel aging. After John and Tim scouted out the location, they began to install the brewery and on-site taproom. The first brew day was on April 21, 2012. Prior to that, the brewery signed a distribution deal with the Windy City Distribution, and launched three beers during the Chicago Craft Beer Week in 2012. The brewery already has expanded, adding additional barrels (up to 3,200 barrels) in January 2013. The brewery recently started bottling their beers in late 2013, and they have an on-site taproom where you can get a beer, grab some food from one of the many food trucks that stops by, and watch them brew their beer on site. For more information, definitely check out the brewery's ABOUT page or main website.

Tonight's beer, the Ravaged By Vikings, is an American Double IPA. Punching in at 8.0% and 99 IBUs, this beer is described as having rich caramel malt sweetness, with bright, fresh American hop flavors of grapefruit, citrus, pine, and tropical fruit. So basically, it sounds like every Double IPA ever.

Solemn Oath Ravaged By Vikings

First off, big thumbs up to the Solemn Oath bottles. The bottle art is fucking tight, with a gray printing of a viking, and awesome silver accents added to the bottle. The beer pours into a super swampy/hazy, blood orange-colored body. The beer kicked up a finger of amber head. The head retention is good, with hazy sea foam head sticking around for the long haul. That is to be expected for the style, of course. Swirling the beer kicks up more head, and the lacing is spot on. In bright light the beer takes on a vibrant orange color, and there is some nice carbonation in this. 

The aroma here isn't bad...I'm getting orange, tropical fruits, some pineapple, grass, and a weird plastic/rubber note. There's some caramel sweetness, along with some biscuit and cereal. I'm also getting a little woody/resinous citrus. Let's see how this one tastes.

This follows the nose...I'm getting big grassy notes, pineapple, tropical fruit, mango...and then BAM! Bitter, woody, resinous citrus kicks in, with pine, lemon, Pine Sol, and some woody orange. There's some good woody citrus in here, and the resinous stuff is tasty. This is pretty dry and nicely attenuated. There's some caramel and cereal grain in the back. I'm not getting any plastic/rubber in the taste. 

As I continue to sip on this, the hops really open up, with tons of pine, citrus, tropical fruits, spice, pleasant wood/resin, and some oily, sappy hops. There's a little booze in the mix, and the beer doesn't drink anywhere near as bitter as 99 IBUs. Om nom nom. At 8.0%, this is stupid drinkable, and again, the 99 IBUs pale (no pun intended) in comparison to the bold hop flavor. The mouthfeel is full-bodied, and pretty malty and substantial for the style. It's oily and resinous too. But the beer is nicely attenuated, appropriately dry, and supported by lots of carbonation. When all is said and done, the beer is drinkable. Palate depth is good, and complexity is good for the style as well. 

I was gonna like...toss this a 3.5, but this is really growing on me as I drink it. I'm getting a lot of sweet citrus, tropical fruits, guava, and pineapple up front; that rolls into the woody pine, citrus rind, and bitter hops. As the beer warms up, the back end is opening up with big bready notes and sweet caramel. This is just a well made double-IPA. I don't know what was going on with the twang of rubber/plastic in the aroma, but the taste overcomes it and the beer works out in the end. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. This is like your prototypical West Coast IPA...it's also super dry, carbonated, and attenuated. That's how we roll at 8.0%. I really dig the absence of sugars, but the beer has some nice caramel malts going on. The bitterness is held in check as well. It's just a good Double IPA that would pair well with spicy wings, spicy Mexican food, and smokey grilled meats. Galleria is a fucking ripoff and scumhole (those scumbags are selling the Bourbon County varieties for $60 dollars a bottle!!!), but I've heard you can snag this beer for less than what I paid elsewhere. So at under $10 a bottle, I would give this a solid recommendation. I also recommend trying it on tap. 

Random Thought: Speaking of Solemn Oath...I think I will be heading there tomorrow...