Pipeworks Brief Relief Blood Orange Red Ale

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #426/427) bought at Binny's in IL; 2014 (bottled 06.12.2014)

Style/ABV: American Amber / Red Ale, 9.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

Tonight's Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™ requires a little more explaining than usual, I think. Pipeworks has quite the lineup of weirdly named beers, but nothing tops tonight's beer and its bottle art. This "collaboration" with Harebrained Design was brewed for the Period Panties Launch Party. What are Period Panties? "Fun underwear that high-fives you for having ovaries and serves as a friendly reminder to others!" You can read more about the launch on Reddit's ChicagoBeer thread regarding the subject. 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 back of the bottle of Brief Relief reads:

"What's better than not wearing pants? Not wearing pants while enjoying a beer! So as a nod to drinking pants-less and to celebrate the insane success of period Panties by Chicago's Harebrained Design, we present to you BRIEF RELIEF.

Brief Relief is a Blood Orange Red Ale, filled with citrusy hops, designed to give some much-needed brief relief from whatever is currently cramping your style. Much like Period Panties, this beer gives ovary owners a well-deserved high five!

Check out Period Panties: www.harebraineddesign.com"

Pipeworks Brief Relief 

I had something for this...I'm drawing a blank. Anyway, this beer pours into a dark, blood-orange caramel color, kicking up two to three fingers of caramel-tinted head. This looks like an Imperial Red or an Imperial IPA, with sheets of lacing coating the glass and sticky head retention. When held to a bright light, this beer takes on a murky blood-orange color, with tiny dots of carbonation working their way up the glass. It doesn't remind me of periods or liberating underwear, but beer is the solution to all problems.

The aroma here is moderately assertive. Right up front I'm getting big hop notes, maybe Citra or Simcoe? I dunno, it's hard to say. There's big citrus on the nose, grapefruit, and dank tobacco/hemp that veers into dank citrus notes. Along with the hops is assertive citrus sweetness, including orange and grapefruit. There is also some bready and rye spice on the aroma, with big suggestive malts lurking in the back.

Aye, this is another banger from Pipeworks, and one of their better Imperial Red Ale-style brews. This is just a fun beer...and I say that in a nice way. I'm getting a lot of citrus sweetness in here, with splashes of citrus juice, sweet blood orange, sweet grapefruit juice, mimosas, grapefruit soda, and big citrus hops underpinning the whole thing. The hops are slightly dank, with big orange and grapefruit. There's some piney bitterness to play contrast to the sweeter citrus juice. Behind it all are some bready malts, with some rye spice and bread providing a nice backbone. This finishes with bread and caramel. Nice.

This is medium-bodied, well-carbonated, and juicy. I'm not getting any of the 9.0% ABV, and this is very drinkable. This reminds me a bit of something from the Lagunitas wheelhouse, only with that blood orange Pipeworks' twist. I really like this...and while it isn't the most complex or bold Imperial Red, it's really well made. Palate depth is on spot. Up front: sweet citrus juice, blood orange, grapefruit soda; the mids roll into the hops, with dank citrus, hemp, tobacco, and some bitter pine/guava towards the back; the back end trails off with hops and citrus and then drops some massive bread, caramel, and rye spice on your mouth. The finish is malty with lingering citrus...slight warming. Noice. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. This is one of the better attempts at an Imperial Red from Pipeworks. Actually...this might be their best attempt at the style. This is just an insanely drinkable and fun beer, with tons of sweet citrus popping, and nice balance from the hops and malts. This beer actually feels intentionally cohesive and thoughtful. It's just good. If you see this one on shelves or in the fridge, grab it now while it is still fresh. Food pairings here? It's hard to say, with this style. The sweet malt notes and rye notes seem like they would pair well with a pastrami sandwich on rye, deli food (anything from a Polish or Jewish deli), and maybe even German or Swedish cuisine. I'm thinking sausage and sauerkraut, or maybe some Swedish Meatballs. This beer maybe isn't hoppy enough to pair with overly spicy American food...but it might also work with sweet barbecue sauce, and maybe some sweet pork tacos. So yeah, you have a wide potential in terms of food pairings here. Slaw and BBQ? Yes.

Random Thought: I have to admit, the Period Panties are pretty awesome. And it seems like they have lots of support. Beer + Period Panties = good times. Although I don't menstruate, I can raise a glass and say "cheers" to that.