Against the Grain Brett The Hipman Hop

Brewed By: Against the Grain Brewery (and Smokehouse) in Louisville, Kentucky   

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: American Wild Ale, 8.0%

Reported IBUs: 64.5

I've been meaning to tackle some stuff from Against the Grain Brewing. These guys have a lineup of fun and oddly names beers. That can only mean good things, right? About Against the Grain Brewing: 

The Against the Grain Brewery and Smokehouse is a brewery (and smokehouse) that was founded back in October 2011. The brewery is located in the southeast corner of Louisville Slugger Field at the corner of Jackson and Main Street, in Kentucky, and is run by four dudes who are cooler than you. For more information, check them out on Facebook or check out their website. 

Tonight's beer, Brett The Hipman Hop, is an American Wild Ale brewed with Pilsner and German-style malts, and Apollo and Vanguard hops. This beer was fermented with ale yeast, and then the brewery added three strains of Brettanomyces to do their thing in a secondary fermentation. After four and a half months, the brewery then dry-hopped this beer with Amarillo hops. Punching in at 8.0% and 64.5 IBUs, this is all funked up.

 Brett The Hipman Hop

The beer pours into a hazy, lightly orange body, kicking up three fingers of head that is tinted by the orange, and has some caramel tones. The head retains nicely, leaving some pretty mean streaks of lacing. It's hard to tell what type of beer is suggested from the appearance, but yeah. This is also carbonated nicely. 

On the aroma: an explosion of hops and Brett. This is obviously in the same realm as Orval, or the Green Flash Rayon Vert, or Jolly Pumpkin's Bam Bière. This has big notes of grapefruit, orange, crushed aspirin, huge citrus juiciness that is unparalleled, and layers of musty and earthy Brett funk. The Brett notes in here drop some earthy and rotting notes...almost like rotting meat or a butcher shop. I personally love the aroma, and love the amount of funk that is dialed up here. This also rolls out some pineapple and peach, but it is hard to say if that is from the Brett or the hops. The aroma is pungent and huge...I am excited.

This isn't quite as substantial as any of the aforementioned beers...but it's unique in its own way, bringing in some candy sweetness and unique hop profile from the Apollo and Vanguard hops. I'm getting a lot of pineapple here, with some crushed aspirin, sweet-tart candies, massive waves of Brett funk, and lots of earthy dryness. Actually, this is super dry....probably thanks to the Brett. This has some funky leather in the mix, with that characteristic Brett leather note. The front end has a sweet candy note that I think is from the hops...it's almost like grape, or grape candy...really interesting. This also has some earthy notes that veer into green pepper or green beans. Honestly, I know I'm all over the board here, but this is a complex beer that really pushes the hop and Brett envelope. This also has some peppery spice.

This is medium-light bodied, thanks in part to the hops and the dry finish. This is super easy to drink at 8.0%, and is attenuated and dry. If you have no objections to lots of hops and Brett funk, you'll have no objections to this beer. The palate depth is fantastic and this has good duration. This has good complexity as well. Up front: citrus, pineapple, funky Brett, crush aspirin, candy sweetness; the mids take the candy sweetness and turn it into intense crushed aspirin, then the earthy notes grab hold with leather, super dry butcher shop funk, and tons of Brett punch, you also get some peppery spice; the back end continues with black pepper, white pepper, and citrus spice, and then fades into super dry nothingness. The finish is perfect, and you're left belching up citrus and pineapple. Mmmm. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. This is fucking fantastic, if not better than the score I'm giving it. It's maybe not as good as Green Flash's Rayon Vert...and it can't quite dial up the funk to Orval levels...but this is a great beer if you're a fan of these dry-hopped Brett beers. Food pairings here include funky and dry cheeses, rustic dishes, and maybe a leafy burger. I'd recommend this, no regrets buying this.

Random Thought: Hell yeah for 3-day weekends.