Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL
Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #495/496) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled 08.??.2014)
Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 9.5%
Reported IBUs: ?
It looks like the Unicorn has finally hit Rock Bottom...pun intended. I guess it is only up from here with this "Imperial IPA brewed with honey and citra hops." About Pipeworks:
Reported IBUs: ?
It looks like the Unicorn has finally hit Rock Bottom...pun intended. I guess it is only up from here with this "Imperial IPA brewed with honey and citra hops." 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 bottle of Unicorn Hits Rock Bottom reads:
"(Read to the tune of the 'Cheers theme song)
Makin' this beer in the world today takes all the
Citra you've got.
Graining out with some buddies sure would help a
lot.
Wouldn't we like to collaborate.
Sometimes the brewers at Rock Bottom want to go
Where everybody knows their name
And Pdubz is glad they came
You wanna brew where you can see
our troubles are all the same."
The bottle art here was done by Peter Wano. This pours into a deep orange body, kicking up two fingers of caramel/orange-tinted head. The body is hazy and appropriately carbonated, and the head is sticky, leaving lacing and retaining like the hop-fueled monster that it is. This is a nice looking beer, and a true testament to Pipeworks' IPA program.
Let me just start off by saying that I have heard really good things about this beer. That is unusual because (1) this beer just came out a few days ago, and (2) this has really limited distribution. Anyway...I believe the hype every now and then, and this one smells like miracles. The aroma is an EXPLOSION of honey, white pepper, citrus zest, citrus spice, and huge grapefruit, tangerine, orange, mango, and tropical fruit. This is bursting at the seam with sweet citrus, resinous and zesty spice, and honey sweetness that backs this up with authority. It's like the child of Hopslam and Zombie Dust.
Like this needs a debriefing of the taste...this is a fantastic explosion of fresh Citra hops, mounted on this candy-sweet honey backbone that contrasts the juicy hops and resinous hop oils. I'm getting honey here that would make Hopslam blush, with giant waves of citrus, orange, zesty hop spice, resinous orange and grapefruit rind, and big tropical fruits and orange sweetness. This has that Lagunitas level of sticky-sweet-dank, while juicing the Citra hops like Zombie Dust.
Never before has a 9.5% beer been so drinkable. But drink this fresh...this one is only going to drop off with time, although I doubt it will stick around on shelves for very long. I'm happy I opened this now, and not even two days later. Again, the juicy hops and honey sweetness make this incredibly crushable, even though it's sticky-sweet and slightly boozy. This is also one of the best attempts at carbonation from Pipeworks...I've had their under-carbed Citra Ninja and it really did suffer from lack of carbonation. This beer has divine palate depth, with a medium-bodied mouthfeel that is juicy and dank. This isn't exactly complex...it's basically a Citra and Honey hammer. Sometimes you just want to hit nails, though. Up front: dank and juicy Citra hops, resinous spice, tropical fruits, resinous pineapple/peach, grapefruit rind; the mids roll into more citrus, Citra bursting, honey sweetness; the back end trails with dank and resinous hops, white pepper, citrus zest, spice, and nice dryness. Wow...
"(Read to the tune of the 'Cheers theme song)
Makin' this beer in the world today takes all the
Citra you've got.
Graining out with some buddies sure would help a
lot.
Wouldn't we like to collaborate.
Sometimes the brewers at Rock Bottom want to go
Where everybody knows their name
And Pdubz is glad they came
You wanna brew where you can see
our troubles are all the same."
The bottle art here was done by Peter Wano. This pours into a deep orange body, kicking up two fingers of caramel/orange-tinted head. The body is hazy and appropriately carbonated, and the head is sticky, leaving lacing and retaining like the hop-fueled monster that it is. This is a nice looking beer, and a true testament to Pipeworks' IPA program.
 |
| Pipeworks Unicorn Hits Rock Bottom |
Let me just start off by saying that I have heard really good things about this beer. That is unusual because (1) this beer just came out a few days ago, and (2) this has really limited distribution. Anyway...I believe the hype every now and then, and this one smells like miracles. The aroma is an EXPLOSION of honey, white pepper, citrus zest, citrus spice, and huge grapefruit, tangerine, orange, mango, and tropical fruit. This is bursting at the seam with sweet citrus, resinous and zesty spice, and honey sweetness that backs this up with authority. It's like the child of Hopslam and Zombie Dust.
Like this needs a debriefing of the taste...this is a fantastic explosion of fresh Citra hops, mounted on this candy-sweet honey backbone that contrasts the juicy hops and resinous hop oils. I'm getting honey here that would make Hopslam blush, with giant waves of citrus, orange, zesty hop spice, resinous orange and grapefruit rind, and big tropical fruits and orange sweetness. This has that Lagunitas level of sticky-sweet-dank, while juicing the Citra hops like Zombie Dust.
Never before has a 9.5% beer been so drinkable. But drink this fresh...this one is only going to drop off with time, although I doubt it will stick around on shelves for very long. I'm happy I opened this now, and not even two days later. Again, the juicy hops and honey sweetness make this incredibly crushable, even though it's sticky-sweet and slightly boozy. This is also one of the best attempts at carbonation from Pipeworks...I've had their under-carbed Citra Ninja and it really did suffer from lack of carbonation. This beer has divine palate depth, with a medium-bodied mouthfeel that is juicy and dank. This isn't exactly complex...it's basically a Citra and Honey hammer. Sometimes you just want to hit nails, though. Up front: dank and juicy Citra hops, resinous spice, tropical fruits, resinous pineapple/peach, grapefruit rind; the mids roll into more citrus, Citra bursting, honey sweetness; the back end trails with dank and resinous hops, white pepper, citrus zest, spice, and nice dryness. Wow...
Rating: Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)
I'm feeling a Strong Divine Brew on this...yup. This is the new ceiling for Pipeworks' Imperial IPAs. This is up there with Zombie Dust, is better than Hopslam, and pretty much rocks everything that Pipeworks has done in the Ninja vs. Unicorn series. I know those are fighting words, but seriously....you cannot top fresh Citra. I know it's like using cheat codes in SNES games, but still. This beer is bursting with ridiculous Citra and Honey notes, and begs to be paired with some deep dish pizza (dae Chicago?), or with some spicy boneless wings. If I see another bottle of this, I will not hesitate to pick it up, and you should do the same. But for real, drink this fresh....it's only going to drop off.
Random Thought: As a glassware whore...Pipeworks needs to replenish their online glassware shop.
I'm feeling a Strong Divine Brew on this...yup. This is the new ceiling for Pipeworks' Imperial IPAs. This is up there with Zombie Dust, is better than Hopslam, and pretty much rocks everything that Pipeworks has done in the Ninja vs. Unicorn series. I know those are fighting words, but seriously....you cannot top fresh Citra. I know it's like using cheat codes in SNES games, but still. This beer is bursting with ridiculous Citra and Honey notes, and begs to be paired with some deep dish pizza (dae Chicago?), or with some spicy boneless wings. If I see another bottle of this, I will not hesitate to pick it up, and you should do the same. But for real, drink this fresh....it's only going to drop off.
Random Thought: As a glassware whore...Pipeworks needs to replenish their online glassware shop.
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