Gigantic Too Much Coffee Man

Brewed By: Gigantic Brewing Company in Portland, Oregon  

Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Sheridan 'L' Longue in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: Belgian Stout/Saison/Farmhouse Ale/Black Saison/wut, 8.2%

Reported IBUs: 25

I've been tempted to jump on Gigantic for a while now; their bottle art is catchy, and the logo and glassware is awesome. Tonight's beer caught my attention and pushed me over the edge. One, I love coffee. Two, the artwork reminds me of Megamind or The Incredibles. At any rate, about Gigantic: 

Gigantic Brewing Co. is a brewery based out of Portland, Oregon. The brewery was founded by Ben Love and Van Havig during sometime around 2012. And no, those aren't made-up names. But they are definitely great porn star names. Ben Love is Gigantic's Brewmaster, and Van Havig is Gigantic's Master Brewer. I'm not sure what the difference is, but I am intrigued. For more info, check out the their website or Facebook page.

Tonight's beer, the Too Much Coffee Man, is: "An experiment perfected! This beguiling blend of Imperial Black Saison and custom roasted cold pressed Coava coffee will have your olfactory zones erogenized and begging for more." This so-called Belgian-Style Black Ale with Coffee punches in at 8.2% and 25 IBUs. The bottle art is fantastic, and done by Shannon Wheeler. How could you pass this one up?

Gigantic Too Much Coffee Man

The Too Much Coffee Man pours into a dark brown/blackish body, kicking up a nice finger of funky, Belgian-esque head. The head is brown and sustaining. The beer looks like a Porter, with that Belgian-esque head. There's some good lacing, and good head retention here. Bright light doesn't betray the dark brown/black body, and the beer retains some nice opacity. Nice.

I'm not 100% sure about dumping this into the Saison category...the aroma reminds me of Belgian Stouts, with lots of roast, smoke, big coffee, and BIG chalky, charred notes. There is a lot of char on this aroma. It smells like barbecued meats. It's not a smokey/Rauchbier smell, it's totally unique to this beer and the style. I've smelled a lot of the notes on this beer's nose before. This beer reminds me of Jester King's Black Metal Farmhouse. The Black Metal also had some Fantôme elements on the nose, and you get those here too. I'm getting leather, smoker's jacket, chalky cacao, and deep, deep coffee. It's a fantastic aroma. 

The taste is a bit more Saison-like, but I still think this leans towards a Farmhouse Stout thing. I'm getting a lot of spice and funk on the taste, with heavy waves of coffee. The coffee isn't acidic or bitter, it's more like a note integrated into the beer. There are notes of dark fruits and figs, maybe some cherry, gentle coffee, big caramel notes, woody notes, char, and some peppery spice, clove, and Belgian funk. I shit you not, I'm also getting some green beans and unroasted coffee beans on the finish. This is really unique and interesting. I'm picking up some cocoa in here, a little lactose, and chalky mouthfeels. Those mouthfeels, man. 

Let's talk about this beer's perfect mouthfeel. This beer is GENTLE. This is like...a Milk Stout. The mouthfeel is medium-full to full-bodied, but damn! This smooths out with coffee and carbonation. The balance here is a bit towards the sweeter side, and that holds the complexity back just a bit. But the palate depth is fantastic. At 8.2%, this hides the alcohol with ease. I'm digging this. Up front: sweet caramel, fruits/figs/cherries, sweeter coffee; the mids roll into coffee, char, woody notes; the back end is spicy with some Belgian funk and clove. The lingering profile imparts woody-sweet coffee, and the finish is unroasted coffee beans and green beans. Weeeeiiird but good.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this. As this warms up and I work my way through the bomber, I'm losing some of the complexity as the sweetness takes over. It's a bit one-sided in terms of where the balance is at. I should talk more about the coffee, since that's a big feature in this beer. The coffee notes present here are really good. They are well-integrated and sweet, almost in that hazelnut/mocha range. I like it. This beer begs to be paired with grilled or charred meats, and dry chocolate desserts. This is really unique and pretty damn tasty. I recommend this, especially at the price. 

Random Thought: I know the Black Saison style is about as ambiguous as ambiguous can be, but tell me this isn't a Belgian Stout/Farmhouse Stout. 

Pipeworks Poivre Noir

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #30) bought at West Lakeview Liquors (?) in Chicago, IL; 2012 

Style/ABV: Black Saison, 7.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

I should make Thursdays "Pipeworks night." They are easy beers to whip up a review for, and I'm usually too burnt out to do a lot of work come the time I write all this up. So it makes sense. Hmm. 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. At one point - and maybe still - the goal was the release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

Today's beer is a "Black Saison." Those are fun! The bottle art features a pepper shaker and some lemons on it. The bottle states, "Dark Saison style ale brewed with spices." The back of the bottle states:

"Our third saison in the Poivre line marries the classic flavors of lemon and pepper. This dark saison is brewed with tellicherry black peppercorns, fresh lemon zest, and Sorachi Ace hops. The result is a a brightly flavored saison with layers of citrus and spice."   

That's copypasta'd by the way, so the "a a" is in fact an error. This one is bottle conditioned, and clocks in at 7.5% ABV. If you're wondering like I was, "Sorachi Ace" hops are a Japanese hop varietal that impart an unusual lemon/"bubblegum," and dill pickle flavor. Pretty interesting stuff (and maybe what I was picking up on in the Pastrami on Rye?). Into the glass...

Pipeworks Poivre Noir

This one pours a murky dark purple/brown color, with 3 finger's worth of tan/purple-tinted head. The head is initially pretty foamy, but fades into a moderately funky, Saison-looking, centimeter coating's worth of head. In bright light, the beer remains dark purple, but you pick up some brown/orange shades on the edges. You can glean at some tiny carbonation bubbles rising from the sides. Overall, it looks about what I've come to expect from Dark Saisons.

The aroma is kind of blunted, with big candy sweetness, lemon candy, lemony sugars, and then a weird blast of sour pickle, dill, and peppercorn. There's some elusive plums, dark fruits, and licorice/anise as well. The dill/lemon/peppercorn thing is interesting.

I'm getting a lot more anise, and fade to smoke/roast ala a Porter in the taste. Compared to the Four Witches or the Pepe Nero, this one seems a dash less heavy. Some lemony pledge does come out, with hints of lemon bars and lemon skin. It's sort of like the lemon component in the 90 Minute IPA. I'm also getting some acetone/nail polish remover, and a bit of noticeable booze. And as I drink this, the peppercorn and smoke/roast build. It's not bad...

...but it's not like, "woah, holy shit!" These Dark Saisons are going to carve themselves out as a niche style if people keep making them. This one is pretty smooth, with smooth, supportive, almost creamy carbonation. Palate depth is pretty solid, though complexity leaves a bit to be desired. I'd call this medium-full. As far as drinkability...at 7.5%, this one is pretty easy-going, provided you aren't turned off by the flavors. Up front is lemon, dill, some dark fruits, and peppercorn; mid palate is more lemon, more dill; the back end is smoke, anise, roast...lingering peppercorn...and fade to moderate dryness.

Rating: Average 

I'm feeling a light Average on this. It's not bad, it's actually quite drinkable, and this would pair well with where I'm going out to eat this weekend (Texas de Brazil). I'd pair this with some smokey meats, barbecue, or some meats and cheese. It's not a bad beer by any means, though I doubt I'd gravitate towards it at the store. I might get it on tap...but what are the odds of this being on tap? As I said, these are niche beers.

Random Thought: It's totes snowing out. We are supposed to get 3-5 inches, plus some ice and sleet...which means my morning commute is probably going to be hell. Hooray for random snowstorms in mid-February! 

New Holland Four Witches Black Saison

Brewed By: New Holland Brewing Company in Holland, Michigan

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack purchased at Friar Tucks in Urbana, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Black Saison/Dark Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale, 7.3%

 

New Holland brews a controversy....

 

New Holland Brewing Company are a Midwest brewery based out of Holland, Michigan. The brewery was founded in 1996, and they produce about 10,000 barrels annually. They have a handful of staples, including their Mad Hatter IPA and their The Poet Stout, and they also have a handful of seasonal offerings. Today's beer is a seasonal offering, and a beer that I would describe as fairly controversial.

 

The controversy starts when you check out this beer on Ratebeer and BeerAdvocate. At the moment, the beer is getting crushed on Ratebeer with a 20 overall rating, and a 1 rating for the style. Ouch. The beer is doing much better on BeerAdvocate, getting an 83, Good rating. I've noticed that you will occasionally find beers that have pretty big differences between Ratebeer and BeerAdvocate...my theory is that once a beer tanks on Ratebeer, it has a hard time coming back.

 

Credit to /u/Catesby, who understands how I feel.

The cause of the controversy isn't a total mystery. A lot of people seem offended by Four Witches' huge black licorice/anise presence. That's a fair thing to hold against a beer, since black licorice is a pretty strong flavor to begin with. But the real problem with this beer seems to be the fact that it is a "Black Saison" or "Dark Farmhouse Ale." Many breweries are rolling out these dark Farmhouse Ales. Examples include Jolly Pumpkin's Bam Noire, Goose Island's Pepe Nero, and Two Brother's Philosopher's Stone.

 

So what's the deal with this "Black Saison" or "Dark Farmhouse Ale?" Is it a legit, up-and-coming style? Many beers have their dark counterpart: Belgian Dark Strong Ales, Dunkelweizens, Cascadian Dark Ales, and Dunkel Bocks all come to mind. I took the conversation to Reddit's beer subreddit, /r/beerit. I asked, "What's the deal with Dark/Black Saisons?" I got a lot of answers, ranging from "Drink what you like" to "I think it's a strange style" to "Make your own mind up - it really is the only opinion that truly counts." Ultimately, the community seemed to think that style guidelines are restrictive to some extent, aggregate beer review sites can have downsides, and you should celebrate individualism and drink what you like.

And you know what, I dig it. I love a good controversy, and I happen to love the beer I'm about to review. So let's break this beer down, put it into a glass, transfer it to my tummy, and see how it stacks up.

*         *         *         *         *         *         *         *         *         *         *

 

If you roll over to the New Holland Four Witches' page, you can get some info on this beer. The beer uses light and dark roasted wheat as the malt backbone, along with caramel rye and barley malts. The beer also uses "unique yeast," which is probably some strain of Belgian yeast. The bottle art is very impressive, and is done by artist Kyle Bice. The art on the bottle is a nod to the Wizard of Oz and author L. Frank Baum, who wrote the book while staying in Holland, MI. This beer clocks in at 7.3% ABV, and will probably cost your waistline around 200-270 calories per 12oz serving.  

New Holland Four Witches Black Saison

 

The beer pours a purple-black color, with a pinky's worth of khaki-brown colored head. The beer is too dark to see any carbonation, but you can conjure up some nice head when you swirl the beer in the glass. There's a little bit of residual alcohol on the glass, or "alcohol legs," as well as some clinging lace. When held to bright light, you get some brown on the edges, but this is still a very dark beer. The head is really sustaining, like a Belgian Strong Ale, so based on the appearance alone, you can guess this is well carbonated. 

The aroma on this is really nice, in my opinion. Okay, you get walloped with huge anise and black licorice up front. And you pick up on an aroma that is reminiscent to smelling a permanent marker or one of those scented grape markers from grade school. If you like black licorice, buy a case of this stuff right now. If you dig a little further, you start to pick up some dark fruits: plums, purple grapes, and juicy dark fruits. It smells a lot like a Belgian Dubbel, or a Strong Dark Ale; think Chimay Blue or Red. You also can pick up on some yeast funk in the aroma, along with some hints of spice: a touch of pepper, and earthy spice. It's a pretty complex nose when you get past the black licorice.

 

The taste is a nice follow-through of the nose, only going one step further and really hitting those barley notes home. You pick up on some slightly sour smoke in the finish. Up front is lively carbonation, yeast, spice, a touch of alcohol, and burgeoning fruits; the middle rolls into dark fruits and black licorice; the cleanup is that burnt wheat, roast, smokey, barley finish. The yeast is funky, with some playful barnyard and spice. I taste plums, grapes, and licorice. I'm getting some pepper as well. The anise/black licorice really seems to dominate mid-palate, with burnt smoke dominating the finish. It's dry on the finish, with lingering spice, smoke, and anise.

This is uber complex, and drinks like a Strong Dark Ale. The beer has champagne-like carbonation, and pretty good palate depth for the style. As I get into this more, I'm getting a lot more spices and peppery notes. I'd call this medium-full in terms of body. This is pretty smooth, and hides the 7.3% ABV very well. Front palate is carbonation, spice, yeast; middle is fruits and anise; back end is anise, smoke, lingering spice. Solid stuff.  

Rating: Above-Average

 

This is a Strong Above-Average beer for me. I like this beer a lot, and I've spent quite a bit of time with it. It's a weird beer though. Since the whole "Black Saison" style doesn't have any set guidelines, I think you can categorize this beer as such. If you gave me this beer in a blind tasting, I'd likely peg it as a Belgian Strong Dark Ale. The smoke on the end might throw that one off, however. You do get a lot more anise in the aroma with this one compared to the taste. Having said that, if you dislike black licorice, stay away from this beer. And if you expect your Saisons to be gold, peppery, and full of citrus...this one will probably drive you nuts. I hope New Holland brews this one again. Cheers!

Two Brothers Philosopher's Stone (15 Years With 15 Beers Series)

Brewed By: Two Brothers Brewing Company in Warrenville, Illinois

Purchased: 22oz bomber from Friar Tucks in Urbana, Illinois; 2012

Style/ABV: Dark Saison/Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale, 8.5%

In celebration of 15 years of brewing (Two Brothers opened in 1996), Two Brothers has been rolling out 14 of their past artisan beers as part of a limited series. The 15th release in this limited series is going to be a new artisan beer. A bit about Two Brothers:

Two Brothers are based out of Warrenville, Illinois, a town not far from Chicago. Two brothers was founded in 1996 by brother Jason and Jim Ebel. Their brewery and Tap House Restaurant are both located in Warrenville. Their distribution and production seems to be increasing with each year, and along with their beer you can buy home brewing equipment and supplies at the Tap House Restaurant.  

The Philosopher's Stone is release number 9 of 15. The bottle states: 

This highly regarded beer was our first experiment with Brettanomyces, a yeast that gives wonderful complexity, mild tartness, and a pleasant earthiness. We originally made this beer as a way to grow the special yeast for our 10th anniversary beer. The result was an extremely complex, dark, saison inspired ale. We produced it in early 2006 and now have brought it back for our  ninth beer release in our 15th anniversary celebration.

I'm really excited to get this beer into a glass and check it out. It seems like more and more brewers are rolling out these darker takes on the Saison style. That includes Goose Island's delicious Pepe Nero, which I reviewed a few months back. The Saison style can be brewed with Lactobacillus, according to the BJCP's guidelines. So the inclusion of the wild yeast Brettanomyces is not what makes this beer strange. It's the fact that this beer is a dark Saison, and likely has some darker malts added. I'll be looking out for dark fruit flavors, as well as chocolate.

As a general rule of thumb (I give thanks to Jolly Pumpkin), I recommend opening any bottle conditioned beer, sour beer, or beer brewed with wild yeast over a sink or on a counter you don't mind getting wet. These things have a tendency to gush. And if it has a cork on it, aim the cork away from your face and your friends.

Two Brothers Philosopher's Stone

The beer pours with one to two fingers of thick, creamy, head. The head is really hanging around, and it has that funky, wild yeast look to it. You get that funky, Saison-looking cauldron effect. As the head dissolves, you are left with some lacing, and this has some alcohol legs. The head has a slightly golden/purple tint to it in both bright and dim light. In low light, the beer has a purple/golden raisin color to it. In bright light, this beer has a murky, swampy, hazy, reddish/brown/purple color. 

The aroma is pretty straight up Brettanomyces funk. I'm getting leather, vinegar, tart/sour fruitiness, horse blanket, and a whole bunch of Brett. If you let this one sit around, it's going to get really funky. I'm also smelling band-aids, and some tart dark fruits. Honestly though, the main aroma on this is funky Brett.

The taste is not at all what I was expecting, with a wash of dark malts and Brett funk up front, followed by some fruit and dryness. I'm getting roast and hints of coffee and chocolate, wheat notes, hints of dark fruits, and then some lemongrass, citrus, and a hint of coriander spice on the finish. There's some nice tartness and Brett funk in this.

This is incredibly subtle, if not a bit understated. This is incredibly drinkable for 8.5%. I'm literally getting no alcohol in this. Really? 8.5%? Palate depth seems a bit front loaded, and is okay. Complexity seems to be moderate to high. I'd say this beer is crisp, light, and dry with lingering hints of darker malts: mouthfeel is light. Up front is a blast of tart, followed by a kick of dark malts, followed by a hint of wheat and grain; the middle rolls into fruits, Brett funk, and some lemongrass and spice; the back end is lingering funk, and another wave of roasted/dark malts with some drying on the finish. You get a lot of lingering funk/Brett on this, as well as hints of roast.

Rating: Average 

 

I'm feeling a strong Average on this. I actually really like this beer for what it is, and think it would pair wonderfully with poultry, or some dense vegetable dish. I wish it was a bit more stated in the body, but maybe not. It's really light, and the Brett plays well with the darker malt profiles. I'm also starting to feel some warming in my tummy, which suggests the 8.5% ABV is legit. I'm happy to have hunted this one down, and I hope to see Two Brothers doing more stuff with wild yeast. I'm actually itching to try this year's Atom Smasher...but I digress. This beer is totally worth picking up to check out, and cheers to 15 years of Two Brothers.

Goose Island Pepe Nero

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 1 Pint, 6oz (650mL) bomber from Binny's in IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Dark Saison/Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale, 6.0%

Tonight I am cracking open one of Goose Island's Vintage Ales, the Pepe Nero. 

Goose Island is a Chicago-based brewery that began as a brewpub on Clybourn, which opened on May 1988. The actual brewery opened on 1995, and is located on the Southwest side of Chicago. The second brewpub, located in Wrigleyville by the Chicago Cubs, was opened in 1999. On March 28, 2011, Goose Island sold 58% of the brewery to Anheuser-Busch. The remaining 42% of the brewery is supposed to be acquired by A-B InBev in the future, and there has been much discussion about the brewery's takeover. 

Pepe Nero is a Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale according to Goose Island. BeerAdvocate and Ratebeer both have this pegged as a Saison; and a Saison is a Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale brewed during the winter months meant for consumption throughout the summer. Goose Island describes this beer as having an aroma of roasted chestnuts, and a taste of roasty sweetness, earthy notes, and black pepper. This beer clocks in at a 6.0% ABV, packs 30 IBUs, and is brewed with Pilgrim and Saaz hops. Rye is also used in the malts. Traditional Saisons are typically refreshing, fruity, peppery, and dry. This beer is clearly a "darker" beer, so it deviates from the traditional Saison in a few ways. This beer also uses Pilsner malts which are typical of the Saison style, and the Saaz Hops that are used are a Noble Hop variety; Noble Hops often show up in Saisons. The Pilgrim hop variety appears to be a bit more potent, so I will be on the lookout for those 30 IBUs when I taste the beer. And speaking of tasting...let's dig in shall we?

Goose Island Pepe Nero

The beer pours with 4-fingers worth of thick, foamy, tan/root beer float/brown head. The head is very thick and bubbly. This is definitely a brownish or reddish beer; both in low light and in bright light. Goose Island's website says it is "mahogany." That's a hell of a lot more refined than what I can come up with, so let's roll with that. This is a murky beer, although I can see a storm of carbonation rising from the very bottom of the glass. I'm guessing this will be carbonated and effervescent.

In terms of aroma: very earthy, herbal, and Belgian. I'm picking up hints of Belgian funk, vanilla, banana, and clove. There are also hints of malts: chocolate for sure. I'm also picking up some Saison notes: that kind of barnyard, grassy aroma. When I swirl the beer in my glass I can also pick up hints of grain, rye, and pepper.

Now this is an interesting tasting beer. You get some sharp acidity and fruitiness, but the back end is huge roasted malts, hints of chocolate, pepper, and dry smoke. This dries with a smokey and peppery finish that reminds me of dried meats. On the front end I'm tasting some sweet malts as well; berries, earthiness. You know that kind of orange-citrus-coffee note you sometimes get in really roasted coffee? You get a shock of that on the front of your tongue. A very earthy note. Maybe a hint of lemon or grass.

This beer is really complex and has moderate to high palate depth. It is crisp and drinkable, but finishes nice and roasty and dry. I would say this is medium-light on the palate, carbonated, and drinkable. The front of the palate is sharp, acidic, fruity, tangy; this rolls into a mellower middle with some hints of roast, maybe a touch of that Belgian funk; the back end is all roast with huge smoke, hints of chocolate, and a dry finish.

Rating: Above-Average 
Score: 86% 

I may have to revisit this one. I feel like this is a really impressive, interesting, and tasty beer. Perhaps it is a touch thin or watery, but I really think what I am tasting is the beer's dryness. The bottle I am drinking today is almost one years old. This is one of Goose Island's bottle conditioned beers that can be cellared for 5 years, so no problems there. 

But seriously...the way this beer unfolds is really cool. You get that Saison kick up front, followed by some Belgian notes, followed by this really dark malt profile that just kicks your palate's ass. Very cool stuff. This is worth checking out, especially considering how available this beer is (it is a year round offering). I will be drinking this again.