Marz Jungle Boogie

Brewed By: Marz Community Brewing Co. in Chicago, Illinois  

Purchased: 16.9oz bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2015 

Style/ABV: American Pale Wheat Ale, 5.5%

Reported IBUs: 10

Something something Chicago shelf turds. About the Marz Community Brewing Company:

The Marz Community Brewing Company is a brewery based out of Chicago, Illinois. The brewery launched in 2014, and was a project started by brothers Ed and Mike Marszewski, along with a handful of professional and amateur brewers. The website credits several "members of the Colletive," including Alex Robertson, Mike Marszewski, Pete Alvarado, Johanna Wawro, Michael Freimuth, Doktor Kazys Ozelis, Eric Olson, Ed Marszewski, Mike Redwick, Malread Case, Tom Piekarz, Eli Espinoza, and Tim Lange. This is like a football team or film credit roll, and I'm sure their list of contributors will expand. The brewery's POV is that they are a collective comprised of home brewers, professional brewers, and artists, that have united to make small, artisanal batches of beer. And that's all you really need to know. For more info, check out their website or Facebook.

The Jungle Boogie is an American Pale Wheat Ale brewed with rooibos tea. This pours into a dark red, brownish body...the head retention is impressive, and this is hazy as you'd expect with a wheat beer. 

Marz Jungle Boogie

The aroma is absolutely fantastic. There is an explosion of bright Mosaic hops and huge Rooibos tea that culminates in an explosion of bright tropical fruits, berries, fresh tea, green tea, intense wheat, peaches, fresh pine, and steeped tea. It's an incredibly vibrant and fresh aroma, and the fusion of the tea and hops is spot on. 

This drinks more like a pale ale than an American Wheat Ale, but I see why they are calling it that. There's a lot of bright tea notes and clean wheat notes, but beneath the tea and wheat is a serious punch of Mosaic hops. The hops not only drop pine and tropical fruit, but they also blast some lemon, resinous bitterness, and a little hemp oil. The tea notes also come in on the back end adding some tea-like bitterness. You get lots of green tea, and some earthy shades of medium/black tea. The tea-hop punch really works here.

This isn't the first fusion of tea and hops, but it's definitely the most congruent example I have had. I actually enjoy this more than the Laughing Panda Green Tea IPA, and I enjoyed that beer. This is medium-bodied with fairly flat carbonation, but it is so clean and easy to drink. Palate depth is perfect, with good depth and duration. This also unravels with a fair bit of complexity. The tea and bright Mosiac hop notes up front transition into a wheat-heavy mid, with more fruity tea/hop notes. The back end trails off with the fruit and tea, and drops some earthy green tea and lemony resin. This is dropping some peach notes as I sip on it, and it's just incredibly refreshing. I hope this is around in the summer.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. I'm tempted to bump this up to a 4.5 but I really need to camp out on another bottle. As it stands, this is maybe the best hop-tea beer I have had. I would definitely recommend this, and the food pairings are endless. I would maybe pair this with a fish dish or sushi...but that's me. 

Random Thought: These Marz guys are really coming out the gates strong.

Founders Mosaic Promise

Brewed By: Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: American Pale Ale, 5.5%

Reported IBUs: 50

Have you heard? Mosaic is the new Citra. About Founders:

Founders is the holy grail of Michigan brewing. Based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Founders was founded in 1997 by Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers, and produces some of the best beer in the world. If you haven't heard of Founders...well, what are you doing? Get on that, now.

The Mosaic Promise is is a single malt, single hop beer. "Proceeds from the sale of this new ale will benefit ArtPrize, the world’s largest art competition that takes place annually in Grand Rapids, Mich." The Mosaic Promise is brewed with Golden Promise malts, and Mosaic hops, and is a limited release beer for September 2014. 

Founders Mosaic Promise

This pours into a juicy, hazy, yellow-gold body. This actually looks like a tropical fruit explosion, and the haze is my bag. I swear, this beer is trying to win me over. The beer kicks up a finger of white-tinged head that is surprisingly short lived but gives way to a great cauldron effect. The lacing and carbonation is spot on.

This beer is a grower not a shower...I was underwhelmed upon first sniff, but this is growing on me as I open the second bottle. It is clean, with watery and refreshing hops...much like a Pale Ale. I'm getting passion fruit, tropical fruits, and huge citrus. The citrus goes into dank and resinous orange...but without the peel. I'm also getting some light blueberry notes, which is a thing for Mosaic hops. There is some lemon zest in here as well.

Taste: This is watery, clean, and refreshing. The malts aren't assertive, and I appreciate that. This reminds me of Zombie Dust, and it also reminds me of Maine's Lunch and Another One. That's good company to keep. This rolls out sharp and resinous/dank lemon, cut grass, lemon zest, orange, and big tropical fruit. I'm getting some pineapple in the taste that I wasn't getting in the aroma. The finish is surprisingly bitter, but it's clean and dry. The malts give hints of cracker and stale biscuit, which is a nice backbone for this fantastic hop.

It's too bad this is a limited release, because this is a super delicious Pale Ale. It's light and refreshing at 5.5%. Light bodied, good palate depth, and good complexity for a two-note beer. This is refined: up front you get resinous citrus, tropical fruit, lemon zest, pineapple; the mids roll into more of the same, with some grassy notes and burgeoning cracker; the back end dials up the cracker/biscuit and finishes dry. This has a fairly dry/bitter/hoppy finish for just 50 IBUs, and I like it.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. This could rival your Zombie Dusts or Lunches, so it's too bad it is a limited release. I don't think it is quite as good as Another One, but yeah. This is a cute little banger, I'd recommend pairing it with a leafy burger or some rustic spinach pizza. Pretty solid shit, if you see a sixer pick this up while it's hot/fresh/etc.

Random Thought: DAE sours are the new IPA?