Revolution Ryeway to Heaven 2017

Brewed By: Revolution Brewing Company in Chicago, IL

Purchased: 12oz CAN from a 4-pack bought at Revolution Brewing Tap Room in Chicago, IL; 2017

Style/ABV: American Barrel-Aged Rye Ale, 13.0%

Reported IBUs: 20

Every now and then a beer comes along that is one-dimensional in its execution but basically drops a bomb on the style. This is that beer. Prepare your insulin. Prepare your anus. Ryeway to Heaven is "Brewed with over 60% rye, this limited production rye ale has a seductively ample body which suggests sweetness while retaining a dry finish. Aged 12 months in American Rye Whiskey barrels, this “Ryewine” as we call it, is wholly unique in its malt and barrel-derived complexities."

Ryeway pours into a distinctly worn, amber-red body, kicking up a finger of tan head. This was pretty lively when I cracked the can, which is not a bad thing by any means.

Revolution Ryeway to Heaven 2017

The aroma on this beer is just...ridiculous. You get big barrel up front which adds burnt sugars, oak, vanilla, and caramel. There is a distinct maple syrup and marshmallow scent, with rye, honey, Graham cracker, and pecans. It's not unlike smelling creme brulee, but with a kiss of alcohol. I'm reminded of pecan pie and Baklava as well. There are also fruity notes, with some cherries dancing around in the mix.

On the taste: straight away you notice the T H I C C and huge mouthfeel. The taste boldly mirrors the nose, with marshmallow and maple leading the way as the main characters. Hints of pecan pie, creme brulee, and Baklava dance with alcohol and bourbon, vanilla, oak, light char, caramelized sugars, and Graham cracker. There is some honey sweetness and a dash of rye spice to round everything out.

This is a full-bodied, beautiful sipping beer. Palate depth and duration are both very high. This is complex insofar that it has great depth for what it is, which is an over-the-top "rye wine" aged in rye whiskey barrels. On the beer spectrum this is firmly in the realm of sweet, sugary, and boozy. Still, there are layers of goodness here, with marshmallow and maple up front; the mids roll into all those beautiful barrel/char/oak/burnt sugar flavors; the back end drops cherries and alcohol, and lots of rye spice. The reminders of various pastry desserts are present throughout.

Rating: Decent Divine Brew (4.75/5.0 Untappd)

Ryeway is a baller sipping beer...it's basically liquefied pastries in a can. No complaints from me. Hopefully next year RevBrew makes more of it.

Random Thought: Now I'm tasting some good Baklava...mmm...Baklava

Jackie O's Pub & Brewery Hop Ryot

Brewed By: Jackie O's Pub & Brewery in Athens, Ohio  

Purchased: 12oz CAN from a 6-pack bought at And Beer in Athens, Ohio; 2014 

Style/ABV: Rye IPA, 6.5%

Reported IBUs: ?

When in Rome, Part 2...about Jackie O's Pub & Brewery:

Jackie O's is a brewery and brewpub based out of Athens, Ohio. The brewery was founded in 2007 by Art Oestrike and his friend, and brew master, Brad Clark. In 2012 when the production facility expanded, brew master Sean White joined the company. For more info, check out their website or Facebook.

The Hop Ryot is a Rye IPA that utilizes rye malts and Simcoe hops. Like the Mystic Mama, this pours into a golden-orange body that is hazy and unfiltered. Unlike the Mystic Mama, this produces two fingers of dense, long-lasting, creamy whipped head. The head is probably the result of the rye malts, and is leaving tons of lacing. 

Jackie O's Pub & Brewery Hop Ryot

On the aroma: big rye spice, orange, rye bread, rye crackers, and tons of rye. This really nails the rye in the aroma, and the faint orange hops that are riding underneath make you want to take a sip...yum.

This follows through in the taste, delivering on everything you got in the aroma. Right away you get blasted with big orange and some grapefruit, and then the beer lays out rye spice, rye bread, rye cracker, and tons of rye and orange. It's pretty much typical of the style, with incredible balance and super clean and on point hops. 

This beer is so simple and refined it is criminal. The balance between the rye and the citrus hops is perfection, the palate depth is perfect, and yeah. There's little to complain about here, as this delivers a crisp and carbonated medium-light finish across your tongue, with good bitterness and nice rye spice to boot. The alcohol is even spot on, with a hint of booze but no heat. The only hesitation is that this isn't particularly complex or mind-blowing...it just kind of hits you with orange and grapefruit up front; drops some nice rye spice in the mids; and drops some more rye spice, rye bread, cracker, and lingering bitter hops in the back. The finish is dry and leaves you wanting another sip, but I wonder if this beer will stand out in my mind in a few years down the road. I guess only time will tell. 

Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Average on this. This is teetering between Average and Above-Average, as I really do like the balance that Jackie O's has struck between the rye malts and the hops in the beer. This beer would be awesome to pair with a pretzel bun burger with mustard, or German food. And really, being a refined and well-crafted beer is high praise. This might just be something to keep in your fridge year-round, especially if you live in Ohio. 

Random Thought: Jackie O-yeah, we got more of these coming down the pipeline. 

Against the Grain Kentucky Ryed Chiquen

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

Purchased: 750ml (1 pint 9.4oz) bottle bought at Friar Tuck in Urbana, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: Rye Beer, 8.6%

Reported IBUs: 27.4

When life gives you lemons, buy that tarred and feathered beer...seriously, this bottle is obnoxious! I've seen waxed beers, I've seen foiled beers, but I haven't seen a beer that is tarred and feathered. 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, the Kentucky Ryed Chiquen, is a "rye beer aged in rye whiskey barrels." The bottle reads: "Cluck Cluck. The Chiquen has come home to roost! You asked for anything but chicken...so here you go! An original rye amber ale recipe aged in rye whiskey barrels hatched right here in Kentucky! Kentucky Ryed Chiquen is malty and mellow, but has quite the barrel-aged bite." This one is described as an amber ale brewed with rye malt. And, of course, the rye whiskey barrels. This features Marris Otter malts, rye malts, caramel rye malts from Germany, and English Nugget and Kent Goldings hops. The barrel used here is a Redemption Rye barrel from Strong's Spirits. Let's see what we got...

Against the Grain Kentucky Ryed Chiquen

This pours into a really nice, two-tone, amber-orange body, with some nice rounded brown and orange tones. I got a couple of fingers of caramel-tinted head, and there is nice lacing and head retention at work here. This also appears to be appropriately carbonated. The feathered bottle wasn't too hard to work with either...no harder than wax, and less annoying than glued on wax.

On the aroma: a lot of funky sweetness. I'm getting the wood and barrel, which is reminiscent of oak...but I'm also getting a funky note that reminds me of Brett. I wonder if this was infected, intentional or otherwise. If this was infected, I doubt it will be to the beer's detriment...but we will see. I'm also getting a lot of nutty notes on the aroma, with some caramel, and some weird pineapple sweetness. Again...Brett? This smells big...let's see how it tastes. 

Yup...dat Brett infection. Again, the Brett actually works with the barrel and the whiskey, and provides some funky balance to the malt sweetness and gentle oak/wood notes I am getting in the back. It reminds me of something from the Prairie wheelhouse, with Brett notes that play off the oak and also drop some fruity hints. I'm getting pear, pineapple, caramel, oak, wood, nice gentle barrel, sweet toasted grains and coconut, and some hints of cane sugar. There are some complex shades of darker sugars in here, and lots of grain/coconut. The rye notes in here mostly come across with the grain and the barrel....I'm not really getting a ton of rye in here. In that regard, this beer fails to deliver. But it's still pretty damn tasty...

I'm really conflicted, because I think this is good and laid back...it actually reminds me of a nice Belgian Ale, or something like Orval...only with a tropical island vibe. This is medium-light bodied with good levels of carbonation. Things move along smoothly here, and you would never guess this is 8.6%. The Brett probably helped clean up some of the residual sweetness...notably absent here is the big rye spice, but you do get some rye barrel, and you do get some nice wood/oak/barrel notes. The whiskey in here is a faint afterthought, but that's not problem. This has good depth and complexity. Up front: caramel sweetness, some hops, pineapple, fruit, Brett; the mids roll into really nice grain, coconut, oak, caramel sugars, wood, barrel, faint rye, and some oak/Brett funk; the finish mellows out into really nice grain/coconut/wood/oak/Brett, with lingering caramel and whiskey sweetness...and then fade to dry. Just...really laid back and nice.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. I really like this, despite the fact that it doesn't quite deliver on its promise of rye. Okay...so maybe that's a deal breaker for other people. I'm an opportunistic beer drinker. I love the fact that this was infected by Brett. I think the Brett + Barrel + base beer here = winner winner, chicken dinner. That's where your chicken is. So whether this is an accidental success or not...it's a good beer. Fruity, malty sweet, and mild barrel/spirit character make this both palatable and easy going. I want this on my tropical island to pair with some mango salsa chicken, or my sweet barbecue ribs. I think this would go great with a nice pork dish. Maybe even spam. Yum.

Random Thought: I <3 ATG

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: CANfusion Rye Bock (brewed with Oskar Blues Brewery in Longmont, Colorado/Brevard, North Carolina)

Brewed By: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California 
Purchased: Single 12oz CAN from the 2014 Beer Camp bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014 (PKG 05/03/14)
Style/ABV: Rye Bock, 7.2%

Reported IBUs: 45

What is Beer Camp? It is Sierra Nevada's celebration of craft beer and the numerous breweries across America that make that craft beer. For 2014, Sierra Nevada collaborated with 12 different breweries to make 12 different beers. They also have a Beer Camp Across America Beer Festival, which will stop at seven different cities and feature many different breweries and beers.

About Sierra Nevada:

Sierra Nevada are one of the big players in craft brewing, and one of the first craft breweries to arrive on the craft beer scene. If you check out their history page, you will see that founder Ken Grossman began his quest to build a brewery in 1976. In 1980, Ken Grossman and co-founder Paul Camusi brewed their first batch of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. According to Wikipedia, Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is the second best selling craft beer behind Boston Lager. Sierra Nevada is the sixth largest brewing company in the United States as well, cranking out over 750,000 barrels in 2010. For more info, check out their website.

The CANfusion Rye Bock is a beer brewed with Oskar Blues Brewery. Do you like to get it in the can? My can reads: "Brewed in collaboration with Oskar Blues, the pioneers of great craft beer in a can, this partnership was a perfect fit - we're mutual members of the canned craft club and North Carolina neighbors. A dry hop rye bock, CANfusion blends features from across the brewing spectrum: spicy rye, tangy wheat and bright citrus-like hops. The complex malt body launches a peppery blast that's balanced by the fruity and floral Australian Ella hop varietal. CANfusion is a true synergy of friends and flavors." 

CANfusion Rye Bock - that's how I roll

This one pours an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous orange color, with two to three fingers of orange-tinged head. The head is hop-fueled, and leaves nice lacing. The body is a hazy orange color, with medium carbonation. The head settles into a nice cauldron effect. 

The aroma here features big tangerine, citrus spice, orange spice, rye, perfumed apricot, caramel, and intense fruity sweetness. There's also big passion fruit, papaya, mango, and tropical fruit. 

The taste here features big caramel sweetness, tropical fruits, and rye. The blast of tropical fruits goes from berries and passion fruit to caramel and Bock-malt sweetness with raisin and apple notes. Nice rye spice comes along for the ride. There's a big range of fruit notes and malt/caramel fruits: cherries, apples, orange, tropical fruits....it's complex. As this warms boozy and bready rye notes come out.

This is medium-bodied and malt driven, with a nice hoppy balance. You do get some booze here, but it's not a bad thing. Good palate depth and crazy divine complexity drives this beer. I would totally buy more of this. Up front: tropical fruits, passion fruit, rye; that rolls into apples, caramel sguars, Bock sweetness; the back end has trailing hops and sugars with fantastic coating on the palate. Wildly complex...truly original.

Rating: Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this...almost leaning towards that divine brew. Wow, this is just an interesting hybrid beer that is uber complex. The sweeter hop notes in here would pair with lighter spicy foods, maybe a nice shrimp or fish taco. 

Random Thought: I really like the boom in craft canned beers. 

Two Brothers 17th Anniversary Rye Ale

Brewed By: Two Brothers Brewing Company in Warrenville, Illinois

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Andersonville Wine & Spirits in Chicago, Illinois; 2014

Style/ABV: Rye Beer/Ale, 8.5%
Reported IBUs: 65

Another year...another anniversary. It was a little over a year ago that I reviewed the Two Brothers 16th Anniversary Ale. Last year's beer was just okay, and frankly, it kind of set the tone for the year that Two Brothers had. I'm hoping that tonight's beer is a bit more interesting. We'll see, right? 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. If you get the chance, swing by and check out their Roundhouse. It's an awesome joint, and needs all the love it can get. For more information, check out their about page/website.

This Rye Ale is brewed with Thai Basil and Milk Sugar. Punching in at 8.5% and 65 IBUs, the back of the bottle reads:

"Anniversaries cause us to pause for reflection and this year we are especially proud to have helped shape an industry that brings people enjoyment through flavor and good times. Every day we look forward to creating new beers and being a part of an ever growing community of brewers.

Our 17th Anniversary Rye Beer has been aged in oak barrels to lend complex flavors of vanilla and spirits. We added lactose sugar to soften the palette and finished the beer with fresh, sweet Thai basil to give a bold floral zest to the aroma. We're glad to have had you along for this great seventeen year ride. There is plenty more to come!"

You read that right, by the way. This one is oak-barrel aged. Yum. I'm curious to see how this stands up to one of my favorite beers ever, the Two Brothers Cane and Ebel. 

Two Brothers 17th Anniversary Rye Ale

This one pours out with a lot of rapidly-forming head. It's almost as heady as Duvel or something infected (knock on wood that this is not that). The head is thick like root beer floats -- think the topping when you pour soda over ice cream. It looks like it too, with tan/gray tones. The body of the beer is murky brown in low light, and when held to a bright light the body takes on a reddish-amber/auburn color. There's mid-sized carbonation bubbling away as well. Head retention is impressive, and so is the lacing.

I don't even know what I'm smelling on the aroma....I'm getting rye, basil, juniper, watermelon (wut), melon, melon seeds, fruity salad notes, and a weird spicy funk. There's like a curry note in here....and then lemon balls. Or lemon/lime candy. It's that Asian guava candy, which I've made reference to before in another beer which I can't recall. Lastly...I'm getting some wood on the aroma, but no oak. 

Ah, you do get some oak on the taste. That's refreshing, to say the least. This is surprisingly complex, albeit incredibly subtle. That subtle thing was the reason that The More The Merrier was shit on by reviewers, despite being a solid beer. Anyway, I'm getting a lot here. There's some nice oak, vanilla, woody barrel, rye spice, rye, basil (big, big basil), fruity sweetness, guava, melon, watermelon, fruit salad, fruit seeds, light tartness, and some big bitterness that takes over towards the back. As the bitterness hammers your palate you're left with some nuttiness, medium roasted grains, and lingering coconut. To say this beer is complex is an understatement.

This is my kind of beer. This is a sipper with a lot of stuff going on. I actually really like this...and I think this is a big improvement over the unnecessarily boozy 16th Anniversary Ale. This is a medium-bodied beer with plenty of carbonation, and the beer is nicely attenuated with a shift towards bitter and dry on the back. Palate depth is outstanding with long duration, and the complexity is something to admire and think about. Like seriously...what is going on here. Up front is a tart blast of melon, watermelon, fruit seeds, fruit salad, basil, big spice, rye spice, sweet rye, sugar; the mids roll into some of that oak, with woody tannin showing up to fuck shit up, with more rye spice and basil; the back end features growing bitterness against nutty and sweet malts, and then the malts turn grainy with coconut and dryness. This is just...lovely stuff. 

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

Ughhhh...this a Light Light Divine Brew. I'm so hesitant to elevate this to that status, because honestly, I don't even know what the fuck I have here. Is this a Rye Beer? Is it a Specialty Ale? Who cares, really. Honestly, I would have never expected Two Brothers of all breweries to roll out a Rye-Basil-Milk Sugar beer aged in oak barrels. That takes a brazen approach to brewing. This beer is a crap-shoot, but the end result is fantastically complex and big and bold. I will pick up another bottle of this if I see it on shelves. I'm about to pair this with some moo shu beef taco things, but I suspect this complex brew would pair well with delicate meats like duck, peppery chicken or turkey, and maybe even something as simple as a rye bread sandwich. I don't know for sure, but I am enjoying this.

Random Thought: The glassware was completely coincidental, but that bottle cap/glass combo. Dayum. Also, this beer is really good. It would be a shame if they never brew it again.

Pipeworks Reaper vs Unicorn Ryewine

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #221/222/223) bought at Binny's in IL; 2013 (bottled 10.[7/8/9].13)

Style/ABV: Ryewine/Barleywine, 10.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

In this week's Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™ we are looking at the Reaper vs. the Unicorn. I'm not sure who to root for this time around, but my hunch is the unicorn. 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 Reaper vs Unicorn is a Ryewine/Barleywine thing. The bottle reads:

"The unicorn may have finally met its match in Death Incarnate. But hold your horned horses, because the unicorn lives to rye another day! What a sickle joke! But, we aren't tricking you, this barleywine is a real treat, with a rich malt skeleton and a more than paranormal amount of hops. If you're going to harvest soul-y one beer this season, don't fear the Reaper..."

Pipeworks Reaper vs Unicorn Ryewine

The beer pours like an Imperial Red Ale, which makes a lot of sense if you've had the Sam vs Unicorn or Santa vs Unicorn. Barleywine? More like an Imperial Red. In lower light, this beer's body is a dark red/muddy brown color, and kicks up two to three fingers of super dense, bready, caramel-amber head. The beer dons a juicy, murky, reddish-orange body in bright light. The head is all caramel/amber, with hints of orange. It's an Imperial Red! There's tons of sticky lacing on this, and some glossy legs.

I'm getting big resinous pine, resinous citrus, and woody resin. There's a lot of rye spice on the aroma as well, with some bready rye, rye bread, and lots of peppery rye. There's some caramel as well. The nose is super hoppy, but it's resinous hops...resinous grapefruit, citrus, and orange.

This reminds me more of the Santa vs Unicorn than the Sam vs Unicorn. For whatever reason, this one doesn't have any assertive carbonation helping things along (which is weird because the beer still has a big, lively head and lacing). The malt is blunted here, and there's a lot of it. You get big rye, caramel, and sweet malt sugars (brown sugar?). There's a lot of rye spice in the mix, and lots of resinous hops. I'm getting resinous/woody pine, citrus, grapefruit rind, and tangerines. There's some peppery-rye-booze on the finish.

The lack of carbonation doesn't hurt the drinkability here, even at 10.0%. But I find myself pining for it a bit. This is a medium-full to full-bodied beer, with lots of sweet malt body and tons of resinous hops. Palate depth is okay, and complexity is also okay. You get lots of sweet, rye-forward malt up front; that rolls into big resinous/woody hops; the back end features peppery spice and some booze. 

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Average here. I don't know if this beer was intentionally supposed to feature this little carbonation, or if it didn't attenuate far enough, or the conditioning didn't go right. Who knows. Either way, this isn't a bad libation. You get lots of the Rye and malt sweetness. It drinks like an Imperial Red Ale. I would pair this beer with a burger, wings, or other aggressive American foods. You could pair this with anything spicy as well. This one was okay, the Sam vs Unicorn was much better.

Random Thought: TGIF, bitches! 

Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstout

Brewed By: Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, California

Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2013

Style/ABV: American Double Stout, 13.0% 
Reported IBUs: 65

I don't know how Will Wheaton suddenly became super popular or relveant, but apparently the dude is infamous these days. Apparently, he also likes beer. I lucked into tonight's beer, and hope that everyone has a chance to track a bottle down. Word on the street is this beer is just now popping up outside of Cali, so keep searching. About Stone:

Stone Brewing are one of the more prominent breweries in the American craft brewing scene. They were founded in 1996 in San Marcos, California, and moved to Escondido, California where they recently expanded their operations. Stone was founded by Steve Wagner and Greg Koch. Koch has a reputation among the craft beer community for voicing his opinion, not putting up with shit, and standing behind his beer. 

Like most of Stone's collaboration brews, the Farking Wheaton w00tstout is all kinds of ridiculous. This beer is a collaboration between Stone/Greg Koch, and actor/uber-geek Will Wheaton, and Fark.com creator Drew Curtis. Brewed with rye, wheat malt, and pecans, this beer is partially aged in Bourbon whiskey barrels, and clocks in at a punishing 13% ABV and packs 65 IBUs. 

Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstout

Not at all surprising is this beer's super dark pour and the three fingers of THICK, bready, ice cream float head. The head is brown/coffee/mocha-colored, and has a thick, foamy consistency. No doubt the wheat and rye are keeping this bad boy afloat. This beer is also pretty true to its black body, letting in only the faintest brown tones. As you might expect, there's some nice lacing.

You get rich pecans, nuttiness, coconut, GIANT coffee, roast, cacao/cocoa...and then some hints of dark fruits, wood, and some faded whiskey/bourbon on the aroma. This doesn't remind me of the Stone RIS, and for that, you rock.

I'm drinking this at just below room temperatures, and I have to say...this beer is dense, creamy, rich, and boozy. This reminds me of something from the Southern Tier wheelhouse, or a Hoppin' Frog B.O.R.I.S....or something like that. Up front is rich, velvety cocoa, coffee, roast, and woody richness (edit: there's also some mild soy sauce and umami character); that rolls into some dark fruit complexity, with booze-soaked raisins and prunes, figs; you get some bourbon/whiskey next, with coconut and pecan/almond/nut following. The whole thing starts out super rich and sweet, but finishes sticky and dry with lingering booziness and alcohol complexity. I'm belching up rich chocolate. 

This is full-bodied, rich, boozy, and unapologetic about the whole thing. At 13%, I'm not looking for drinkability or sessionability, I'm looking for something that takes some time to drink and will get me through a couple of hours of TV. Mission accomplished. This beer has outstanding palate depth, with each sip lasting 20-30 seconds on your palate. The complexity is very high as well, with huge cocoa sweetness, coffee/roast, boozy dark fruits ala Stone's RIS, subtle whiskey/bourbon, and a pecan/nutty finish. This beer adds a layer of complexity that would elevate Stone's RIS into something truly remarkable. From front to back: rich, velvety chocolate/cacao, roast, coffee, woody thickfreakness; then you get some booze soaked dark fruits (raisins); the bourbon/whiskey show up; then you get nuts, pecan, pecan pie, boozy coconut; the back end is trailing boozy dark fruits, fade to slightly hoppy/dry/sticky. 

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Divine Brew. In a lot of ways, this is the beer that I wish Stone's RIS was. This is a thick, milkshake-like beer, with huge roast, cacao, coffee, pecan nuttines, and boozy complexity. It's a fun beer, and the 13% means you can both sip on this and then nap it off. I didn't even look to see how much this was going for, but my guess is this was around 10 dollars a bottle? A steal. I would pair this beer with this beer and sip on it over an evening, but you could also go with ice cream, rich chocolate cake, cheese cake, a super aggressive burger with strong cheeses and mushrooms, or a slice of pecan pie. I'm assuming a bottle of this stuff like like 900 calories, but #youonlyliveonce. 

Random Thought: Tomorrow: The Bruery's Bois. Hopefully. Stay tuned.

The Bruery Sour In The Rye

Brewed By: The Bruery in Placentia, California  

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013 (2012 bottle/vintage)

Style/ABV: Wild Ale, 7.8%

Reported IBUs: ?

Tonight is Thursday (well technically Friday at this point), which is an excuse to drink fancy beer. About The Bruery: 

The Bruery are based out of Placentia, California. As with many craft breweries, The Bruery began as a homebrewing adventure when Patrick Rue, his brother Chris, and his wife Rachel brewed their fast batch of beer. Patrick Rue continued to homebrew during his first year of law school, until he decided that he had a passion for brewing beer. The Bruery opened up in 2008, and since then, they have built a reputation around their experimental, and wild ales brewed with a Belgian flair. To read more, check out the Breuery's website.

Tonight's beer is part of The Bruery's "special collection." The Sour In The Rye is an Ale with around 40% rye malt base. This bad boy is brewed with wild yeast/bacteria, and aged away in an oak barrel for over a year.  

The Bruery Sour In The Rye

The beer pours a hazy brown color, with orange/gold tones in low light. This kicked up two fingers of orange tinted head, but the head quickly settled into a pure infection, pinky's covering of funk. In bright light this beer is a hazy gold-orange with peppery, uniform carbonation. The head is all funk, with an off-white/eggnog color. There's clingy lacing and all that fun stuff too.

This beer smells AMAZING. It instantly reminds me of the best stuff from Jolly Pumpkin and the Wild Ales from Jester King (Dear, my glassware). There's huge wood on the nose, with wet sauna, attic funk, lemon, lactic lemon funk, lactic tartness, and solid woody oak. The standout aroma here is the huge wood, wet sauna, and oak...followed by the tart, lactic funk. There's some rye spice as well, and maybe a hint of vinegar.

I need my glass/bottle to warm up a bit, but going into this a bit cold is revealing a ton of aggressive tartness, lactic tartness, lemon funk, and a biting wet sauna/woody finish. This tastes amazingly on point, and you get some subtle rye malt character as the backbone. This beer is jarringly sour, and that stays true as it warms a bit. There's plenty of lactic tartness, vinegar, tart apples, and pickled funk. There's also some buttery oak that emerges as this warms. The wood character is strong, with assertive tannin presence. There's some hints of leather as well. 

You would find this in my wheelhouse. This is my bag, baby. Yeah...okay...this one isn't the most complex beer out there, but the assertive sourness more than makes up for that fact. Palate depth is outstanding, complexity is just alright, and the mouthfeel is medium-light with wood tannins, buttery oak, and super aggressive sourness. But dat "wet sauna." Patent pending on that shit. You get big wood, lactic tartness, and some hints of sweetness up front; that rolls into buttery oak, more tartness, more wood, hints of rye, vinegar, sour grapes, Sour Patch Kids, sour apples; the back end is lingering wood, vinegar, rye...dry...

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I gotta go with a Light Divine Brew on this. This is super tasty, and a lot of fun. I'm about to pair this beer with a salami sandwich, and I think any cured lunch meat sandwich would go well with this beer. You could also go the cheese route, or pair this beer with some super raunchy Poutine or something. I know that's begging for heartburn an hour later, but who cares. The price is right for this beer too, at around...14 or 15 dollars a bottle? Get on this. 

Random Thought: Speaking of "don't care," Jay Cutler was totally on the radio station I frequently listen to that isn't ESPN. Love him or hate him, this is a big year for Cutler and I'm not gonna lie....I'm excited for football. Soon.

Half Acre Baumé

Brewed By: Half Acre Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Half Acre in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: American Stout, 6.5%
Reported IBUs: 60

Tonight is Thursday, so let's do a Chicago beer...because why not. About Half Acre:

The Half Acre Beer Company was founded in October 2006, which is young for craft beer in general, but great for the local Chicago scene. The founders of Half Acre started out by working with the Sand Creek Brewery in Black River Falls in Wisconsin. They eventually developed their Half Acre Lager, and began distributing and selling it in Chicago during the August of 2007. The beer was successful enough that Half Acre was able to buy out a space in the Bucktown area of Chicago. With continuing sales, Half Acre was eventually able to purchase equipment from Ska Brewing Co. and moved to their current location on Lincoln Avenue on the north side of Chicago. Half Acre has been brewing at their Chicago location since 2009, and seems to be really expanding in both amount of distribution and popularity. Check out the full story HERE, and check out their website for a low-down on all their beers and info. 

If you roll over to the Baumé page, you can see that this beer is pretty unique in that it is a Rye Stout. This one should bring lots of chocolate and coffee notes, as well as big hop bitterness at 60 IBUs. The website clocks this in at 7.0%, my bottle says 6.5%.

Half Acre Baumé

This one pours a surprisingly dark brown/black color with a finger of bready, brown head. The head fades away leaving some lacing, but a nice coating is sustaining. I'm a little surprised by how opaque this is. Even in bright light, I'm only picking up brown tones on the very edges of the glass. It's a great looking Stout, and you can see some carbonation on the edges.

The aroma on this is really nice, with some big roast, burnt marshmallow, chocolate, a hint of cognac/booze, earthy coffee, coffee creamer, instant coffee, and some elusive rye spice. 

This is incredibly smooth, light, and complex for a beer in the 6.5% to 7.0% range. It sort of reminds me of a Black IPA, but it's not quite there. There's a ton of subtle roast in this, light chocolate and cacao, and all sorts of nods to coffee, coffee creamer, instant coffee, etc. There's some hop kick in the mid and back palate, with lightly acidic citrus, berries, and earthy dirt. I'm also picking up a ton of tobacco and chicory, and a touch of rye/rye spice.

This is ridiculously drinkable, with a lightly acidic and smooth mouthfeel, driven by medium carbonation, coffee bitterness, and some hoppy dryness in the back. I'd call this medium-light. It reminds me of the Dogfish Head Chicory Stout, only better. Palate depth is good, and complexity is not far behind. You get some acidity and coffee/chicory up front with some creamer and berries; this rolls into big roast, cacao, chocolate, more coffee, dirt; the back end is hoppy, lingering dirt/coffee, and fade to pretty dry.


Rating: Above-Average (4/5 Untappd)

Mmmm, tasty. This is a Decent Above-Average, and I'm a little surprised at how much I like the Half Acre Stout lineup. So far there Stouts have been great. This is a really easy-going, complex little beer. You get a lot of coffee and chicory, which if I had to guess comes from the Rye. I'm not picking up a ton of rye ala a Rye IPA, but that's okay. This beer would pair well with ribs, coffee braised meats, and anything cooked on a grill. You could also go the chocolate cake/coffee infused dessert route. This is a pretty fantastic beer, so check it out if you can.

Random Thought: I love how just when Summer is arriving, I get a cold. Fak my immune system.

Great Lakes Rye of the Tiger

Brewed By: Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland, Ohio 
Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, Illinois; 2013

Style/ABV: Rye IPA, 7.5%

Reported IBUs: 92

I haven't dabbled with Great Lakes Brewing since Christmas, so why not toss in a short review to cap off the weekend. About Great Lakes:

Great Lakes Brewing Company was founded on September 6th, 1988, brothers Patrick Daniel and Conway Daniel. It became the first microbrewery in the state of Ohio. The brewery expanded both in 1992 and 1998, and in 2010 and 2011 the brewery spent over 7 million dollars to improve their brewery and brewery equipment. The brewery produces over 100,000 barrels annuals, and serves 13 states and Washington D.C.. According to the Brewers Association "top 50 breweries list" from 2010, Great Lakes Brewing Company is ranked #22 for beer sales as a craft brewer, and #31 for beer sales in general (in America). You can take a stroll to the Great Lakes Brewing history page to get the full story about the brewery.

If you check out the Rye of the Tiger IPA page, you can get all the essentials for this beer. Clocking in at 7.5%, this one is pushing an impressive 92 IBUs. This one uses Harrington 2-Row Base Malt, Crystal 45, Biscuit, and Rye malts. This one is hopped with Columbus, Warrior, and Simcoe hops. Suggested food pairings are fried chicken, blue cheese, and spiced desserts; this one is described as an "India Pale Ale with bite." Let's glass it up and see how it goes.

Great Lakes Rye of the Tiger

This one pours a light amber/orange color in low light, with a transparent body that has a ton of visible carbonation in the form of mid-to-large sized bubbles. I kicked up two fingers of creamy, thick, slightly off-white head. In bright light, this beer has almost a Pilsner-esque, dark gold color. There's a ton of carbonation streaming upwards, and the head is creamy, off-white, and sustaining nicely. Swirling the beer yields your typical IPA lacing.

The aroma on the nose is subtle...and dare I say a bit mild. I'm pulling out a lot of citrus, woody hops, resin, and some big peppery/rye spice. There's a bit of pine, and some rye bread on the nose as well. The rye is fairly pronounced on the aroma, and definitely differentiates this from your standard IPA.

For a beer pushing 92 IBUs, this one is still fairly balanced. While you do get some woody and super dry hop kick on the back, this one opens up with sticky and sweet citrus, some caramel, bread, and then the beer blasts you with rye. The mid palate dials up the rye spice and rye bread, with tons of wonderful rye. The back palate is where you feel the brunt of the 92 IBUs, with woody pine, citrus rind, and dry bitterness. 

This is very balanced, has a nice rye-forward flavor profile, and works for the style. This is drinkable, but I wouldn't describe this as a beer you would drink excessively. At 7.5% and 92 IBUs, this is on the extreme end of the style. This works as a sipper, but you could also put two of these back during a game. Complexity is simple and low, but palate depth is wonderful. The mouthfeel is medium-full and fairly smooth...aided by creamy and assertive carbonation. You get lots of sweet, sticky hops and caramel up front; this transitions into big rye flavors and rye spice; the back end is lingering rye spice with dry woody hops.

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this beer. This beer does a great job balancing the rye with the hops, and it pretty much delivers what it promises in a nice refined package. I don't have a lot to complain about -- and, in fact -- I really like the intense bitterness this beer brings to the table. At 92 IBUs, this one will keep you engaged. And that has nothing to do with cock-waving or dick-fighting or whatever "throw your penis around to prove your beer is the geekiest and most extreme" metaphor you can come up with. Like most of Great Lakes stuff, this one is refined and classy. The intense bitterness and rye spice would work well with spicy chicken wings, or assertive cheeses. I would pair this with a burger or pizza or wings. At 10 bucks a 6-pack...this is a steal.  

Random Thought: After a hell of a week, I'm looking forward to a calm, relaxing, boring week.

He'Brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A.

Brewed By: Shmaltz Brewing Company in Brooklyn, New York  

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at Jewel in Skokie/Niles, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 10.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

Skokie at 10pm

Bitches love Jewel. Seriously, I was up in Skokie with the girlfriend, and we decided to get some Bdubs. While waiting, I realized I didn't have any particularly hoppy beers on hand...which is a tragedy, because hops + wings = foodvana. Unfortunately, Skokie at 10pm is like...fuuuuck. But they have a Jewel! For those who don't know, Jewel-Osco is a decent chain store that sells groceries. The Chicagoland Jewels have started to pick up on the craft beer craze, and you can actually snag some decent beer at Jewel. I found a bunch of Revolution stuff at the Skokie Jewel, along with the beer I'm drinking tonight. (btw, the Walmart off Touhy is a fucking shithole...please avoid). 

There's some crazy shit going on in Chicago. The Walgreens in Greek Town had Bourbon County Stout, and supposedly had Bourbon County Coffee Stout. I picked up a 4-pack of the regular BCBS at the Greek Town Dominicks (Dominicks is Jewel's competition). The Jewel in Boystown had Madame Rose...and yeah. The elusive and rare beers, coming to your local Jewel.

Anyway...I'm glad to pop open another He'Brew beer. About He'Brew:

He'Brew is part of the Shmaltz Brewing Company. The Shmaltz Brewing Company has two lines of beer: their He'Brew The Chosen Beer, and their Coney Island Craft Lagers. Shmaltz Brewing Company is a craft brewery based in San Francisco, California, founded by Jeremy Cowan in 1996. The company contract brews most of their beer through the Mendocino Brewing Company, and they operate a brewery in Brooklyn New York. The company is known for its innovative beer, eye-catching bottle artwork, and sense of humor. For more information, check out the Shmaltz website HERE. Don't be a shmuck, and drink good beer!

Tonight's beer is described as a Double IPA brewed with Rye Malts. Truthfully, based on the other three bottles I've had, this shit drinks a lot like Founders' Devil Dancer. This beer kind of gets into that "Triple IPA," super malty/hoppy range. At 10.0% ABV, this is on the upper echelon of the Imperial IPA style, and as it touts big malts, it tends to lean away from the usual styling. If you roll over to the Lenny's R.I.P.A. page, you can get a lot of info on this beer (including how the thing is brewed). This beer uses 2-row, Rye Ale Malt, Torrified Rye, Crystal Rye 75, Crystal Malt 80, Wheat, Kiln Amber, and CaraMunich 60 malts; it uses Warrior, Cascade, Simcoe, Crystal, Chinook, Amarillo, and Centennial hops. This beer is also dry hopped with Simcoe, Amarillo, and Crystal hops. It's unclear how bitter this is, but at 10.0% ABV, and with all the hops...yeah. Into the glass!

Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. 

My pour was kind of amateur hour, but maybe not. When I popped the top, this started to gush like a prison break or something. I rushed to get this into a glass, and the end result was 4-fingers of big, foamy head. The head is slightly off-white. /cue prison break joke about off-white inmates. The head picks up some amber; the body of the beer is a hazy amber/orange in low light, with lots of carbonation. Honestly, I don't feel too bad about my pour. This pours like the Devil Dancer or the 1000 IBUs. In bright light, this beer is a murky orange, with slightly latent/lazy mid-sized carb bubbles. The head has mad orange tones, and leaves spunky lacing. It's like an STD tiger. 

The aroma on this beer is crazy. You get fat candy oranges, maple/pine sap, caramel, toffee, and rye. I'm getting some slight floral aromas, and maybe a dash of honey/maple syrup as well. Imperial IPA? Har. 

The taste is like the nose...only with immense hop bitterness. This really reminds me more of the Devil Dancer/1000 IBUs than a straight up Imperial IPA. This is riding that Barleywine-Triple IPA-style-guidelines-don't-real line. And it's fucking awesome. You get a blast of maple-citrus-rye hops up front, with some sap and pine; this rolls into immense bitterness, with woody citrus, grapefruit rind; and the finish hits rye spice, rye bread, and lingering bitterness. Dry. Oh man. This is smooth and creamy as well. I'm getting oranges, lemons, grapefruit, huge sweetness, toffee, caramel, and boozy bite that is well masked but known at the same time. You actually get some booze on the finish with the rye. Nice.

Oh He'Brew. You make such insane...complex beers. At 10.0%, this is very smooth, with a full-bodied mouthfeel, and just a dash of alcohol heat. This is bitter, but I'm not sure how bitter this is. It's hard to tell with all the malt sweetness. Yup, this beer is sugary as fuck. They might as well call it the Diabetes IPA. Palate depth is outstanding, complexity is outstanding, and this is fairly drinkable for such a big beer. Up front you get caramel, toffee, maple, echoes of an aged Barleywine, candied hops, citrus; this rolls into a dash of rye spice, assertive hop bitterness, woody hops, pine, sap, lemon rind, grapefruit rind; the back end features rye bread, a dash of malt sweetness, dryness, and lingering citrus/rye. There's slight booze on the end, and this warms you up.

Rating: Divine Brew

As a standalone beer (without food)...I gotta go with a Light Divine Brew. I'm not okay calling this an Imperial IPA, so there's that too. For my money, this is kind of like a hopped up Barleywine thing...or a Strong Ale. I mean, fuck it. Who cares? This stuff is delicious, and a 4-pack of this will only set you back 10 or 11 bucks. Totes worth it, and then totes worth it some more. This is super aggressive, complex, smooth, and drinkable. And it goes pretty well with wings. The extreme dryness/bitterness mingles well with everything up to Blazin'. At that point, you just want water, and the beer just piles on the hurt. So yeah, I suggest pairing this beer with wings, or a burger, or some nachos. I like this beer so much I could see it becoming part of my usual rotation...recommended. 

Random Thought: Seriously, the Walmart on Touhy is disgusting, it's overcrowded, and it's the epitome of everything "fuck Walmart." Unfortunately...when you need groceries, and you live in a big city, you gotta do what you gotta do. Oh well.

Pipeworks Pastrami on Rye

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #55) bought at Binny's in IL; 2012 

Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable, 8.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

Batch #55

Tonight is somewhat celebratory...and I'm eating pizza. So I thought I'd take a break from the Christmas-y beers and crack something special open. And why not support the local brewery, Pipeworks, while I'm at it.

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.

Tonight's beer is all sorts of ridiculous, from the bottle art, to the concept...but I love the crap out of pastrami on rye, so I have high hopes. The back of the bottle states:

"Pastrami on Rye is our tribute to the classic Kosher deli sandwich. This rich dark ale incorporates rye and smoked malts to represent smoked brisket and soft rye bread. A myriad of spices enter the boiling wort including corriander, mustard seed, carraway, allspice, and peppercorns. All of the traditional spices that go into making pastrami are used. The result is a surprisingly smooth spiced ale perfect for sipping during the colder months."  

This beer is also unfiltered...which seems to be a theme, probably indicative of the small scale, small batch, brewery/brewing process. It's not a bad thing at all...so let's put the sandwich into the beer into a glass.

Pipeworks Pastrami on Rye

The beer pours a cola-brown color in low light, and stirs up about a pinky's worth of brown/tan head. The head is thick but thin...and reminds me of the head of a Belgian Pale Ale or a Saison. The head doesn't hang around for long either....quietly dissolving into a nice cauldron effect. When held to a bright light, the beer takes on a murky cola-color, with shades of brown and red. It looks like Dr. Pepper. There's some nice carbonation, alcohol legs, and some sticky lacing.

I'm really impressed with the aroma on this...but it's a very interesting aroma that can go a few ways. For example, I'm getting some nutmeg and Belgian-esque dark fruits like plums. On a similar spectrum, I'm pulling off aromas of bready rye, pepper, and pastrami. I'm definitely getting big pink peppercorn aromas on this...and there's a hint of raw alcohol on the nose. In summary, I'm getting: nutmeg, rye, peppercorn.

WOW. This is some dense stuff...I guess at 8.5% I can't be too surprised, but yeah. And also, WOW. I'm getting smoke, big pastrami, green pickles, black pepper, peppercorn, and rye bread. You get a big blast of Belgian base beer up front, accompanied by huge nutmeg spice, a hint of Belgian yeast, and some sweet dark fruits (plums, grapes)...then the beer blasts you with salty smoke, and you get pickles, pastrami, rye bread...the kitchen sink, really. The back end is epic, even leaving lingering pastrami-pork, with tons of salty peppercorn goodness to boot. There's rye bread, rye, and smoke throughout (I'm also getting some smoke/anise). 

I'm still jaded about that Rogue beer that gushed on me...so let me take 4 seconds to say good job, Pipeworks. This beer screams, "NOVELTY!" But unlike Rogue's Bacon Maple disaster -- for example -- this beer gets the job done. Well...so long as you don't mind a little nutmeg and Belgian fruit/funk up front. Mouthfeel on this is medium-full to full, and this is quite dense. This is creamy and smooth thanks to great supporting carbonation (<-think Dark Belgian Ale), and drinks ridiculously easy for 8.5%. You know how I said I could smell some alcohol on the nose? You don't get that in the taste. Palate depth is great, complexity is high. Up front is nutmeg, Belgian base, dark fruits; this quickly rolls into pickles, salt, burgeoning pastrami, smoke, pepper; the back end is big pepper, peppercorn, rye, and pastrami. The finish dries out leaving pastrami-pork-hot dog on your palate, with lingering pepper. The nutmeg must be what drives that "pork" flavor, as you get that on the finish as well.

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. Damn...this is good, and not at all what I was expecting. Hell, I don't even know what I was expecting in a 8.5% beer called "Pastrami on Rye." Food pairings: pizza, sandwiches, pastrami, a grinder (mmm), hot dogs, or even some fried pickles. I have to say...22oz of this stuff might be a bit much, as I wind down to the last 8oz or so. And this beer definitely reveals its Belgian base up front...for better or worse. In some ways, it's almost like a palate cleanser to get those fruits up front. This beer is very much a novelty...but it's definitely one of the BETTER novelties. Get a bottle, and split it with some friends.

Random Thought: It's a Tuesday and I'm about to open another beer...because it's also my birthday. I feel older, but I don't feel wiser. I think there's wisdom in that realization...which is pretty fucking meta. Also, I think that says something about how I have a lot of faith in Pipeworks. I could have gone for one of the many "safe" beers I have on hand to celebrate this occassion, but here I am. What I'm trying to say is....if you live in the Chicagoland area, check out Pipeworks!!!!