Brewed By: Half Acre Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois
Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Half Acre in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: IPA/Red Ale, 6.5%
Reported IBUs: ?
Gingers are evil. About Half Acre:
Reported IBUs: ?
Gingers are evil. 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 Ginger Twin page, you can learn very little...though they hint that this beer should feature a nice "caramel twist." This one clocks in at 6.5%...ad should be tasty. Right?
This one pours a reddish-orange amber color, with a finger of creamy, off-white head. The head is sticky and dense, and leaving some nice lacing. The body is hazy and has a nice color, head retention is nice.
The aroma on this is really nice, with bready malts, peppery and rye-like spice, resinous citrus and citrus zest, grapefruit, and some nice toffee. There's a nice balance between citrus spice and zest, and big sugary/bready malts. It reminds me of Laguintas.
The taste is a nice follow-through of the nose. You get big bready malts and toffee, lots of resinous citrus and grapefruit, and hints of peppery/rye/bready spice. There's also a clean thing going on with the hop profile...clean grapefruit and clean citrus. It's nice.
This is super drinkable at 6.5%, has a nice balance, and tastes really nice. The mouthfeel is medium-light, with supportive carbonation. The palate depth is outstanding, and complexity is okay. This is a nice Amber/Red IPA. You get lots of toffee, caramel, and bready malts up front; this rolls into big citrus, resin, and rye/pepper/bready spice; the back end is lingering dryness and cleans up with some nice refreshing hops. The finish is dry and spicy.
Rating: Above-Average (4/5 Untappd)
This is a Light Above-Average, going beyond the baseline for the style with great balance and nice clarity of flavors. You really can taste the bready/caramel malts, you get lots of nice spice, and the resin and citrus hops make a big appearance. This beer would pair well with a burger, peppery chicken, foods that go well with Saisons, seasoned potatoes or french fries, seasoned poultry, white fish, peppered steak, and peppery vegetables. All things considered, this is actually a really nice beer.
Random Thought: These Amber/Red IPAs are among my favorite types of beer, as they add a lovely peppery/spicy element along with big bread and toffee. Good stuff.
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| Half Acre Ginger Twin India Red Ale |
This one pours a reddish-orange amber color, with a finger of creamy, off-white head. The head is sticky and dense, and leaving some nice lacing. The body is hazy and has a nice color, head retention is nice.
The aroma on this is really nice, with bready malts, peppery and rye-like spice, resinous citrus and citrus zest, grapefruit, and some nice toffee. There's a nice balance between citrus spice and zest, and big sugary/bready malts. It reminds me of Laguintas.
The taste is a nice follow-through of the nose. You get big bready malts and toffee, lots of resinous citrus and grapefruit, and hints of peppery/rye/bready spice. There's also a clean thing going on with the hop profile...clean grapefruit and clean citrus. It's nice.
This is super drinkable at 6.5%, has a nice balance, and tastes really nice. The mouthfeel is medium-light, with supportive carbonation. The palate depth is outstanding, and complexity is okay. This is a nice Amber/Red IPA. You get lots of toffee, caramel, and bready malts up front; this rolls into big citrus, resin, and rye/pepper/bready spice; the back end is lingering dryness and cleans up with some nice refreshing hops. The finish is dry and spicy.
Rating: Above-Average (4/5 Untappd)
This is a Light Above-Average, going beyond the baseline for the style with great balance and nice clarity of flavors. You really can taste the bready/caramel malts, you get lots of nice spice, and the resin and citrus hops make a big appearance. This beer would pair well with a burger, peppery chicken, foods that go well with Saisons, seasoned potatoes or french fries, seasoned poultry, white fish, peppered steak, and peppery vegetables. All things considered, this is actually a really nice beer.
Random Thought: These Amber/Red IPAs are among my favorite types of beer, as they add a lovely peppery/spicy element along with big bread and toffee. Good stuff.
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