Pipeworks Passion Abduction

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #477/478) bought at Binny's in IL; 2014 (bottled 08.10.2014)

Style/ABV: American Imperial Stout/Fruit Beer, 10.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

I've been holding onto this one for almost a month, so it's high time we crack into the Passion Fruit Abduction for Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™. 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 Passion Fruit Abduction is an Imperial Stout brewed with cacao, vanilla, and passion fruit. In one of the longer winded descriptions, the bottle reads:

""Now, listen alien braj, I haven't done a fracking thing in my fracking life, but you aliens are privileged and I hate you. Seriously though, alien invaders, you're seriously invading my privacy. I'm just trying to wash the stinks off. Braj, if you want to play games, try flying your spaceship with your tentacle. Ha! I just left a #voicemail with my friends Zahm, Nagel, and Meheen. They're coming over here and they'll mess you UP, aliens. Seriously though, hang onto your d!ck$. #cats #passionfruit #abduction" -Dylan, abductee"

Pipeworks Passion Abduction

This pours like every other Abduction: into a black, opaque body, kicking up a finger or two of tan colored head. I can see nice streams of carbonation in the glass suggesting that this is properly carbed, and there is good head retention, glossy alcohol legs, and some lacing to boot.

On the aroma: holy crap. This smells like fruit! Wow, you get a ton of passion fruit on the aroma. Some people have suggested that this smells like weed or bong water...I would say it smells very similar to chocolate-dipped cherries or strawberries, or a chocolate cake with a fruit topping. This has cakey chocolate notes, cakey roast, cocoa, some vanilla, some coffee, and big chocolate-strawberry, chocolate-cherry, and passion fruit. The fruit on the aroma rides the line between real fruits and candy fruits....I'm curious how this is going to taste.

This might be the most simple and straightforward Abduction beer yet. This is pretty much a mirror of the nose, with intense roast, cacao, and coffee up front, that gives way to huge fruity notes that coat your mouth, lips, and tongue. You get cherry-chocolate, strawberry-chocolate, cherry and strawberry jelly candies, passion fruit, some vanilla and coffee, creamer, and a nice finish that has a hint of alcohol. [EDIT: I figured it out! The fruity notes in this beer really remind me of the fruit notes you get in store bought ice cream, or even in something like a Dairy Queen banana split. It has that same cherry/strawberry note straight from the ice cream. Werd].

This is full-bodied and very nice. Palate duration is fantastic, with each sip lingering for 30-60 seconds. This isn't overly complex, but it unravels with a layer of the Stout base and then a passion fruit injection. This is really throwing me for a loop because I'm enjoying this a lot, despite the lack of integration between the Stout base and the fruit notes. Up front: roast, cacao, coffee, vanilla, passion fruit, cherry-chocolate, strawberry-chocolate; that rolls into cherry and strawberry gummy candies, passion fruit, more roast/vanilla/coffee; the back end drops lingering fruit and chocolate, with some booze that wraps things up nicely. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd) 

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average here. This is up there with the Raspberry Truffle Abduction...it might even be better. The passion fruit injection in this beer isn't subtle and borders on being candy sweet and artificial...but I think it really works well with the Abduction base. Having said that...I think you need to pair this beer with some vanilla ice cream, or strawberries dipped in chocolate.

Random Thought: As this beer sits in my glass, I'm getting waves of dank as weed from the aroma. Complete: whatttt. I guess this really does smell like weed.  

Pipeworks Mocha Abduction

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #435/36/37) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled 05.??.2014)

Style/ABV: Imperial Stout (brewed with cacao, vanilla, and coffee), 10.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

Happy Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™ everybody. I'm not going to ramble on for too long here. All you need to know is beer good, Friday better. 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 Mocha Abduction ominously states:

"I don't think these aliens are that bad. What's that you ask? That they don't like you? That they don't like me either? WRONG! I mean maybe we've all just been brainwashed by Hollywood alien invasion movies. Has anyone even tried to talk to them? Here, I'll go bring them a Pipeworks Mocha Imperial Stout with coffee and rich chocolate. This beer is amazing. No disintegrations. " 
- Jeff's last words before being encased in choconite.

Pipeworks Mocha Abduction

The Mocha Abduction pours out like every other Abduction, only datglass.woah and thistle.jpeg and yeah. Look at that glass: head retention, massive cascading foam -- fuckin' a. The body of this beer is dark black and opaque, and depending on your glass of choice, you'll be left with several fingers of dense, sustaining, mocha-tinted head. Bright light confirms the same stuff. 

The aroma: oh yeah. This is the good stuff. I'm getting massive waves of chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, vanilla bean, coffee, mocha, and big-ass biscotti. Wowza. There's some really nice coffee notes on the nose, with hazelnut, freshly brewed coffee, and nutty-coffee-sweetness. Dayum.

Mmm...this is blissful. Wow. This dials things up past Southern Tier levels of sweetness, with huge hazelnut, sweet vanilla, bitter espresso bite, mocha, and some velvety smooth vanilla/cacao notes. The coffee stands out strong in the mix, and provides a much needed backbone and counterpoint to all the sweet notes. The hazelnut lingers for quite some time, and then as that drops off you are left with lingering coffee and alcohol warming. There are big molasses and cakey sweetness up front, and this beer screams "dessert" with notes that hint at coconut cake and chocolate cake. Just...fantastic.

I'm smitten. I wasn't even tasting a Stout tonight...."drink the hoppy pale ale," I was thinking, as I drove home from work. This beer is fantastic. Easily up there with the Coffee Break, maybe better. You definitely get some alcohol warming, but you don't taste any of the 10.5%. This beer is slick and smooth, with just enough carbonation. It's still full-bodied, but the coffee provides much needed contrast to the heavy body and sweetness. Palate depth is off the charts, and this is fairly complex when you consider the one-dimensional concept. Up front: molasses, huge swaths of sweet coffee, hazelnut, cocoa, chocolate, vanilla, espresso, mocha; the mids roll into some dark fruits, more molasses, chocolate, coffee, bitter coffee; the back end continues with bitter coffee, mocha, espresso, and a really nice coffee finish. The finish is sticky and sweet with those sugary kisses, and then your drunk uncle, Alcohol, shows up to tuck you in and hold you tight. 

Rating: Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Divine Brew here. This is blissful and hitting the spot. This beer is basically dessert, but I can't help but think it would pair really well with a raunchy burger, vanilla ice cream, dry chocolate cakes, and anything with coffee in it. Or you could light up a cigar with deep tobacco notes, and just unwind. I should have picked up another bottle of this, but I was being considerate. 

Random Thought: Seriously, as far as over-the-top glassware goes, this giant Scotch Ale glass/thistle is pretty near the top. It's almost on par with the Kwak glass or the Tripel Karmeliet glass. 

Pipeworks Mint Truffle Abduction

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #353/54/55) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled 03.20.2014)

Style/ABV: Imperial Stout/American Double, 10.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

OH SHIT SON, it's been a while since we've rolled out an official Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™. You know what that means. 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.

Tonight's big chocolate-mint Abduction clocks in at 10.5%. The back of the bottle states:

"Begin alien transmission: "Foolish humans! You're doomed! Doomed! Even more doomed than we hoped! You can't resist the universally delicious combo of fresh mint and chocolate! Muhah! It's time to ad-mint that there is no escape! Ok, now I'm getting charged for 'Roaming' so I have to go. You hang up. No, what am I saying? I'm doing the fear mongering here! I'll hang up. Doom!" End alien transmission."

Pipeworks Mint Truffle Abduction

The beer pours into an opaque, black body...per the usual course for these abduction beers. The beer kicked up a finger of dark tan/brown head. The head has settled into a nice ring around the edge of the glass, and there is sticky lacing and some glossy alcohol legs. It's very Stout-like. Woo.

The aroma immediately reminds me of the Pipeworks Chai Dog. I'm getting big anise on the aroma, with some clove/menthol/mint, big cardamon, intense spices, and a respectable stout backbone. The stout backbone includes aromas of coffee, chocolate, roast, and dark grains. It smells...intriguing. I guess I was expecting more mint and chocolate chip...let's dig into the taste.

The taste mirrors the nose to a tee. I'm getting a lot of anise, menthol, clove, tobacco, and cardamon/chai in the taste. I'm also getting a lot of coffee and chocolate in the mix, with some hints of roast. I WILL SAY, there is a nice minty/menthol twang that you pick up in the back of your throat...and the back end cleans up nicely, leaning more towards the mint/menthol and chocolate.

I'm really surprised at how earthy and spicy this beer is. There's a lot of menthol character, with some chai and clove and cardamon...you definitely get some mint, but it's not like mint chocolate-chip ice cream. This is a full-bodied beer with lazy carbonation, but it works for the style. At 10.5% this is a smooth operator, with minimal booze. Palate depth is good, and the complexity is okay. This beer is intriguing...but I was hoping for more of that ice cream shop interplay between assertive mint and assertive chocolate. Regardless...up front is menthol/chai/cardamon and chocolate; the mids dial up big Stout base with chocolate, coffee, some earthy roast, sticky sugars, and some nice hints of mint/menthol; the back end is where you pick up the straight up mint, and then you get some of that Andes candy mint-chocolate interplay, but it is brief. The finish is sticky and boozy. 

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average...this is definitely my least favorite of the Abduction beers, but it's a fun little riff. An experiment, I suppose. I actually really like the back end of this beer, which dials up that mint-chocolate experience. And the front end also works, but it leans more towards some of those earthy spices and mint flavor. It kind of reminds me of a clove or menthol cigarette. I dunno. Fun times in Abduction land, I would recommend this @ $10 a pop. Which is what I paid. I hope Pdubs brews this again...maybe they can up the chocolate/mint ante. Or Andes. Or whatever.

Random Thought: I just realized that with all my Pipeworks reviews I'm basically a Pdubs shill. 

Pipeworks Toasty Nut Abduction

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #284-285) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled ??.??.2014)

Style/ABV: Imperial Stout/American Double, 10.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

It's Thursday, so that means it is an Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™....I'm really excited to try tonight's beer, which is Pipeworks' Abduction Stout base brewed with coconuts and almonds. 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.

Tonight's beer is big, coming in at 10.5% ABV. It's also brewed with cacao nibs, vanilla bean, toasted coconut, and almond. The back of the bottle reads:

"Aw man, I got this one guy. He's an alien. I was in this one place, real tropical, real cool, real classy, and he just scooped me up. He gave me this beer, it was savemylife good. These aliens were seriously killin' it ALL DAY! Is it wrong for a grown man to kiss an alien full-on the lips? Somebody check my pressure. DONE. It's cool to be cool." We love Nick, and we love this beer too. Done."

Pipeworks Toasty Nut Abduction

The Toasty Nut pours like your typical Imperial Stout: an opaque, black body, a finger or two of thick, bready, dark brown head, and yeah. The head retention is nice, with a sea foam coating on top of the beer, and a thick brown ring along the edge. You can kick up some head when you swirl this. There is glossy alcohol legs, and thick, paint-like lacing.

On the aroma: a fucking shitload of coconut. There is a ton of coconut in this. I say that with confidence, as I just bought a Randall and dumped an entire roasted coconut into a bottle of Bourbon County Stout. This beer smells like coconut, with huge toasted coconut and meaty coconut goodness. I'm also getting a ton of coffee, espresso, earthy dirt, roast, and some woody chocolate-vanilla. There's some nutty aromas, but mostly nutty in the realm of toasted coconut (which has a nutty aroma and taste).

Wowza...the taste...is dense, rich, and coconut. This is a big, hearty, Imperial Stout. Very much in line with a sweeter Russian Imperial Stout. I'm happy to report that there is quite a bit of roast, coffee, and earthy bitterness in this beer. I'm a bit surprised. Up front though: sweet cacao, vanilla bean, huge almond and coconut, roasted coconut, epic nuttiness, and Almond Joy/Mounds bar. This beer probably won't escape the Almond Joy description, which is completely applicable. I should mention the front of the beer is loaded with some sticky, boozy alcohol as well. Beneath all the coconut, nuttiness, and chocolate is some serious but subtle roast, coffee, espresso, and grungy Stout stuff. It's good.

This is an impressive display of Imperial Stout stuff. The mouthfeel is full-bodied, but the carbonation is perfect and supportive. You get the booze up front, but it is kind of welcomed for a 10.5% beer. I would treat this beer like a sipper. Palate depth is really good, but this could have slightly longer duration, and the complexity is okay as well. To be honest, this mostly tastes like a boozy Almond Joy. There are some layers though. Up front is cacao, chocolate sweetness, and almond/coconut sweetness, and booze; that rolls into huge coconut, vanilla bean, more booze, nuttiness; the back end dials up rich chocolate and some roast/espresso. The finish is sticky and dry. There is roast, coffee, and espresso abound, mostly found in the mid and back palate. 

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Divine Brew on this literal interpretation of an Almond Joy. At least, that's what it tastes like. An Almond Joy in a bottle. It's fantabulous, and I wouldn't pair this beer with anything except for maybe some dry chocolate cake, coconut cake, Almond Joys, or nothing. You can probably sip on this for dessert. This probably isn't my favorite of the Abduction series (that might go to the coffee or raspberry), but this is just a fun, over-the-top, in your face beer. It's worth checking out if you like coconuts and Almond Joys. 

Random Thought: So I bought a Randall Jr. 

It's basically a fancy travel mug that you can put loose leaf tea into, and those are basically riffs on the classic French Press. The idea is novel and worth marketing, but it's not original. Anyway, who cares. The point is that the Randall Jr. seems like a quality product in terms of what you get. I like Dogfish Head, so I was happy to part with my money and support them.

Since regular Bourbon County Stout is just sitting on shelves in Chicago (such #shelfturd, so #Midwest), I decided it would be fun to pick up a couple of extra bottles and buy a coconut and some berries. My life is average.

Part of my motivation to Randall coconut and berries into Bourbon County is because I missed the Black Friday release and didn't pick up any Proprietors or Backyard Rye. It's no biggie, but there you have it. So I shredded a coconut, which was a fucking pain in the ass. I've never broken down a coconut before. My weapon of choice was a hammer, a knife, and lots of patience. After punching a hole in the top of the coconut with a screwdriver to drain the delicious juice, I went to town with the hammer. Let me tell you something: coconuts are like the Adamantium of tropical fruits. Like, I used to think that if I was ever stranded on a deserted island, I would just live off of coconuts. Maybe I should opt for an island with bananas instead. After you break the coconut in half, you want to break the halves into fourths or eighths. Basically you want to break the shell into as many pieces as you can, exposing the white, fleshy pulp. From there you take a knife, and pry apart the pulp from the shell. The white pulpy fruit stuff (the coconut) has two layers: a brown skin layer, and then the actual coconut shell. I found this to be the hardest part of the process, removing the shell from the brown skin layer. Once you have the shell off, you can peel the brown skin layer off with a knife or a potato peeler.

DOES THIS SOUND LIKE FUN YET!?!?!?

I like doin' fun things.

After all this bullshit, you still have to pull out your shredder, and shred the coconut. Then you have to preheat your oven (I went with 375), prepare a baking tray, and put the coconut on the tray. Before baking the shredded coconut, I rehydrated it with the coconut juice from the coconut.

Was it worth it?

Surprisingly...maybe? Once you have your toasted coconut, life is easy. I filled the Randall Jr. most of the way up with toasted coconut, and then poured in the beer. I let it sit for about an hour at room temp (the beer was cold from the fridge). The beer poured easy enough from the Randall without any serious blockage or clogging, though I wish there was a way to press the beer out of the coconut pulp. 

The result was mostly fantastic (3.5/5.0 Untappd). The coconut added serious protein and density to the beer’s body. Coconut, chocolate, vanilla, and big nuttiness were POPPING off the beer's aroma, and the beer tasted like chocolate, vanilla, coconut, and nutty. The coconut dialed up the beer's sweetness, but it was more of a natural sweetness. The barrel character took a back seat. It was good, and maybe worth the trouble to try again.

On the other hand....the base beer is really fucking good. I love Bourbon County Stout. I really do. And in my totally honest opinion, the base beer has subtle complexities that might get lost when you layer in the coconut. 

How about the berries?

The berries were easy. You just buy some fucking berries and Randall them. I went with raspberry and blackberry. Mmm. I put too many berries in the Randall, not accounting for the moisture the berries contain. I ended up pressing the berries in the Randall to get some of those berry juices flowing...I'm not sure if this is preferred or not, who fucking cares this isn't Cantillionaire shit. I ended up Randalling about 8oz of beer for about an hour, and pouring that into the remaining 4oz. 

Unlike the toasted coconut, the berries totally clogged up the Randall's filter. The beer did not want to pour out. I ended up doing a hack job, removing the berries from the Randall and squeezing out some of the juice and beer into a bowl. I then strained that through the Randall. It was a mess to say the least. Was it worth it?

Well, yeah. I really liked this. Probably (4.0/5.0 Untappd) or whatever. The fruit mixed with the Bourbon County base adds a TON of jammy berry notes. I was getting jammy raspberries and blackberries off the hook. The raspberries also added a slightly tart and funky character to the beer. The berries compliment Bourbon County's chocolate notes, and they also play well with the bourbon, barrel, and vanilla. The berries also gel well with the beer’s alcohol.

However, you lose a lot more beer going the berry route...and that shit is sweet. Unlike the toasted coconut which adds nutty density (bust a nut, yo), the fruit just adds juicy juice. If you like juicy juice you'll be in good company, but fruity stouts seem to offend a lot of people. You also lose a good amount of beer when you Randall fruit...next time I'm going to go with two bottles of Bourbon County. I'll Randall one with fruit (and I'll use less fruit), and then pour it into the beer that hasn't been Randall'd.

tl;dr - The Randall Jr. is pretty fucking cool, even though it is a novelty. 

Addendum: I like the Randall, and I'm already thinking about picking up a stout to mess with this weekend. I still have a second, unopened coconut to experiment with. I enjoy the novelty of the Randall...but adding fruit or coffee or coconut post-production actually can take away from a beer. I like the subtle nuances and hints of flavor you get from the regular Bourbon County Stout. It doesn't need fruit or coconut. But at the same time, adding fruit and coconut is fun, and it tastes good. So it works but it is unnecessary. And this isn't some Ding-rant or anything like that. I'm all for adding coconut and fruit to stouts, and I hope more breweries do it. The point is: you can still enjoy the base beer, especially when the base beer is as good as Bourbon County Stout.

Pipeworks Cherry Truffle Abduction

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing Company in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 750ml bottle (Batch #204/205) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in IL; 2013 (bottled 9.??.13)

Style/ABV: Imperial Stout, 11.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

It's NOT Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™...in fact, it's early Sunday. What am I even doing here? I should be watching football, but I had to take a break to pen some thoughts on this beer. 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 back of the Cherry Truffle Abduction states:

"Humans, humans, humans... Your delicacy suites you like vanilla to a beastly beer. You wear your fragility with nature's grace, like cherries in the fall. Destined to be plucked, squeezed, and made vital in some cosmic concoction. Subit to our dark rich cherry Abduction. Submission is your natural state. It is in fact, what Drew us to you."

Pipeworks Cherry Truffle Abduction

This beer pours into a dark, black body, and kicks up two fingers of rich, dense, sustaining brown head. The head is sustaining nicely, with a pinky of thick foam hanging around. When you swirl the beer in the glass, sticky brown head coats the sides, along with some glossy alcohol legs. It's a nice looking beer.

The aroma on this beer is awesome. This beer has a lot more fruit on the nose than the Raspberry Truffle and Orange Truffle did. I'm getting rich and velvety chocolate, cacao, truffle, some roast/coffee, and boozy complexity...and BIG cherry, berries, fruit, and chocolate-dipped cherries. There are big chocolate-dipped cherries on this beer's nose, and it is fantastic.

I'm going at this a little cold right now, but fear not, I will sip on this until it warms. At the moment, I'm getting rich roast and chocolate, and TONS of fruity cherry. There's big cherry, berries, and acidic fruits. I'm also getting some coffee, and some boozy complexity. Let's see how this tastes in a few minutes.

As this warms up, not a whole lot changes...you get a lot more of the big, malt body, and you pick up a little more coffee and roast. At 11.0%, this is a big beer, but it's never cloying or obnoxious. The mouthfeel is full-bodied, and drags nicely, with good carbonation and some acidic berries and cherry fruit to move thing along. Palate depth is outstanding, especially for a Stout with cherries, and this has good complexity. I love fruity Stouts, but they can be hit and miss. This one hits, with rich malts, chocolate, coffee, and roast up front; that rolls into huge cherry, cherry-chocolate, coffee, berries, fruits; the finish is lingering cherry, coffee, and booze. 

Rating: Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Divine Brew on this. This is better than the Orange Truffle Abduction, and probably works better than the Raspberry Truffle Abduction too. I don't know if this is better than the Coffee Break Abduction, but it's hard to top coffee and the Abduction stout base. This is good stuff...a good beer to sip on, or to pair with some dry chocolate cake, or ice cream. The beer finishes just slightly sticky-sweet, and yeah. For such a young brewery finding their niche, I can only imagine what Pipeworks will be doing in a few years. There are better cherry Stouts out there, but this is a fantastic local option for Chicago. Get on this.

Random Thought: The Lions won, but both the Vikings and Packers lost. Here's to hoping the NFC North goes 2-2 this week.