Middle Brow Show Me Love

Brewed By: Middle Brow Beer Co. in Chicago, Illinois  

Purchased: 12.7oz bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, Illinois; 2016 

Style/ABV: American Wild Ale/Saison, 6.9% ABV

Reported IBUs: ?

I'm popping my Middle Brow cherry by popping a raspberry saison. It sounds pretty great, actually.

Middle Brow Beer Company is a CHARITABLE brewery founded by a group of home brewers in Chicago, Illinois. 50% of their proceeds go to courageous people who are fighting to improve the community..

The Show Me Love is a "farmhouse ale aged in wine barrels with raspberries." Ingredients here include a brettanomyces blend, seedling farms raspberries, and cabernet sauvignon barrels. "A portion of the profits from every bottle sold go to Cure Violence, a Chicago-based international violence prevention program."  

Middle Brow Show Me Love

A hard pour yields some cackling carbonation that quickly settles into a lifeless, juicy beer. The body of this beer is shades of ruby and orange, and it is comparable to the color of the inside of a grapefruit. Little dots of carbonation explode on the beer's surface, indicating that the beer is properly carbed. If you shine a bright light through the beer you can pick up yeast sediment suspended in the body. 

The aroma on this is wonderful. There is griping acidity: apple cider vinegar, sour fruits, and WOOD. There is some oak and leather. There is definitely a red wine aspect to the aroma that comes through. I'm getting rich, red grapes, and big sour cherries. There's also a seedy aroma to this, like the pit of a very sour blackberry. 

This is really interesting to taste. There's an airiness to the mid-palate...but more on that in a minute. Up front I'm getting a lot of jammy fruits: namely raspberry, strawberry, and some sour cherries. There is a good amount of Saison character up front, and it has a fruity, farmhouse character. The back-end of the front palate drops the oak and wood. The lingering flavors on the back palate include wine barrel, white wine, oak, gooseberry, sour cherry, and faint cabernet sauvignon. There's also a light kiss of alcohol and observable heat on the back.

Structurally, this is a vinous beer. It is very dry and juicy, and the carb is flat and even. The palate progression is really interesting. The front end is loaded with all those interesting fruit and farmhouse notes, and the mids kind of drop out a bit. And then you get hit with a lot of the barrel, oak, wood, and wine notes. I really think this is a beer that unfolds in two waves. There's actually a lot of complexity here, and this is a sophisticated brew. This is definitely one to think over.

Rating: Average (3.25/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this. This has a ton of complex nuance, and reminds me of Goose Island's Lolita. The jammy fruits are there, and the barrel complexity and wine notes are on point. It's a little acidic, and the airy mids leave me wondering if some small changes can really push this beer into the realm of divine beers. I would definitely recommend picking this up to try. 

Random Thought: Speaking of Lolita...the prohibitive price on GI's Sisters has relegated them to shelf turd status. I can literally walk into my nearest Jewel (a middle-of-the-road, regional grocery store) and walk out with $26 bottles of GI sours. I guess times could be worse. 

Moody Tongue Steeped Emperor's Lemon Saison

Brewed By: Moody Tongue Brewing Company in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at Bottles & Cans in Chicago, IL; 2015

Style/ABV: American Saison/Fruit Beer, 6.3%

Reported IBUs: ?

It's been a while...ask me about my grad school problems. About the Moody Tongue Brewing Company: 

Moody Tongue Brewing Company is a brewery based out of Pilsen, Chicago. The brewery was founded in 2013 by Jared Rouben, who is a graduate of Washington University, the Culinary Institute of America in New York, and the Siebel Diploma course in Chicago, where he is now a faculty member. After completing culinary school, Jared worked as a cook at the Michelin Star Martini House in Napa and as Expeditor at the three Michelin Star Thomas Keller’s Per Se in New York City. Rouben also brewed at the Rock Bottom and Goose Island Clybourn. After working in the culinary and brewing world, Rouben intends to bring a culinary point of view to beer. For more info, check out the brewery's FACEBOOK page or their website.  

The Moody Tongue Steeped Emperor's Lemon Saison is a Saison...brewed with lemon. The beer pours into a dark, honey-orange/bronze body, kicking up several fingers of fluffy head. There's good carb, and nice lacing.

Moody Tongue Steeped Emperor's Lemon Saison 

I'm sure a lot of reviews are going hard on this for the overwhelming lemon aroma. This beer is outside the usual wheelhouse. But the aromas are legit. I'm getting a lot of lemongrass, lemon zest, Meyer lemons, some natural lemons sugars, and a light biscuit malt base.

This tastes amazing, if you are looking for lemons. I'm getting everything I was picking up in the aroma: lemon zest, Meyer lemons, lemon sugars and lemon meringue pie, lemongrass, and tons of that light biscuit malt base. The beer is refreshing, drinkable, and lemony. BUT, absent from the experience is that Saison base. I'm just not getting any of the citrus, funk, clove, pepper, or character that I would expect from a Saison. 

So, while I think this falls short of the Saison label in some regards, it definitely rises above your average fruit beer. This is easily one of the better lemon-infused beers I have had, and it drinks light and clean at 6.3%. The beer is carbed well, has good depth and duration, and actually drops a complex lemon portfolio that goes beyond your basic lemon juice addition. This is better than any janky Radler or Shandy or half-assed fruit beer you are liable to find on shelves these days. This doesn't have a ton of residual or artificial sugars, so it already elevates the game to Golden State levels unlike other "OG" breweries that turn out some pretty saccharine-heavy sugar bombs. This beer won't give you a cavity is what I'm trying to say. Also, aside from missing the Saison base, this beer tastes like it was masterfully brewed. Anyway...my final thought is I'm getting some ginger and lemongrass notes with this, so this would be my go-to sushi beer moving forward.  

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this. This is a forgettable Saison but a memorable lemon beer. There are no lemon parties here. Just perfectly nuanced lemon goodness with a hint of ginger and meringue pie sweetness. This is one of the better attempts at a lemon beer, and I would buy a 4-pack of this sooner than I would buy some Stiegel Radler or LeinenMillerKegels Summer Shandy. 

So keep brewing this, Moody Tongue.

Random Thought: Moody Tongue sounds like a brand of acid. 

Stillwater Artisanal Night Vision - Sensory Series 3 - Tennis

Brewed By: Stillwater Artisanal at Dog Brewing Co. in Westminster, MD  

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Bottles & Cans in Chicago, IL; 2015

Style/ABV: Belgian Pale Ale/American Wild Ale, 6.9%

Reported IBUs: ?

About Stillwater Artisanal Ales: 

Stillwater Artisanal Ales are a Gypsy Brewery based out of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 2009-ish, the beer is brewed by Brian Strumke. You can find more info at the brewery's blog or their website. 

The Tennis is part of Stillwater Artisanal's sensory series. The Stillwater Sensory Series is a collaboration between Stillwater Artisinal and singular music artists. This release is in collaboration with the artist Tennis, and is inspired by the song Night Vision. Tennis is Denver couple Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley. 

Stillwater Artisanal Night Vision - Sensory Series 3 - Tennis

This pours into a radiant orange body, kicking up white foam and carb for days. The beer is slightly hazy, and the creeping chimney of carb in the bottle is appropriate for a Brett beer. You have to admire these Stillwater projects. 

Giant peach and pineapple jump out front on the aroma, with white pepper and strawberries, white wine notes that include gooseberry and sweet melon/sweet grass/sweet lemon, and there is impressive Brett funk coming off the aroma. The Brett is earthy and sweet. This smells juicy and amazing. 

The taste doesn't quite match the aroma, and the malt body is a bit thicker than you might expect, and the Brett hasn't quite dried this out. But, there actually is a good amount of dryness here, with wonderful Brett funk, lots of peaches and pineapple, and good hop bitterness showing up to drop some orange and lemon and rind and dry things out.

This is a medium-light bodied beer, with plenty of carbonation to move things along and a nice drying Brett character to clean things up. At 6.9%, this is fairly drinkable with just mild alcohol showing up between the cracks. This is vinous and wine-like, which is a good thing. The funk levels in here are acceptable as well. Overall, a really solid if not slightly underwhelming Stillwater release. 

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. Not Stillwater's best, but still a really solid beer. Having said that, if you can find a bottle, pick it up. You can't beat the price to beer ratio here. 

Random Thought: I'm so happy that Stillwater is all over Chicago.

Stillwater Artisanal Rio De Sauvin

Brewed By: Stillwater Artisanal at Dog Brewing Co. in Westminster, MD  

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Bottles & Cans in Chicago, IL; 2015

Style/ABV: Saison/Farmhouse Ale/Fruit Beer, 7.7%

Reported IBUs: ?

How about dem Sauvin hops. And how about a Farmhouse Ale brewed with mango juice and passion fruit juice. MMMM. 

About Stillwater Artisanal Ales: 

Stillwater Artisanal Ales are a Gypsy Brewery based out of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 2009-ish, the beer is brewed by Brian Strumke. You can find more info at the brewery's blog or their website. 

This beer was inspired by Against the Grain's Rico Sauvin, and the bottle reads:

Stillwater Artisanal Rio De Sauvin

"The boys at against the grain made a beer based on a fictional 'sexy man' and uhh, his sheep friend.. so sticking with the theme and the fact that we have been spending some time in Brazil lately, we decided to amp up the sexy and host a tropical orgy of fruit flavors, hops, malt and yeast..umm, yeah."

-Brian (Stillwater Artisanal)

Rio De Sauvin is part of the remix series, and not only features dat base Sauvin IPA, but tosses in mango and passion fruit juice. This pours into a hazy, sexy orange body. In brighter light this takes on lemon hues...hue. There's good head retention, good carb, dat bottle. Dat glass. Dat beer appearance experience. 

This smells fantastic....like a fruity farmhouse ale/saison. I'm getting a ton of clove, white sugar, wheat funk, and lots of juicy mango and passion fruit. This has clean lines and potent fruit, and smells exactly how I want a fruited Saison to smell like. There is some subtle lemon rind action going on in here too.

This is baller. The fusion of the fruit juice with the base beer could not have been done better. This drops Juicy Fruit on a solid Saison base with lemon, mild wheat, mild clove, and tons of passion fruit and mango. 

This is light-bodied, refreshing, and way too drinkable. At 7.7% I'm not getting any alcohol, and palate depth and complexity are both spot on. This is just juicy and delicious, I really have nothing to complain about. If they threw some wild yeast into this beer, it would elevate into that Divine category. As it sits now, it's just an Above-Average fruited saison. Which isn't a bad thing.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this. This is another solid entry from Stillwater. Would buy again.

Random Thought: This really needs that barrel/sour treatment.

Trappist Westvleteren 12: Quad Blind Tasting

For this write-up I wanted to do something a little different than a straight review. A bottle of Westy 12 was generously gifted to me, and I wanted to seize the opportunity since it is not everyday that you find yourself in possession of one of the world's most sought after and hyped up beers. If you are unfamiliar with Westy 12, good. The beer is brewed by the monks at the Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus in Vleteren, Belgium. The brewery makes three beers: their Blonde, 8, and 12. These beers are only available at the brewery in Belgium, which has added to the beer's hype and mythology. The Westy 12 did have a limited American release (for charity), and was absurd and a total shitshow. Since then, the trade value of Westy 12 has crashed like the US housing market. 

Having a bottle of this rare and sought after beer in my possession is like owning the Ark of the Covenant. You feel like a God, until the hype machine melts your face off. Anyway, here was the blind tasting lineup:

Trappist Westvleteren 12
Brewed By: Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus in Westvleteren, Belgium  

ABV: 10.2%

St. Bernardus Abt 12

Brewed By: St. Bernardus Brouwerij in Watou, Belgium  

ABV: 10.0%

Destihl Quadrupel

Brewed By: Destihl Brewery in Bloomington, Illinois  

Quad Blind Tasting 

ABV: 11.0%

Delirium Noël

Brewed By: Brouwerij Huyghe in Melle, Belgium  

ABV: 10.0%

Rochefort Trappistes 10

Brewed By: Brasserie Rochefort in Rochefort, Belgium  

ABV: 11.3%

Chimay Bleue (Blue) / Grande Réserve

Brewed By: Chimay in Baileux, Belgium  

ABV: 9.0%

Ommegang Three Philosophers

Brewed By: Brewery Ommegang (Moortgat) in Cooperstown, New York  

ABV: 9.7%

There wasn't a ton of thought behind this lineup of beers. I could have added more beers, but I wanted to keep the lineup shorter to avoid palate fatigue. I put the Destihl beer in the lineup to give the Midwest a chance. I wanted to end up saying, "local brewery does okay." Unfortunately, the Destihl Quad was clearly among the worst of these beers. Spoilers. The Abt 12 and Rochefort 10 are both easily available and I enjoy them a lot. The Chimany Blue is a classic. The Noël is a crowd favorite that I don't get. And the Three Philosophers is my favorite, readily available, American Quad. With all that said, let's see how these beers stacked up.

My blind, final ranking: Ommegang, Rochefort 10, Delirium Noël, Chimay, Abt 12, Destihl, Westy 12

My brother: Delirium Noël, Rochefort 10, Ommegang, Chimay, Abt 12, Destihl, Westy 12

My girlfriend: Ommegang, Abt 12, Delirium Noël, Chimay, Rochefort 10, Destihl, Westy 12

Average/Mean position of each beer (w/ standard deviation): 

Woo, statistics!

This was a simple tasting with just three people. And this is about as deep as I want to go. The results are pretty clear...the Three Philosophers was loved by everyone, and that doesn't surprise me. It's a top-notch Quad, despite being on the sweeter side of the style. The Delirium Noël was a total dark horse that we all enjoyed, and I'll pen some tasting notes on each of these beers in a minute. The Rochefort 10 should not shock anyone. I debated putting the Rochefort 10 in my number one spot, and my brother was right behind me in loving it. My girlfriend is hop-aversive, and we all agreed the Rochefort 10 had the most hop punch. The Chimay was middle-of-the road for ALL of us. It's a good standby, and you can buy it anywhere these days. The Abt 12 had a bit of variation in its ranking...I wonder about the bottle age. The Destihl was universally panned compared to the top beers. And then we had the Westy 12...all the way at all of our bottoms. When we were doing the blind tasting, we all thought the Westy 12 was the Delirium Noël or the Destihl.

Some tasting notes: 

Trappist Westvleteren 12 - oxidized, aged, apples, saffron, smuckers jam, phenols, leather, medium-bodied; harsh finish

St. Bernardus Abt 12 - Phenolic, banana, cherries, dark fruits, brown sugar, full-bodied; crisp; light fruity flavor, cardboard

It's just beer...

Destihl Quadrupel - sweet, light, fruity, apples, cherries, saffron, fruity/caramel, not complex; bland; harsh, not clean

Delirium Noël - Rye, spice, bread, some vinegar/soy sauce/umami, oxidized dark fruits, raisins, intensity and complex; very fruity, apple juice; raisins, very clean

Rochefort Trappistes 10 - HOPPY, resin, dark fruits, brown sugars, hop candies, BIG, not sweet; cookie dough; some alcohol

Chimay Bleue (Blue) / Grande Réserve - cherries, fruit, dark fruits, sweeetness, lighter, thin; apples and pears; smooth

Ommegang Three Philosophers - Bananas, phenolic, perfume, brown sugar, cherries, candies, candy sugar, thick, sweet, not boozy; bananas; slightly bitter

Results/Discussion/Conclusion/Final Thoughts

What to make of these results? I really don't know. First off, Belgian Strong Ales are one of my favorite styles of beer, if not my absolute favorite style of beer. Having said that, I think tasting these beers in a blind tasting format is restrictive in some ways. By the end of the tasting, my palate was whacked and I was having a hard time discerning between beers. There's some meta commentary there about the hoarders on Ratebeer that tick 200 beers a day, or go to festivals and rate 40 beers using 2oz pours. People are both the best raters of things like food and drink, and also poorly tuned instruments. There are so many biases at work -- your mood, your palate that day, how many beers you had before, etc. -- that I just can't take tickers seriously. What I am proposing is a premise/argument that the ticker on Ratebeer with 20,000+ ticks is contributing meaningless content and is wasting time. But hey, if they are happy, good for them.

These are ALL nuanced beers. The Abt 12 has different complexities than the Rochefort 10. The Delirium Noël is way different than any other of these beers. I would argue that none of these beers are bad. You could go into the store and walk out with any of these beers and be okay. However, for my palate, I'm quite content knowing that I can buy an Ommegang Three Philosophers or a Rochefort 10 at just about any liquor store, and get that authentic dark strong ale experience without having to jump through any hoops. I've rated both the Three Philosophers and Rochefort 10 very high in the past. 

The Delirium Noël is the real dark horse in this tasting. Many "what the fucks?" were made after it scored so high. My theory behind the beer's success is that it is complex, has these awesome bread/rye notes, and pulls out some serious raisin punches. The vinegar/soy/umami that I was tuned into (my tasting partners were not) suggests to me that the beer has suffered from some autolysis...Delirium bottle-conditions all of their beers, and you can pour out some really nasty yeast chunks if you aren't careful. Who knows how old that bottle is.

Why did we all pan the Westy 12? I have no idea. I didn't pan it, initially. I actually had it ranked in the 4th spot before finalizing my rankings. I think the bottle I have might have some age on it. But also, the Westy 12 wasn't as assertive or bold as the Rochefort 10 or the Ommegang Three Philosophers. I won't speak much to the hype...because this blind tasting was limited. We only had one bottle. And there are biases at work. So maybe in another blind tasting we would rank it higher. Maybe in another blind tasting we would have a bottle that tastes different. There is definitely bottle variation with this style of beer. So there are a lot of unknowns and limitations at work here. Also, our sample size was too small and hardly significant. To legitimize this tasting, we would ideally have 20 people tasting these beers. That should provide more useful data...but I did what I could.

And that's all I really have to say. This blind tasting was fun, and I recommend that people jump on this ship and start blind tasting beers themselves. Beer reviews ARE bullshit. But blind tastings add an element of credibility to what is otherwise a lot of words. Words. Ratebeer. 20,000 ticks. Tick tick tick tick. Tick.

Random Thought: WHAT?!!?! No review score? Duh. How the hell am I supposed to rate these beers from a blind tasting? Also, I can't speak for my compadres. 

Une Année Esquisse

Brewed By: Une Année Brewery in Chicago, Illinois  

Purchased: 750ml (1 Pint 0.9 FL OZ) bottle bought at Bottles & Cans in Chicago, IL; 2015 (Batch #ES1)

Style/ABV: American Wild Ale, 8.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

More Midwest shelf turds. About Une Année:

Une Année is a brewery based out of Chicago, Illinois located near the intersection of Grand and Ashland in the Kinzie Industrial Corridor (three blocks from the Goose Island Fulton St. production brewery). The brewery was founded in early 2012 by Jerry Nelson, who is "an Architect, Marine, Siebel Institute Graduate, and Chicago native who started homebrewing in 1995 while stationed in California." Currently, Jerry is the head brewer along with Dustin Zimmerman, who also attended the Siebel Institute, and previously brewed at Hamburger Mary’s Andersonville and worked at Nøgne Ø. The name "Une Année" means "one year" in French, and was chosen to reinforce the two main ideas behind the brewery: a focus on Belgian and French style beer, and an emphasis on seasonal beers. For more info, check out the brewery's website.

The Esquisse is an American Wild Ale. And that's really all the bottle says. This pours into a hazy, pineapple-orange/yellow body, kicking up a couple of fingers of orange-tinged head. There is lacing and good carbonation. I was warned this might be a bottle bomb, but I opened it with no issues. 

Une Année Esquisse

On the aroma: impressive Brett funk, with peaches and fruit, and maybe a dash of lactic or acetic character. The Brett notes in here drift from butcher shop to leather, with some burnt hair and plastic/rubber in the mix. The less appealing Brett notes come and go quickly, and don't obstruct all the juicy fruits, stone fruits, and pineapple-peach sweetness. 

This tastes very much like the aroma...the main character here is the Brett, with loads of peaches, stones fruits, juicy notes, and pretty substantial malt backings. The funky Brett notes in the aroma are not as present in the taste...in fact I'm getting a lot more hops. This doesn't really dial up any lactic or acetic acid character, so my guess is this needs some time in the bottle. I'd like to grab a second bottle of this to age for a few years.

I'm going to keep this short because this is a very simple beer...it's yummy though, as are most beers that pile on the Brett and embrace the fruity/tropical side. This is medium-bodied with good carbonation, and has good palate depth and duration. Everything is in place, except this could/should be a bit more complex. Such is life. Up front: pineapple and juicy notes; the mids roll into more Brett funk, some malt backings, and more fruity notes; the back end trails with lingering fruit and funk. It's a fruity beer, and has a nice finish. It's drinkable, I just want more.

Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this. I'm pretty sure I am going to go pick up another bottle of this to age for a bit to see how it develops and changes. Otherwise, this is yummy stuff. Not a bad start for Une Année.

Random Thought: Apparently I love lamb. Greek food is awesome, but it needs to be done right.

Une Année Less Is More

Brewed By: Une Année Brewery in Chicago, Illinois  

Purchased: 500ml (1 Pint 0.9 FL OZ) bottle bought at Bottles & Cans in Chicago, IL; 2015 

Style/ABV: American Saison, 4.6%

Reported IBUs: ?

More Midwest shelf turds. About Une Année:

Une Année is a brewery based out of Chicago, Illinois located near the intersection of Grand and Ashland in the Kinzie Industrial Corridor (three blocks from the Goose Island Fulton St. production brewery). The brewery was founded in early 2012 by Jerry Nelson, who is "an Architect, Marine, Siebel Institute Graduate, and Chicago native who started homebrewing in 1995 while stationed in California." Currently, Jerry is the head brewer along with Dustin Zimmerman, who also attended the Siebel Institute, and previously brewed at Hamburger Mary’s Andersonville and worked at Nøgne Ø. The name "Une Année" means "one year" in French, and was chosen to reinforce the two main ideas behind the brewery: a focus on Belgian and French style beer, and an emphasis on seasonal beers. For more info, check out the brewery's website.

The Less Is More is an American-style Saison brewed with orange zest and juice. This pours into a hazy/cloudy yellow body, kicking up a couple of fingers of white head. The head retention is good, with lots of active carb, maybe overly so, and tons of lacing. This is radiant and bright...and it has good aromas.

Une Année Less Is More

This smells the part of an American Saison. The 4.6% thing means this is on the lighter side of the style, but it brings big aromas of lemons, orange juice, mimosas, wheat, white pepper, and MINIMAL yeast character. I wish this was more funky.

This isn't mind blowing, which is no real fault of Une Année. But at the same time, I've been spoiled with this style and this just seems kind of generic and streamlined, especially if juice was added. There's a lot of clean lines, bright hop notes, lemon, orange juice, citrus, some white pepper...and not much in terms of malts or yeast character. You pick up some wheat, and this hints at a bubble gum note from the wheat, but it never really takes things in the direction of the Belgian countryside. It also doesn't play up the orange juice character. It's not quite peppery enough, or mimosa-y enough. It just kind of is.

Despite being nonplussed by this beer, it does own it's 4.6% with a substantial but light medium-body. It's well-carbonated, easy to drink, and has good flavor. Palate depth and duration are middle-of-the-road, and complexity is low. Up front: lemons, mimosas light, good fruitiness, hops, wheat; the mids roll into wheat, with more lemons, orange juice, some mild white pepper; the back end rides out with juicy and clean lines. It's a bright and vibrant beer that I can't really fault except that it pretty much is what it is. 

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Average on this. This is really solid but I wouldn't seek it out at this price in singles. Maybe if they shoved this in a 6-pack format...I just don't think the capacity is there yet, so I do hope they can continue to grow their brand. This is not a bad beer by any means, but the Saison market is flooded with fantastic beers. Having said that, I'm excited to see where they go with these Belgian beers. And their sours. 

Random Thought: I have their Wild Ale/Sour coming up, and that I am excited for.

Destihl Saint Dekkera: Zura Dubbele Sour Stout

Brewed By: Destihl Restaurant and Brew Works in Normal/Bloomington, Illinois 
Purchased: 500ml (1 pint, .07oz bottle) bought at Bottles & Cans in Chicago, IL; 2015 (bottled in 2014; barrel numbers 271-275)

Style/ABV: American Stout/Wild Ale, 9.9%
Reported IBUs: ????

More Destihl Sours woo. About Destihl: 

Destihl is a brewery (Bloomington) and brewpub (Normal, IL & Champaign, IL) based out of the Midwest. Specifically, the middle of Illinois in the middle of the United States. Daaaa midwest. The brewery was founded by CEO & Brewmaster, Matt Potts, in 2007. Like many brewery founders, Potts started out as a homebrewer, and would eventually trade his law school education and law practice for those sweet barley suds. Destihl currently brews a myriad of regular and barrel-aged beers, including an increasing portfolio of tasty sour brews. For more info, check out their website. 

The Destihl Saint Dekkera: Zura Dubbele Sour Stout is a sour double stout, aged in oak barrels. And that's all she wrote.

This pours into a dark brown, cola color, kicking up two fingers of tan tinged head. There is nice lacing, and even some decent head retention. It's not opaque or pitch black, and I wouldn't expect it since it was aged in a barrel(s) for some time.

Destihl Saint Dekkera: Zura Dubbele Sour Stout

The aroma on this beer is awesome. I'm really surprised that Destihl has cranked something of this quality out, and it does justify the price. Their Wild Sour series is fun, but doesn't compare to the extent or complexity of a beer like this. This has an aroma of rich oak, leather, tons of acetic acid, red cider vinegar, and tons of oak-cherries and cherry cola. There is also an underlying coffee and chocolate note, and a fat malt base creeping.

This tastes delicious, like a blend of a Stout with a Flanders Red. It's very different than something like the Black Metal. There's a lot of chocolate and coffee in here, but it keeps rounding back out to big oak flavor, cherries, acetic acid and apple cider vinegar. There's a ton of shades of fruit in here, and the oak and barrel are a big character in the beer...which is what you want. Yum.

This is riding the line between medium and full-bodied. It certainly approaches a fuller feel as it warms up. Palate depth is awesome, and this has great duration and depth. I feel like the complexity leans towards the barrel and acetic acid notes a bit, but when I was sharing this with my girlfriend, she easily identified "coffee" in the taste. It's an impressive beer, and it feels and tastes like a beer that has been aged for a while in barrels. It's just an impressive package and experience. I get a lot of acetic acid, cherries, barrel, and sourness up front; that melds into these really rich chocolate and coffee notes, with some oak and barrel coming along for the ride; the back end fuses the chocolate, coffee, cherries, oak, and barrel...it's quite harmonious and actually really tasty. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd) 

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. Wow this is a real surprise from the Midwest. This is about as authentic as the barrel-aged/sour experience can get, and this beer melds a fantastic sour/barrel character with this bitching stout base. Just fantastic stuff, all around. I am truly impressed. 

Random Thought: Destihl might be yet another sleeper hit in the midwest. Mmmmm.

Stillwater Classique

Brewed By: Stillwater Artisanal at Dog Brewing Co. in Westminster, MD  

Purchased: 12oz can from a 6-pack bought at Whole Foods in Chicago, IL; 2015

Style/ABV: American Farmhouse Ale/Saison, 4.5%

Reported IBUs: ?

MMM Saisons. About Stillwater Artisanal Ales: 

Stillwater Artisanal Ales are a Gypsy Brewery based out of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 2009-ish, the beer is brewed by Brian Strumke. You can find more info at the brewery's blog or their website. 

The Classique is "A postmodern deconstruction of the American industrial lager made with naughty ingredients like corn and rice, completed with pilsner malt and lots of your favorite old-school American hops and farmhouse ale yeast.. "your Grandfather's new beer"." It also comes in a can, which is nice.

Stillwater Classique 

This pours into a radiant yellow body, kicking up two fingers of intense, white-colored head. The head retention is fantastic, and the beer leaves incredible lacing. This is well-carbonated as well. It's a good looking beer and inspires confidence and all that good shit. 

The aroma is big clove, Belgian yeast funk, bright hops, citrus, citrus zest, peppercorns, and big biscuit character. It smells really good...words you really never want to type in a beer review.

This is conceptually fantastic. At 4.5%, this delivers an intense range of flavors, and it even dials up the mouthfeel into something that is between light and medium bodied. I'm getting lots of biscuit, cracker, and Pilsner malts, with some suggestive minerality. The beer drops lots of hops as well, with big lemon, lemon leaves, and some citrus zest and white pepper. There is a good amount of Belgian funk from the yeast, and pink peppercorns are lurking in the mix.

This is a flying-under-the-radar brew from Stillwater. I want this to be more readily available, because I would pick this up again. At 4.5%, this is incredibly drinkable, and it keeps the body between light and medium. Palate depth is spot on, and this has good depth and duration. This also has some nice complexity. I've now had a few lighter bodied Saisons, and this is up there. Up front: refreshing lemon, yeast funk, clove; the mids roll into more hops, bright citrus/lemon, citrus zest and white pepper; the back end trails with fading hops, and drops biscuits and cracker and black pepper and minerality. The finish is dry.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. Fantastic stuff...sure this is a simple, straightforward approach to the Saison style. But you know what? It's marketed as a drinkable beer and it comes in cans. I would love to have this available in the Summer months, and I just want to sit down with a nice doughy pizza and chow this down. It brings some Pilsner-like notes into the world of the Saison, and I'm all for that. 

Random Thought: Stillwater can do no wrong. 

Deschutes Chainbreaker White IPA

Brewed By: Deschutes Brewing Company in Bend, Oregon

Purchased: 12oz bottle bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2015 

Style/ABV: White IPA, 5.6%
Reported IBUs: 55

The best part about hosting a party is being left with a fridge full of shelf turds. About Deschutes:

The Deschutes Brewing Company was founded by Gary Fish on June 27th, 1988, when they opened the doors to their Bond Street Public House pub. The brewery has since expanded, growing to be one of the top craft beer producers in America. The brewery also operates a pub in Portland, and has a dedicated brewing facility overlooking the Deschutes river. For more information, check out the brewery's website; their Facebook page; their Twitter; or Wikipedia. 

The Chainbreaker White IPA is a White IPA brewed with Pilsner, Wheat, Unmalted Wheat malts; Bravo, Citra, Centennial, and Cascade hops; and also has some sweet orange and coriander thrown into the mix.

Deschutes Chainbreaker White IPA

I love White IPAs. This is such an underrated style, so disclaimers up front, this is maybe my favorite shelf turd beer from Deschutes. The Chainbreaker pours into a hazy, unfiltered, conditioned body that is a radiant yellow-orange color, with a firm white head. There is tons of lacing, carbonation, and all that good stuff.

The aroma is a fantastic blend of Belgian yeast, spice, and tons of white pepper, black pepper, and BOLD pink peppercorns. Bright, sweet citrus comes forth, with oranges, tangerines, pineapple, peach, and some mango. The aroma also has some wheat notes, with a little Belgian funk that leans towards clove. It's just a fantastic fusion of that pink peppercorn spice with those bright citrus hops and complex Belgian yeast aromas. 

This tastes as good as the aroma, if not better. You get blasted with tons of sweet hops that dial up pineapple, sweet lemon, and bright oranges. There's a ton of black pepper in the taste, almost drawing up Saison comparisons. There's a good amount of clove funk, pink peppercorns, bold yeast character, and some biscuity/bready malts in the background. The hops are the main character, and they keep the beer bold and refreshing. The peppery spice rides the mids and back part of the beer, and help to dry everything out.

This is an impressively tight package. At 5.6%, this is super drinkable, and a lot of that is thanks to the impressive hop package. This is medium-light bodied, with good palate depth and good duration. This actually ratchets up the complexity beyond the usual 1-Dimensional Deschutes' approach. Up front: tons of delicious citrus, pineapple, bright hop notes; the mids roll into fantastic peppery spice, pink peppercorns, Belgian funk, some clove, more juicy hop goodness; the back end trials off with clean hops, lingering black pepper, and then it dries out with this Saison-like finish. It's just a well-done beer. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. This is an awesome beer, and maybe the only Deschutes beer I would seek out regularly and by the 6-pack. Fantastic stuff, really. It's veering into the land of a Saison...and to me....this is better than many of the Belgian IPAs. Really though, I would pair this with some peppery chicken/turkey. Or anything rustic. 

Random Thought: Shelf turds ftw. 

Penrose Fractal

Brewed By: Penrose Brewing Company in Geneva, IL  

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at Bottles & Cans in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled 12/10/2014)

Style/ABV: Belgian India Pale Ale, 6.8%

Reported IBUs: 65

It's been a while since I have had anything from Penrose, and now they are bottling their beer, sooo.....about Penrose:

Penrose was founded by owner Eric Hobbs and partner/Brewmaster Tom Korder in early 2014. The duo are both former Goose Island employees, and they want to focus on brewing Belgian-inspired session ales, oak barrel-aged beer, beers that use alternative fermentation. Located in the lovely town of Geneva, Illinois, the brewery has a local element that is quaint and inviting. For more info, check out the brewery's website or their Facebook page. 

The Fractal is a Belgian IPA brewed with Columbus, Cascade, and Amarillo hops, 2-Row and Carapils malts, and Bastogne yeast.

Penrose Fractal

This is an orange-amber affair, kicking up a finger of candy orange-tinged head that leaves impressive lacing. This one doesn't look to hazy, but it's hard to say if it is filtered.

The aroma is a nice blend of citrus hops, pine, some mild onion/garlic, and lots of Belgian funk. I'm getting clove, yeasty esters, peppercorns, and some biscuity notes. It definitely smells like a Belgian IPA, fusing Belgian yeast with floral American hops. I am excite.

This is pretty solid for the style. I'm not sure where the onion/garlic hop notes are coming from. Maybe my palate is just shot for the night, but yeah. I'm getting a lot of garlic/onion. There are no Summit hops in here either, as far as I know. The good news is I love garlic and onion, and there is also a fair amount of citrus, pine, crisp hop goodness, and some Belgian clove and black pepper/pink peppercorns to go along for the ride. This has some yeasty esters, and enough funk to square it away as a Belgian IPA. It is also fairly easy-going, which I appreciate.

At 6.8%, I'm not getting any alcohol here. Palate depth is good, and this is pretty crisp and refreshing with a medium-light mouthfeel. This has good duration for the style, and has good complexity. As it warms up, it gets a little more Belgian-y, which is nice. Up front: citrus hops, onions/garlic, some burgeoning clove; the mids hit the clove and peppercorns hard, with some biscuit; the back end drives the biscuit and hops home. I actually really like this, but I'm having a hard time finding the nuances that elevate it above other stylistic examples. 

Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this beer. This is very solid, and I could see it being something I stock in my fridge semi-regularly. It's not blowing me away, however. Having said that, I think this has serious food potential. I could pair this with some buffalo wings, or maybe some pork tacos. Pretty solid stuff, all things considered, and you can't beat the price.

Random Thought: I am balls to the walls nuts. Yarrr.