Pipeworks Cherry Murderous "The Lookout" English Barleywine Style Ale brewed with Cherries

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #755) bought at Bottles & Cans in Chicago, IL; 2015 (bottled 07.02.2015)

Style/ABV: English-Style Barleywine/Fruit Beer, 9.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

Pipeworks has arrived...and it's been a while since I have reviewed anything from them. So here we go. I've previously reviewed the regular Murderous, as well as the barrel-aged Murderous. I think this is a pretty average beer, so I'm curious to see how the cherries work out. 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 Cherry Murderous "The Lookout" bottle reads: 

"Rejoice in the return of your best friend! Your trusty lookout had not been completely lost, although different now from time spent apart, he still sees all through midworld. Albeit with a tinge of red washing over his view. Rest him on pommel or table, and let The Lookout guide you on your journey. "

Pipeworks Cherry Murderous

This is a thick, slow-pouring, hazy beer. It's unfiltered and riding some line between brown/orange/red, with a thick orange head that doesn't last for very long. Overall though, it looks good, and it looks the part for the style. 

Oh man, that aroma. This doesn't really smell the part of an English-style Barleywine. It smells like a malty bock mixed with Sam Adams' Cherry Wheat. I'm actually a fan of the Cherry Wheat, but that comment is going to read like a slap in the face for many. The cherry aroma does leave you with the impression of cherry skins, some cherry fruits, and some cherry pits. It drifts into medicinal territory at some point, and there's a lot of toasty and caramelized Bock-esque malt notes. If you handed this to me in a blind tasting, I'd be hard-pressed to come up with Barleywine.

This is a mess, but it is less of a mess than I expected. The cherries actually add a nice layer of complexity to the otherwise lackluster base beer. This is sweet and heavy, and you feel like it needs a few years to thin out. But the good news is the cherries add some nice, deep fruity notes. I'm getting cherries, cherry pits, cherry skins, cherry pastries, cherry candies, and some nice Quad-like stone fruits. This almost veers into the land of Belgium, but is grounded with a malt base that is toast, toffee, toasted nuts, and caramelized sugars. The cherries stand out as a counterpoint to the otherwise sweet and one-dimensional base. I think this is the best take on The Murderous I have had.

At 9.5%, I'm not getting much in the way of alcohol. This is full-bodied, and fairly thick stuff. This isn't overly complex, and the sweetness is only barely offset by the cherries. Still, this has great depth, with each sip lasting for quite some time. You get a nice two-dimensional blast of cherry flavors, followed by that malty base. It dabbles in Quad land but is strictly pseudo-English. It feels kind of Bock-like to me, actually. So I guess we can go to Germany on this wild ride.  

Rating: Average (3.25/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Average on this. This is by far the best take on The Murderous, and I really have no reason to pick up the base beer after drinking this. I'd love to grab another bottle of this Cherry Murderous to age, but the demand is still too high. I'd like to see Pipeworks brew this again. I think they can clean up the base a bit, attenuate the beer a little more (get this up to 11%+), and maybe throw in some hops or something. I don't know. 

Random Thought: I'm really happy to see Pipeworks doing as well as they are. I know I am slacking in my reviews, but focusing on graduate school for the betterment of myself takes precedence over beer reviews. Having said that, I cracked into the most recent batch of Pipeworks' Blue Lady and it was fan-freaking-tastic. This brewery is going places, and I am happy to have had a chance to watch them grow up over the past couple of years. 

Jackie O's Pub & Brewery Bourbon Barrel-Aged Brick Kiln

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

Purchased: 375ml/12.7oz single bottle bought at And Beer in Athens, Ohio; 2014 

Style/ABV: Smoked English Barleywine, 11.8%

Reported IBUs: ?

Make me a beautiful barrel-aged Barleywine. 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 bottle for the Barrel-Aged Brick Kiln reads: "Starting back in the early 1800's the brick industry was a catalyst for economic development in Southeastern Ohio for nearly 100 years. The brick kilns of Athens Brick Company stood just down the street from our current production facility. Brick Kiln Barleywine style ale is brewed in the English tradition and it's deep mahogany hue is accompanied by rich caramel and raisin notes. Aging in bourbon barrels for an average of 11 months contributed a rich caramel/vanilla/coconut character. Share with friends and loved ones." 

Jackie O's Pub & Brewery Bourbon Barrel-Aged Brick Kiln

This pours into a hazy, murky, dark red-brown body, kicking up a centimeter of protesting head. This brings the murk and has that barrel-aged treatment look. 

This smells amazing with raisins, cherries, chocolate-coconut pastries, intense bakery sugars, coconut, macaroons, layers of molasses, and dense sugars. The barrel is present, and this feels like an appreciable contender. 

Mmm this is fantastic stuff. This hits those notes of macaroons, coconut, treacle sweetness, raisins, cherries, light sherry/oxidation, and subtle barrel character. There are subtle coatings of chocolate in here, and this dials the sweetness up to just the right amounts. Hawt damn.

This is full-bodied, but well-carbed and easy enough to drink. You would never guess this is 11.8%. This has fantastic palate depth and good complexity. It's teetering between Above-Average and Divine, with the barrel character and base beer complexity being the only thing holding this back from something like a Goozie Inlets Barleywin or a Bruery Bois. Still, this brings a ton of bold barrel character with lots of subtle raisin, cherry, coconut, and macaroon notes. The finish is perfect, and the beer is not overwhelming. I highly recommend this.

Rating: Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. Jackie O's has their barrel-aged beers down, and this one is no exception. Pick this up and drink it without any food. This is yummy stuff.

Random Thought: Jackie O's was definitely one of the better parts of being in Ohio. 

Community Beer Company Public Ale

Brewed By: Community Beer Company in Dallas, Texas  

Purchased: 12oz bottle generously gifted to me; 2015 

Style/ABV: English-style Bitter/ESB, 5.5%

Reported IBUs: 38

Tonight's beer was generously gifted to me to be reviewed. This beer represents a simpler, more accessible style in the ESB -- making it a potential candidate to be representative of Dallas' so-called regular staples, much like a Spotted Cow or Shiner Bock. As always, I like to give a shout out to the brewery. The Community Beer Company is a brewery based out of Dallas, Texas. The brewery was founded in January 2013 by Kevin Carr, head brewer Jamie Fulton, and brewer/microbiologist Aric Hulsey. With a state-of-the-art brewhouse located near downtown Dallas, and an in-house yeast lab, the Community Beer Company has worked hard to become a staple of Dallas craft beer. For more info, you can check out their website or Facebook page. 

The Public Ale, is an Extra Special/Premium Bitter brewed with 100% Maris Otter English pale malt and English crystal malt, a blend of English, German, and American hops, and in-house English ale yeast. The bottle reads: "Inspired by the warm and joyful spirit of British public houses, or "pubs", this beer was created to share with your mates! Brewed with heirloom English Maris Otter malt, a blend of international hops and a distinct English yeast strain, this ale is a study of balance and subtle complexities. The intricate malt character is balanced by a beautiful blend of herbal, spicy and fruity hops, all in perfect harmony with the gentle fruitiness contributed by our yeast during fermentation. An easy drink to comfort any occasion, welcome to our favorite year-round session beer: Public Ale."

Community Beer Company Public Ale

The Pubic Ale pours into a hazy, unfiltered, orange body. It's almost reddish in certain lights, and orange/yellow in others. The beer has lazy, mid-sized carbonation, and a couple of fingers of caramel-tinged head. It's a fine looking beer with sustaining head retention, lacing, and carbonation. Kudos to Public Ale keeping it unfiltered and conditioned.

Bitters are not an inherently bold style...they are subtle beers, if not simple and eloquent. This has a lot of nice aromatics, with bready malts hinting at something between white and whole grain bread. There's a lot of caramel and toffee sweetness, with a hint of toast...it's very much in line with other sweet, malt-forward English/German styles of beer. What I really like about the aroma of this is the nice grassy hop notes, and the subtle berry sweetness. The aroma on this beer is less sweet and more hop-forward than something like Goose Island's Honker's Ale. With that said...

Wow. I see why this has won a gold medal in 2013 and 2014. This is fantastic, for the style. Again, using Goose Island's Honker's Ale as a baseline; this blows that away. This has an intense malt body, with lots of caramel, honey, toffee, and sweet bread. The malt sweetness gives way to some really nice hops, but more importantly, the malt sweetness gives way to this hint of minerality. It really does finish nicely, and without any overt or fake sweetness. The hops in here hint towards grassy bitterness, berry and toffee sweetness, and some crisp bitterness.

For 5.5%, this has a medium-body with fantastic palate depth, good duration, and lots of complexity. I'm really impressed with the depth of malt, yeast, and hop character in this beer. The other thing I'm really enjoying is how this never gets overly sweet or astringent. The Honker's Ale tilts towards being too sweet from time to time, which is a serious bummer. This hits bready malts, toffee, honey, and sweet caramel up front; that gives way to grassy hops, berries, toffee; and the back end has some nice yeast character, nice water bite, and a clean not-too-sweet finish. I'm not a huge ESB guy, but if this was available in my area I would consider making it a regular part of my fridge stash. 

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Divine Brew on this. This is a really good American-style ESB. Or, to be more accurate, this is a really good English-style ESB brewed in America. Dallas. Think about that. If you are in Dallas and have access to this beer, you should pick it up. This is a beer (and a style of beer) that has a pretty large appeal. It's not overly hoppy, it's not overly boozy...perfect for sharing with casual or serious beer drinkers and certainly okay to pair with some fish and chips or whatever. I don't know. This does make me want to write a scathing review for the Honker's Ale. 

Random Thought: Spotted Cow is another amazing, underrated beer. It's not underrated by the thousands of people that drink it regularly, but it is underrated by beer geeks who have dismissed the style as being simple. It's not. So there is something to these simple styles of beer, and they are hard to do well. 

Sapporo Stone Warrior

Brewed By: Sapporo Breweries in Tokyo, Japan (or wherever it's contracted)  

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack gifted to me in Chicago, IL; 2015 

Style/ABV: English Dark Mild Ale???/Brown Ale?? EH???, 5.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

Disclaimer, this beer sucks. About Sapporo: 

Sapporo is the oldest brewery in Japan; and was first brewed in Japan by German-trained, lager brewer, Seibei Nakagawa. Sapporo Premium beer was brought to the USA in 1964 to save sushi lovers like me. 

Sapporo Stone Warrior

The Sapporo Stone Warrior was a beer I first encountered while out to sushi. It was then gifted, generously, to me via a 6-pack. I enjoyed it upon first taste, but upon revisiting it 4 more times I've concluded that this is a mediocre beer and you're better off just getting the regular Sapporo stuff. 

This pours into an amber-brown, reddish body, kicking up a finger or two of tan-tinged head. It looks like a Brown Ale/Mild/Dark Lager. 

The aroma here is toast and caramel, with light grassy hops. The caramel is actually not that bad, with good kettle notes and some nuance...I guess I don't hate it as much as I remember. 

This still tastes a bit underwhelming, with lots of toast and caramel, unbalanced grassy hops, and unchallenged sweetness. It's one-dimensional and sweet and that doesn't play favorably. 

This isn't very complex, but it has good carbonation. It's drinkable and all that, but I was hoping for something a bit more refined. Palate depth isn't bad but this is unbalanced. It's just...not very intriguing for me. It's both one-dimensional and unbalanced but too sweet with caramel, toast, and hops that show up to attempt to rectify things but fail. I'm gonna leave it at that. 

Rating: Below-Average (2.5/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Light Below-Average. I'm giving this a .5 bump, actually, from a 2/5 to a 2.5/5. So it isn't swill by any means, but it doesn't intrigue me and it's really sweet. It was actually a poor choice to pair with my sushi, since the sweetness was just too much on top of the already sweet sushi rolls. You could do a lot better than this. 

Random Thought: I'm too tired for random thoughts. 

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Barleywine 2014

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled on 09/24/2014)

Style/ABV: American Barleywine, 11.7% 

Reported IBUs: 60

The 2013 Bourbon County Barleywine was pretty good fresh, but it was even better with some age. So how does the 2014 vintage stack up? About Goose Island:

Goose Island is a Chicago-based brewery that began as a brewpub on Clybourn, which opened on May 1988. The actual brewery opened on 1995, and is located on the Southwest side of Chicago. The second brewpub, located in Wrigleyville by the Chicago Cubs, was opened in 1999. On March 28, 2011, Goose Island sold 58% of the brewery to Anheuser-Busch. The remaining 42% of the brewery is supposed to be acquired by A-B InBev in the future, and there has been much discussion about the brewery's takeover. On November 16th, founder and CEO, John Hall, announced he would be leaving Goose Island. On January 1st, 2013, Anheuser-Busch "veteran" Andy Goeler will take over Goose Island. Additionally, around the same time as John Hall's departure, resident barrel-program leader John Laffler also announced his departure from Goose Island. There have been many changes regarding Goose Island...so we will see what the future has in store for Goose Island. 

The 2014 Bourbon County Barleywine punches in at 11.7% ABV, 60 IBUs, and is brewed with Pale, Crystal, Caramel, Dark Chocolate malts; Pilgrim and Styrian hops; and is aged in the third-use barrels that were once home to Kentucky bourbon and then Bourbon County Stout. 

This pours into a murky, cherry soda affair. It's flat and beat up, and head retention is minimal. The body is opaque and murky, with apathetic carbonation and glossy alcohol legs. It looks beat up like it should.

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Barleywine 2014

The aroma is a complex meld of raisins, cherries, toffee, fruit cakes, alcohol-soaked macaroons, chocolate, and woody barrel character. There is a fantastic raisin-chocolate-barrel note with appreciable sweetness, and it smells every bit as awesome as those cellared 50/50s. There's a kiss of alcohol in the aroma, and then the beer drifts into sherry and port. The final note I'm getting is a sweet fruity note, like mixed berries ala the Backyard Rye. It's just a fantastic meld and begs for a sip. 

Yes that's a lemon in the background. And yes, this tastes better fresh than the 2013 did. However, I think the 2013 with a year of age on it was slightly better than this is. Having said that, I'm getting a lot of toffee sweetness, raisins, whiskey, smooth barrel, tons of chocolate, macaroons, and sticky bourbon, and an impressive amount of lingering fruit cake notes. This lingers on your palate for a long time, with some cherries and raisins sticking around. 

This is super sweet, as it should be, and it is truly a sipper. At 11.7%, this does not overwhelm you with alcohol. In fact, this is fairly drinkable all things considered. Palate depth is outstanding, with amazing depth and duration. This is also super complex. And it really is more drinkable than the 2013 was fresh. The 2013 has already mellowed into a tight package after just one year, but this is ready to go fresh. Up front: chocolate, bourbons, raisins, cherries, mixed berries (boysenberries, blackberries); the mids roll into whiskey sweetness, port, macaroons, chocolate, fudge, Bourbon County; the back end drops lingering raisins, cherries, fruit cake. Fantastic. 

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Divine Brew on this. What an improvement as a FRESH beer from the 2013 release. They dialed back the sweetness, ratcheted up the complexity, and the end result is amazing. This is great stuff to sip on and enjoy, and I would not recommend pairing it with anything. I'm happy to have snagged some of this year's vintage, and I hope they release it again next year. 

Random Thought: I think that covers all the 2014 Beaver Countries. 

Crabbie's Spiced Orange Ginger Beer

Brewed By: John Crabbie & Company in Edinburgh, Scotland 
Purchased: Single 11.2oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014
Style/ABV: Ginger Beer, 4.8%

Reported IBUs: 45

I'm not gonna lie, I like Ginger Beer. About John Crabbie & Company:

John Crabbie & Company are based out of Edinburgh, Scotland, and were founded by the Scottish merchant, John Crabbie. Crabbie first imported ginger into the port of Leith, Edinburgh, in 1801, to make "the beverage from the Far East." The method that Crabbie used to make the ginger beer is still used today. 

The Crabbie's Spiced Orange Ginger Beer is a mix of zesty ginger and orange. How can this not taste delicious. This pours a clear, amber-orange, ginger ale-color, and kicks up a finger or two of ginger ale-tinted head. There's actually some sustaining head, and nice carbonation in here.

The aroma is a nice blend of alcohol, ginger ale, ginger soda, spiced ginger notes, spiced notes that remind me of rum (yum), and spicy ginger-orange. It smells and looks really refined, mature, and good. 

And this actually tastes quite nice. I rolled through three of these with ease last Friday afternoon while working around the apartment, and I eventually paired this with some slow-cooked barbecued pork chops. The pairing was fantastic, and this shit is legit. You get lots of big ginger on the palate, with big orange notes as the supporting character. There's nice tingly ginger spice that burns down the back of your mouth into the depths of your throat. It's got a pretty good ginger soda kick. My only hesitation with this one is that it's kind of sweet. Again, I drank three of these in one afternoon with no problem, so maybe it tastes sweeter than it actually is.

This is a light and refreshing, and simple in terms of palate and complexity. It's basically a malt liquor. It's a good one though. There's a nice balance between ginger heat and sweet orange in here, and subtle notes of orange, vanilla, spiced rum, star anise, and curry show up in the taste. It's not something I'd buy on the regular, but this is a foodie drink that would work well in the right time at the right place. Recommended. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average here. This is a solid ginger beer, and the addition of orange adds a fun twist. It could use a little more ginger heat and a little less sweetness, but whatever. I think Stone should make a ginger beer...that is right up their alley. Food pairings here include Thai or Indian food, but I recommend pairing this with sweet barbecued pork chops. The orange and ginger provide balance that compliments the gamy pork and the sweet barbecue sauce.

Random Thought: And if you were wondering, I was on vacation! That's my excuse. RIP, liver. 

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: There and Back English-Style Bitter (brewed with New Glarus Brewing in New Glarus, Wisconsin)

Brewed By: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California 
Purchased: Single 12oz bottle from the 2014 Beer Camp bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014 (PKG 05/22/14)
Style/ABV: English-Style Bitter, 5.6%

Reported IBUs: 40

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 There and Back English-Style Bitter is a collaboration with everyone's favorite cow-sodomizers, New Glarus. My bottle reads: "For beer folks, Chico, CA, and New Glarus, WI, are bucket-list pins on the U.S. brewing map, but it's no simple feat seeing both. There and Back is named for the planes, trains, and zeal that connect them. This classic English-style Bitter is a complex mix of toasty malt and fruity, herbal hops."

There and Back English-Style Bitter

This one pours out a hazy orange color with a finger of orange/caramel-tinted head. There is nice lacing, moderate streams of mid sized carb, and bells and whistles that might impress the UK but good lord show me some implants in bikinis thank you 'Merica.

New Glarus knows a thing or two about German-style Lagers, so it doesn't shock me that they also know a thing or two about English beer. This aroma is really nice, with deep toast and toasty notes, Lager-like cleanness, and fruit notes. This smells very much like one of New Glarus' German-Style or English-Style Ales/Lagers. If you've had any of New Glarus' beers that aren't Spotted Cow or the fruit beers, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. There are some fruity notes here: berries, apples, pears, sweet grain. The nose is ultimately on the mild, sweet, and toasty side.

At cooler temps this is quite toasty with pear/apple/berry fruitiness and raw grains. As the beer warms up, floral English-Style hops emerge with great floral notes and fruitiness. There's lots of toast and caramel notes here, balanced and cleaned up nicely by grassy hops and clean yeast.

This is clean, Lager-like, light-bodied, and quaffable. You don't get any booze here, and my only regret is that this isn't in a 16oz can. Palate depth is top notch, and complexity is also very good for the style. This definitely reminds me of early Autumn and English pubs. You could drink this at a fish fry or with fish and chips. Up front: toasty notes, caramel, berry fruit notes; apple, pear, and bitter floral hops in the mids; the back end cleans up with grain, lingering fruity notes, and mild bitterness. The finish is toasty and round.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this beer. This definitely skirts by being just average...it's memorable and really well-made. Kind of like everything that New Glarus puts out. I know I'm holding them to an impossibly high standard, but they generally nail all the beers they make (and there's a lot of them). Still....this is like a busty English BBW. Refined, but the teeth are still janky.

Random Thought: Ignoring my snide attack above...I actually really adore this style, and I wish more American breweries would make this type of beer.

Pipeworks Bunny and the Bird English Style IPA

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #379/382) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled 04.19.2014)

Style/ABV: Imperial English Style IPA, 9.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

It's not Thursday, so obviously it's not an Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™. But my Thursday night is going to be busy, and I'm in the mood for a big, juicy IPA. I figure you can't go wrong here. 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 Bunny and the Bird's bottle reads:

"Fresh from an overseas adventure, the ceaselessly curious companions Bunny and Bird combined an English malt and yeast with East Kent Golding, El Dorado, and Nelson Sauvin hops to create a delightfully clean, malty English IPA with vinous character. We brewed this ale for Ryan, an intrepid friend who has been with us along our adventure and who can always count on Bunny and Bird to inspire him to live life to the fullest. Cheers to loved ones, full lives and full glasses! Cheerio!"

This one pours into a dark gold, amber color, and kicks up three fingers of gold/amber-tinted head. The body is hazy and looks like gold pennies. In bright light the beer takes on a deep orange color, and you can see spotty carbonation dancing around. The head is fluffy, creamy, and sustaining nicely. Overall it looks the part of an IPA.

Pipeworks Bunny and the Bird English Style IPA 

The aroma here is huge. Pipeworks has always had a knack for making big IPAs and Stouts, but they've really brought their A-game the past few hoppy beers I've had from them. The aroma of this beer is exploding with Nelson Sauvin grape, grape leaf, and big passion fruit. There's a ton of mild spice and earthy hop goodness, with citrus-pepper, fennel, and coriander...but all the spice is backed by gentle and pleasant citrus, probably courtesy of the East Kent Golding and El Dorado hops. I'm getting citrus, tangerine, passionfruit, and juicy hop goodness to the Nth degree on the aroma.

This is surprisingly earthy and wonderful...I don't even think I've had a beer like this before. I'm getting a lot of grape leaf, earthy grape pit, and resinous passionfruit. There's also big sweet hop character in here, with tangerine, melon, orange, and bright tropical fruits. But the tropical fruits never blossom...this is not a "bright" beer, if that makes any sense. There's definitely a candy sweetness element to the hop character in this beer, but the beer retains a darker, leafy edge. Kind of like a London fog. /dadjokes

This is one of the most refined Imperial IPAs I've had from Pipeworks, with an appropriate medium body mouthfeel. There's plenty of carbonation to smooth things out, and although this has some backing caramel malts, it retains a nice hoppy edge. You wouldn't know this was 9.0%, so don't boof and drive. Palate depth is above-average, and this is moderately complex. This isn't a world destroyer, but it's no slouch either. Up front: big Nelson Sauvin grape leaf, grape pit, and bitter passion fruit wrapped up in a nice malty sweet body; the mids continue with some mildly resinous and grapey hops, adding layers of tangerine, orange, and melon sweetness; the back end finishes bitter with lingering hops and some lingering malt goodness. Well executed and tasty.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average...a very enjoyable offering from the Pipeworks crew, I don't feel bad about picking this one up @ around $10 a bomber. Food pairings here lean towards leafy burgers, anything with cilantro, strong cheeses, and anything that gels well with bright, candy-like hops that have a dark green approach.

Random Thought: Gotta hand it to Pipeworks for having this IPA thing down.

Deschutes Mirror Mirror Barleywine

Brewed By: Deschutes Brewing Company in Bend, Oregon

Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Sheridan 'L' Longue in Chicago, IL; 2014 (2014 Reserve - "Best after 02/24/15")

Style/ABV: English-style Barley Wine, 11.2%
Reported IBUs: 53

Tonight's beer had a limited release event --- which I missed. But I was very happy to find it in bottles. 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 Mirror Mirror Barleywine is part of Deschutes' Reserve Series of beers. This beer began as a double batch of the Mirror Pond Ale, and should feature lots of big, Barleywine goodness. The bottle says a couple of things, including "best after 2/24/15;" "Mirror Mirror: Barley Wine Ale with 50% aged in wine barrels;" and, "The Reserve Series romance all began with our first release of this limited-edition brew. Mirror Mirror, born of a double batch of Mirror Pond Pale Ale, is an inspired barley wine ale layered with intriguing nuances. Explore this latest incarnation and enjoy its delicious complexity in every sip." 

Deschutes Mirror Mirror Barleywine

This pours out exactly as you'd expect. Pick your tone: red, orange, amber, copper. It's kind of a murky haze of all of them. The beer produces two fingers of caramel/amber-tinted head, and the head is made up of really nice bubbles. There is impressive lacing, alcohol legs, and some head is retaining for the long haul. Bright light confirms much of the same, and you can see the dots of tiny carbonation rising upwards. Actually, the tight spiderweb lacing left on my glass is one of the best parts about this beer's appearance. 

On the aroma: I'm getting a lot of fruity notes and wine character here. I'm pulling out barrel and wine-driven dates, raisins, grapes, berries, cherry, strawberry, and tons of barrel/wine character. There's some nondescript hops on the aroma, with mild pine sap and hop sap, and there is also some underlying brown sugar and toffee sweetness. Overall though, the aroma on this one is somewhat subtle.

This is on the lighter side of Barley Wines, and it is still hoppy enough that it doesn't quite fall into the straight up English Barleywine category. I suspect with age some of these hops are going to mellow out into pine sap, maple syrup, and pine...and it's going to be very nice. I'm getting a lot of toffee, brown sugar, berries, wine tannin and barrel, sweet and candied hops, and sugary goodness. There is some nice barrel character in here, and the wine notes are very subtle with mild grape and tannin kick. It really does kind of taste like an amped up Pale Ale that has been given the wine barrel treatment. There are some cherries and raisins in the taste as well, along with hints of plums.

I'm gonna have to see how this one ages down the stretch. Right now this is Above-Average but it's not quite world class. It's very good though. I'd almost call this balanced and drinkable, especially for the style. While the mouthfeel is full-bodied, it is also thinner and lighter for the style. Nevertheless, you would never guess this is an 11.2% beer as the booze is largely hidden. The beer is well carbonated, and the hops and barrel help balance out the sweetness. Palate depth is fantastic, and the complexity is moderate. Up front is big hop bitterness, pine sap, candied hops, brown sugars, bitterness; that opens into more bitterness, barrel character, wine, tannin, dark sugars, fruits, toffee; the back end dials up some berry sweetness, figs, raisins, more barrel and tannin, lingering wine. The finish is dry and sweet, with tons of barrel and tons of brown sugar/fruit. I think this is going to be stellar in two years.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. Unlike The Abyss, I think this one will actually really benefit from aging. It's a bit hoppy right now, and that seems to be throwing things off a bit. Having said that, this is incredibly drinkable and balanced. I'm amazed at how smooth and drinkable this is for 11.2%. This is still nuanced enough to work as a sipper, but if you must pair it with food, I'd go with sweeter desserts like bread pudding, or maybe a burger with a sweet barbecue sauce. Good shit, I look forward to revisiting it.

Random Thought: I'm tired of reading about Session IPAs, right?

Firestone Walker §ucaba (Abacus)

Brewed By: Firestone Walker Brewing Co. in Paso Robles, California

Purchased: 22oz (1 Pint, 6oz) bomber from Binny's in Chicago, Illinois; 2014 (2014 Vintage)

Style/ABV: English Barleywine, 13.5% 

Reported IBUs: 42

Tonight I'm slaying a West Coast #whale checking a beer off my bucket list. About Firestone: 

Tonight I'm looking at a beer from the folks at Firestone Walker Brewing. The brewery was founded by brothers-in-law Adam Firestone (son of Brooks Firestone) and David Walker (husband of Adam's sister). The brothers brewed their first beer in 1996, in a small facility rented from the Firestone Vineyard estate in Santa Barbara County. In 2001, the brothers-in-law purchased SLO Brewing Company in Paso Robles, CA, and set up camp. Despite being relatively new to craft beer, the brewery has a ton of accolades, and is known for their Reserve line and their oak barrel brewing system. You can learn more about the history of the brewery here and here. 

The §ucaba aka the "Sucaba" is Firestone's barleywine formerly known as Abacus. The brewery was forced to change the beer's name due to trademark disputes with ZD Wines of Napa. ZD Wines makes a high-end Cabernet Sauvignon called Abacus. What can you do but lawyer up and scramble those letters. At least Firestone has a cool trademark dispute story that came from it.

The §ucaba is a "true English Barley wine." This one is brewed in bourbon oak barrels, and is described as having complex malt flavors with dark chocolate, vanilla, toasted coconut, and dark cherries. This one uses Bravo, and East Kent Golding hops. The malt bill includes Munton's Pale, Crisp Maris Otter Pale, Munich, Dark & Light Crystal, and Chocolate malts. Punching in at 13.5% and 42 IBUs, this is a beer to be sipped on for the ages.

Firestone Walker §ucaba (Abacus) - 2014

The 2014 §ucaba pours initially into a dark raisin body, but quickly settles into a murky, dark brown haze. It's like the DV clinic on barrel aged beers. The beer kicks up a finger of foamy, brown head. When I shine a bright light through the heart of this beer, I get a beet-red body with serious ruby tones. There's also a good amount of sediment floating around with the streams of tiny carbonation. The beer has vitality: swirling it kicks up a ring of brown/amber head, and there is sticky lacing and glossy alcohol legs to boot.

Straight up on the aroma I'm getting a good amount of bourbon and barrel character. It's fleeting though, as the aroma gives way to brown sugar, raisins/figs/cherries, toffee, chocolate, oven toasted coconut, vanilla-coconut, and some tropical fruit sweetness. The tropical fruit sweetness is in the realm of coconut and pineapple, and I think it is coming from the beer's high levels of sugar...it could be a hop character playing off the sweetness. This smells good, but not dick-ripping-off. Here's to the taste, chimp, here's to the taste.

Holy shit. Wow. Based on the aroma, I was not expecting this amount of awesome. Straight up is a huge HUG of sweetness, with bourbon, oak, giant inviting barrel character, vanilla, coconut, and chocolate. The mouthfeel is full-bodied and dense and boozy, but for some reason it doesn't approach cloying. I'm getting bourbon, barrel, toffee, raisins, figs, cherries, chocolate/vanilla, big toasted coconut, intense brown sugar, molasses, nuttiness from the coconut, and hints of elusive pineapple-coconut sweetness. There's a light kiss of sharp booze and some barrel tannin goodness. Yum.

This is banging, with a full-bodied mouthfeel that still falls on the lighter side of what you could get at 13.5% and in a barrel. It's sugary and big, with minimal carbonation and lots of slickness. It's a sipper, yo. This beer also unravels layers of toffee, sweet coconut, and cherry as it warms up. I cannot stress this enough, pull this out at cellar temps and let it warm up. Palate depth is great, and this beer has really nice complexity for what essentially is a one-dimensional style of Strong Ale. You get oak, bourbon, and booze up front, with burgeoning figs, raisins, and cherries, and some nice chocolate/vanilla; the mids dial up layers of toffee, brown sugar, chocolate, vanilla, coconut, cherries, and hints of pineapple/coconut; the back is lingering oak/vanilla/coconut, lingering toffee, and sticky, boozy goodness. This is a hell of a sipper, and should last you over an hour or two.

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Divine Brew on this. This is kind of hot right now (my fault, I know), and probably will smooth out a bit with a year or two under the belt. I think cellaring beer is overrated, and I am usually the person telling you to NOT age your #whale, but you can definitely keep a spare bottle or two of this for a rainy day. Do try it fresh though...it's drinking VERY, VERY nice right now. I have no complaints, and plan to sit back with the second half of my bottle and watch The Walking Dead. This is the ultimate "don't pair with food" beer, so yeah. Sip on this. Enjoy. Life is short, and this is a diamond in the rough. Recommended.

Random Thought: I'm going full insanity wolf here, being that a few hours ago I was crapping out a kidney via IBS. I had IBS on top of running and lifting weights, so I am -- as they say -- le tired. I'm going to sleep like a drunk baby tonight. 

Pipeworks The Murderous (Tales From The Oak / Barrel Aged Murderous / aged in Elijah Craig 12 Barrels)

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 12oz bottle (Batch #107) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled 04.18.2013)

Style/ABV: Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine-style Ale, 11.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

I'm really excited to have tracked down this beer, especially after really enjoy Pipeworks' barrel-aged The Jones Dog. 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 was bottled back in early 2013. I reviewed a batch of the Pipeworks Murderous (the base beer), and found it to be just okay. I really think the fusion of the bourbon barrel can greatly improve the base beer, so I have high hopes for this beer. The back of the bottle states:

"Our Murderous, English style barley wine, aged in Elijah Craig Bourbon Barrels."

Pipeworks The Murderous / BA Elijah Craig 12

This one pours into a hazy/murky dark-brown, golden raisin color. It looks like your typical Barleywine that has spent some time in a barrel, with deceptive dark brown darkness that is actually more golden raisin in color. The beer kicks up a finger of amber-tinted head, but that gives way to a ring of off-color lacing and some hazy cauldron effect action. There's some glossy alcohol legs to boot. It's not a pretty beer...but then how many barrel-aged beers are.

The aroma here is nothing spectacular, with straightforward bourbon/whiskey, some raisin sweetness, and hints of cherries and fruits. I'm getting mild oak/wood, and the underwhelming Murderous backdrop.

This is okay...I'm getting raisins, light wheat malt character, apples, and mild whiskey sweetness. There's a hint of bourbon/oak/vanilla, and tons of sugar....I'm getting sweet raisins, cherry cola, toasted grains, light nutty, hints of toasted coconut, and lingering grain/coconut in the back.

A couple thoughts...the barrel does improve the base beer, but I still think the base beer could be made better. This is okay, but it's very much par the course, I think. The mouthfeel is medium-full to full-bodied, with good palate depth and low complexity. At 11.0% this is actually fairly drinkable, with non-obstructive barrel AND low levels of residual sugars. This is really a beer in two parts: up front are raisins, fruits, wheat malts, apples, alcohol sweetness, sugar; the mids hit some of those sweeter, English-style Barleywine notes; and the back end dials up the toasted grains, nutty notes, and hints of toasted coconut. The finish features lingering coconut/toasted grains, some boozy warming, and moderate levels of residual sugars for the style. The barrel character could be more involved, and the base beer could be better.

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Average on this. I think this is going to be my least favorite of the Pipeworks' "Tales From The Oak" series. Having said that, this is still an enjoyable English-style Barleywine, and this is better than the base beer. At around $8/12oz bottle, this may not be the best investment out there...but how many barrel-aged Barleywines are readily available? You can pair this beer with a myriad of desserts, namely creme brulee. I think this is a good attempt from Pdubs, but I really want to see a Murderous 2.0. Or maybe that's just me.

Random Thought: Up next....The Last Kiss. 

Prairie Artisan Ales The Beer That Saved Christmas

Brewed By: Prairie Artisan Ales in Tulsa (brewed in Krebs), Oklahoma  

Purchased: 500ml (16.9oz) bottle bought at Fischman Liquors and Tavern in Chicago, IL; 2013  

Style/ABV: Old Ale, 10.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

Tonight is one of those nights, but I ain't complaining. About Prairie Artisan Ales:

Prairie Artisan Ales are yet another brewery that began as a Kickstarter campaign. Founded in 2012 by brothers Chase and Colin Healey (nice beards), the duo have been busy making beer as Gypsy Brewers, but also have their own brew facility (complete with barrels!). You can check them out on Facebook here.

The Beer That Saved Christmas is an "Ale aged in oak barrels with a mixture of wild bacteria." This one happens to be an Old Ale, and is described as having notes of chocolate, cherry, vanilla, and caramel. I like all those things, so this should be good.

Prairie The Beer That Saved Christmas

This beer pours about how you expect: brown, murky, dirtier than the mall santa's lap, and with a finger or two of bready, dark brown head. In bright light the beer takes on red/brown/purple tones, with streaming carbonation, sticky lacing, and glossy alcohol legs. It's an Old Ale, yo.

The barrel and the "wild bacteria" give this beer some noticeable fruity character on the aroma, with raisins, dates, cherries, figs, plums, fruitcake, peppery and phenolic esters, and tons of wood. The wood leans towards that wine-like, fruity character. The chocolate/vanilla/caramel also comes through on the aroma.

You almost expect this beer to blunt you with malt thickness and caramel/chocolate/vanilla...but this beer is super subtle, with tons of cherry, wood, fruits, oxidized/sherry notes, and growing booze on the back. The back palate really hits you up with wood, chocolate, some nuttiness, and booze. It's a surprisingly complex beer, despite not being as big as you might expect.

I usually roll through the palate progression last, but this is a strange beer. So here we go. Up front: fruity notes, namely cherry, raisins, plums, perfume/phenol; the middle dials up some vanilla, wood, chocolate, sherry/oxidized fruits; the back rolls into dense woody character, chocolate, nuttiness. This beer is surprisingly complex, but the duration is a bit short. The funky yeast mostly manifests as fruit, and you get tons of wood character. It's a medium-full bodied beer with high complexity and an average palate depth and duration. The 10% comes and goes...I do pick up some alcohol in this, but it is mostly blended into the scenery.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Light Above-Average on this. This beer is surprisingly complex, especially if you sit down and mull over it. If you drink this beer in a hurry or without much thought, a lot of the flavors are going to get lost. I do wish it dialed up the mouthfeel a bit, but it technically achieves Old Ale status with the boozy complexity, rich malts, and rich dark fruits. I bet this one will age well for a few years. Food pairings: nutty desserts, dry cakes, anything with gravy, anything with a berry/fruit sauce, pork or beef roast, duck, and certainly meats and cheeses. This one didn't cost much and worked out in the end. I would recommend grabbing a bottle or two. You pretty much can't go wrong with Prairie. 

Random Thought: This has seriously been the longest week ever.