Two Brothers Fathom

Brewed By: Two Brothers Brewing Company in Warrenville, Illinois

Purchased: 375ml/12.7oz bottle (corked & caged) bought at Andersonville Wine & Spirits in Chicago, IL; 2014 (2014 vintage)

Style/ABV: American Wild Ale, 6.5%
Reported IBUs: 50.3

After the super disappointing Tangent, I promised sweet, sweet (and much needed) redemption. Well redemption is here, craft crazies. About Two Brothers:

Two Brothers are based out of Warrenville, Illinois, a town not far from Chicago. Two brothers was founded in 1996 by brother Jason and Jim Ebel. Their brewery and Tap House Restaurant are both located in Warrenville. Their distribution and production seems to be increasing with each year, and along with their beer you can buy home brewing equipment and supplies at the Tap House Restaurant. If you get the chance, swing by and check out their Roundhouse. It's an awesome joint, and needs all the love it can get. For more information, check out their about page/website.

Like the Tangent, the Fathom is part of Two Brothers "Project Opus." The Fathom is a golden-color sour ale that has been aged in oak foudres for two years. Punching in at 6.5% and 50.3 IBUs, this bottle comes corked and caged, and would be impressive from the onset if not for the extremely disappointing Tangent that preceded it. I promise nothing but good things, so let's glass this one up. 

Two Brothers Fathom

The Fathom has a simple and sexy bottle. The cork was wedged in tightly, but came out without much of a pop. I do have concerns about aging these Two Brothers sours, but c'est la vie. This one pours into a hazy, light amber/copper color in lower light. The beer produces a finger or two of sizzling, crackling, off-white head. Surprisingly, there's some sea foam head retention. In bright light, this beer takes on a golden-amber/bronze appearance. There's A LOT of active carbonation, which is great to see. And the head retention is still impressive.

Much like the Tangent, this has a banging aroma. Right away I'm getting a lot of oak, woody barrel, lactic funk, and HUGE lemon character. The lemon character veers into the land of apple cider vinegar, tart apples, vinegar, pickled foods, and aggressive sourness. This doesn't even play around, with just the lightest hints of candy sweetness. I'm getting glimpses of Black Cherry Warheads, but this has aggressive sourness on the aroma. The wood and oak really comes out though, and I like that a lot.

And...unlike the Tangent...this actually tastes good. This actually tastes substantial, and sour. This is kind of what you should expect when you crack into a Flanders Red-type beer. Now, this still isn't at the punishing levels of sourness...this is kind of in that Duchesse De Bourgogne range. I'm getting really nice oak and woody tartness, lots of lactic character, some lemon, big apple cider vinegar, pickled vegetables, and some bready sweetness towards the back end. The bready sweetness hints at biscuit and honey, and then takes a turn towards super dry as the oaky wood and tart sour character dries your mouth out. There's some interesting fruit character in this beer, coming from the interplay between the malts and the lactic notes. I'm getting hints of tart peaches, citrus, and mild berry character. This is actually fairly complex, and has good depth.

The real question is: what the hell happened with the Tangent? Why is that beer so bad? It's a very underwhelming beer. Thankfully, there's sweet redemption. The Fathom is really enjoyable. This is my second bottle of this beer, and I am smitten. This has a medium-full mouthfeel, with plenty of carbonation, acidity, and lactic funk. Palate depth is phenomenal; really, divine stuff. This one lingers on your palate for quite a while, and goes from sweet to sour to malty sweet to dry. Two things hold this back from being world-class: the slightly subdued sourness, and the moderate complexity for the style. I think this one has room to mature in the bottle...I'd like to get my hands on a few more bottles of this to age. I'm not sure if this is pasteurized though...the pour was fairly clean with no dregs. Up front: a wave of malty sweetness, followed by immense lactic funk, lemon tartness, red cider vinegar, oaky wood, and barrel; the mids roll into buttery lactic character, big oak, more barrel, suggestive fruits (peach, berries, etc.); the back end hits some nice malty notes with bread and honey, and then the beer finishes dry with barrel in your face. Super nice stuff. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. This is a fantastic sour/wild ale. You'd never expect this after drinking the Tangent. What's even more exciting is that the rest of the Two Brothers sours seem to be on point...their Hoodwink and Askew are both great. I'm gonna track another bottle of this down to age, and see if this continues to funk up in the bottle. Food pairings here include sweet cheeses, fruit salads, fruit slaw, fatty/oily foods, poutine, and mussels in white wine sauce.

Random Thought: I think the Askew is even better than the Fathom...I had it on tap and I'm pretty impressed. If Two Brothers continues to release sour beers on the regular, they are going to reassert themselves as one of Illinois' most important breweries. Illinois has a lot of beer these days, but is really lacking in terms of sour/wild ales. 

Two Brothers Tangent

Brewed By: Two Brothers Brewing Company in Warrenville, Illinois

Purchased: 375ml bottle (corked & caged) bought at Sheridan 'L' Longue in Chicago, IL; 2014 (2013 vintage)

Style/ABV: American Wild Ale, 5.5%
Reported IBUs: 10

Two Brothers have been doing interesting things with barrels for a while now, and recently they have been cranking out some pretty good sour and wild ales. The Tangent has not been well received, and I'm curious to see how it stacks up. Fear not though, even if this beer sucks I have a bottle of Fathom in the shoot...and that one is delicious. About Two Brothers:

Two Brothers are based out of Warrenville, Illinois, a town not far from Chicago. Two brothers was founded in 1996 by brother Jason and Jim Ebel. Their brewery and Tap House Restaurant are both located in Warrenville. Their distribution and production seems to be increasing with each year, and along with their beer you can buy home brewing equipment and supplies at the Tap House Restaurant. If you get the chance, swing by and check out their Roundhouse. It's an awesome joint, and needs all the love it can get. For more information, check out their about page/website.

The Tangent is part of Two Brothers "Project Opus." The Project Opus is a collection of aged, sour beers. Tangent is described as a "Dark Sour Ale" that is light and sweet, but not over the top. The bottle reads, "foudre aged dark sour ale with brett." 

Two Brothers Tangent

This one pours into a cola-colored body that is swampy and ugly, like Mickey Rourke circa today. I had some serious concerns pouring this one too. First, I worried that this would be a gusher; then I worried that this was not carbed as the cork slid right out with no pop. Thankfully, the Brett and whatever else is growing in the bottle have done their job. Did I mention this is an ugly, swampy beer? Even the head reluctantly gives you a finger of cola-tinged "meh." Shining a bright light through this beer betrays it a bit, as you see the beer's true color. This looks like a Belgian Dubbel, with those rich reddish/orange tones. This has active carbonation too. 

On the aroma: Brett funk, gentle barrel character, oak, and big lactic character. I'm getting a lot of lemon here, some nice red cider vinegar, sour cherry candies, Warheads, green apples, and some malty cola backing. There's kind of a cherry cola thing lurking beneath and around the lactic sourness and musty Brett funk. 

Ah...while the aroma is spot on in terms of what I'm looking for in a wild ale/flanders red, this one kind of falls way short in the taste. It just isn't funky and lactic enough, with flat malt backings. I'm getting sweet malts here, with cherry, mild barnyard, and absolutely no substantial lactic character or Brett funk in the taste. Damn...this beer is a clinic in disappointment. What went wrong here? This kind of reminds me of the Petrus Oud Bruin, only not as oxidized and cardboard-y. There are flashes of tingly apple cider vinegar in here, but mostly you get wort juice. There's mild apple, berry character, and flashes of that lactic-lemon-funk....but it's all dialed back to one or two, or hidden between the lines. I guess this is like malty, brown sugar seltzer water, with hints of apple cider vinegar. Bad. 

They can't all be winners. I commend Two Brothers for making this beer, and for having the balls to experiment with this style. This is basically a malty Flanders Red, without any of the lactic overkill or Brett funk. It's too bad...look, this is a poorly executed beer. And I'd be mad about it but Two Brothers has followed this beer up with some really good sours, including their Fathom. The Tangent flatlines with a malty, medium-bodied mouthfeel. Seltzer water carbonation keeps this drinkable, but the palate depth and complexity are so off you really have no reason to go through the motions. You get brown sugar malts and hints of apple cider vinegar up front, with more apple cider vinegar and subtle lactic hints in the mids, and then it fades into malty nothingness. It's just...not good.

Rating: Below-Average (2.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Strong Below-Average. It's entirely possible that this will improve in the bottle over the next few years, but I kind of doubt it. Save your money and skip this beer, buy the Fathom instead. I can't recommend this beer in good faith, so I can't recommend any food pairings. I mean...sours go well with chocolates and mussels and fruity desserts, but yeah.

Random Thought: I know this review is harsh but I seriously appreciate that Two Brothers continued to experiment with sours after this beer. Their Fathom, Hoodwink, and Askew are all really really good. You gotta start somewhere, and I feel like this beer was a foundation beer to try out the oak barrels and mess with some wild yeast. Live and learn, as they say...

New Belgium Lips of Faith - Le Terroir

Brewed By: New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado

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

Style/ABV: American Sour/Wild Ale, 7.5%

Reported IBUs: ???

After a month-long stretch of cold and snow we are having a warm spell. The temps are in the high 30s and low 40s, there is rain, and the snow is melting. It feels like Spring, and even though this warm up is fleeting, it's the perfect weather for tonight's beer. About New Belgium:

New Belgium is based out of Fort Collins, and opened in 1991 when founder Jeff Lebesch took his home-brewing into the commercial world. At this point in time, New Belgium has mainstream fame from their Fat Tire, and craft beer credit for their sour beers. New Belgium is the thrid-largest craft brewery in the United States. You can read more about New Belgium if you check out their company page, and definitely cruise their website.

The Le Terroir (which doesn't actually translate into "the terror" but rather "the soil") is an American Sour Ale aged in wooden foeders for up to three years, and then dry hopped with Amarillo and Citra hops to add fruity, citrus notes. Described as having aromas of ripe passion fruit, citrus, overripe peaches, and wine cellar, and earthy funk, this moderately large sour (7.5% ABV) is brewed with wild yeast/bacteria and Lager yeast, features Citra, Amarillo, and Target hops, and a malt base of Pale, Wheat, C-80, Carapils, and Oats. 

New Belgium Lips of Faith - Le Terroir

This one pours into a hazy orange body, and kicks up two fingers of off-white head. The head is soaking up those amber-orange vibes, like a Florida orange or an Oompa-Loompa. As the head drops off, it leaves some clingy, spiderweb lacing that connects the residual stuff on the side of the glass to the stuff floating on top of the beer. In bright light the beer is a juicy orange color...like cloudy Gatorade.

A hoppy Wild Ale/Sour you say? How can you not think about Orval. Though Orval features Brett funk and hops as the main character, and isn't sour. It's funky, brah. This beer smells amazing, with Brett funk, hay, peaches, apricots, faint wood and lactic lemon, passion fruit, tropical fruit and citrus, grass/peach, and grassy dry hops. There's some musty hay-leather funk on the nose, courtesy of the Brett, and tons of floral dry hops. It reminds me of Orval, the Rayon Vert, and the fantastic Bam Bière. There's a bready malt character on the nose as well.

Oh wow...so this tastes nothing like the three beers I just mentioned. Unlike the nose which mostly dials up the Brett funk, the taste delivers a big, bready, sour punch. I'm getting tart lemon, lactic funk/sour, and some nice candy sweetness balanced by nice citrus/tropical hop character. There's a lot going on here. You do get big hay/grass/Brett funk/tropical fruits up front. The Brett character in this is pleasant, and plays off the hops. I'm getting pineapple, grass, tropical fruit, orange/tangerine/mango/peach...it's good shit. There is some woody, lactic tartness in the mix, and you get some more sour character. The whole thing builds to a slightly bready, malty, candy-sweet finish. Real nice stuff.

This is really good stuff...refreshing, funky, drinkable, and still somewhat dense with good depth and complexity. You don't get any of the 7.5%. The mouthfeel is light-bodied and supported by lots of carbonation, grassy/citrus hops, and tart funk. Palate depth is good...complexity is also good. It's a world class blend, but I feel like New Belgium is missing out here. This beer would be a lot of fun to age if it had some active Brett in the bottle. You get big pineapple/passion fruit/citrus/tropical fruits/grass and Brett funk up front; that rolls into vibrant peaches, pineapple, grassy hops, and lemon-lactic tart, with some woody barrel character coming along for the ride; the back end trails off with lingering funk and tart, and dials up some malts and sugars. The beer finishes dry. 

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Divine Brew on this one. Yeah, it's a hell of a blend...and it has things I love! Like intense tropical fruits and citrus, and bold Brett notes. I just can't help but wonder how fun it would be to age a few bottle of this if the Brett was active and kicking...maybe someday. Oh well, until then I suggest you scoop a bottle of this up. And do it soon! This one tastes great fresh, and I imagine as the hops fade out this beer is going to be much less impressive. Food pairings here would include fruit salad, slaw, pulled pork sandwiches, creamy cheeses, and maybe some poutine? I think I paid less than $10 for this bottle, making this beer a certified bargain. I'm really impressed with New Belgium's wild ale program, I hope they keep it up.

Random Thought: I wasn't kidding about the fleeting thing. This winter blows. It's supposed to be snowing tomorrow, and then we are supposed to have blowing snow. Yay.

Petrus Aged Pale

Brewed By: Bavik-De Brabandere in Harelbeke, Belgium

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2013 (2012 bottle?)

Style/ABV: Sour/Wild Ale/Flanders Red or Oud Bruin, 7.3%

Reported IBUs: ?

I've been meaning to get to this beer for a while, so here we go. About Petrus: 

The Brewery Bavik (Brouwerij Bavik) was founded in 1894 by Adolphe De Brabandere. One of his sons, Joseph De Brabandere, brewed his first beer the same year the brewery was founded. Before 1950 the brewery's beer was sold primarily to cafes and individuals, but post-1950 the beer has been sold to merchants. The Bavik Brewery is a family run business, and is one of the largest independent breweries in Belgium. For more info, check out Bavik's history page.

The Petrus Aged Pale is a "dry hopped, oak aged, sour ale." Aged in one of the fifteen 25,000L oak vessels in the Petrus Aging Cellar, this beer is brewed and then aged in the aforementioned vessels for between 20 to 30 months. This beer was originally used as a base beer for other blends, but apparently, the late Michael Jackson (beer writer) visited the brewery and suggested they sell this commercially. The rest is beer history. 

Petrus Aged Pale

The beer pours a hazy orange color, with two fingers of lightly off-white head. In bright light the beer looks less hazy, and takes on a vibrant gold/orange vibe that glows like radioactive water. There's some lazy carbonation, and a centimeter of sustaining, funky white head. You get lacing and all that.

Like the body, the aroma is kind of average. There's some musty oak funk, old attic, woody tannins and assertive vinegar, red wine vinegar, subtle white wine, and ghostly notes of chocolate/grape/apples that are vague and hard to place.

You get a lot of malt body in this, and this is surprisingly smooth. This isn't overly sour, with mild tartness. On the other hand, this beer isn't very sweet either. I appreciate that, a lot. It seems like this style veers towards overly sour or overly sweet. You get a lot of oaky tannin and subtle malt kisses up front, which eventually turns into that red apple cider vinegar punch. There's some hops in the mix as well, and the back end lays big citrus and apples on you. The finish is slightly bitter of all things, with lingering malt and a hint of...grain? The sourness comes in two waves: up front with the oak and tannin, and towards the mid to back palate with some citrus.

This hides the 7.3% very well, and is drinkable. It's not too sour, or too sweet, and is smoothed out by nice carbonation. I'd call it light-to-medium bodied. Palate depth is good, complexity is low. This is a very standard Flanders Red-esque beer, and doesn't really run away with anything. Tart, warhead sour up front, with big oak tannin, cherries, apple cider vinegar, and malt kisses; that roles into some hops, apples, pineapple, citrus, orange, more vinegar and sour; the back end is lingering sour, lingering malt, hint of bitter/grain. I can feel this one crushing my teeth.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Light Above-Average...practically average, if not for the restrained levels of sweetness. This has an incredible balance, with pronounced oak, wood tannin, malt presence, sour kick, and sugars that are held in check. This has a some subtle nuances as well, and seems to hold up to short-term aging. I can easily recommend this, especially as an entry-level sour. This beer is cheap, it's available, and it's pretty damn tasty. You owe it to yourself to pair this beer with strong cheeses, grilled meats, fondue, or anything along those lines. This beer is much better than the standard Petrus offerings.  

Random Thought: My goal this week is to decompress a bit...we'll see how that goes. 

New Belgium La Folie (Lips of Faith - 2013)

Brewed By: New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado

Purchased: 22oz bomber from Binny's in Illinois; 2013

Style/ABV: American Sour Ale/Flanders Red, 6.0%

Reported IBUs: 18

Tonight's beer has been reviewed many times over, and it's a straight up Divine Brew with the exception of its price. But I feel compelled to jot down my thoughts on the 2013 version of La Folie anyway. Hate the playa, I guess.

I haven't really talked much about Flanders Red Ales, though I have talked about the Flanders Brown Ale/Oud Bruin. The most known Flanders Red is probably Rodenbach's Grand Cru, which is straight up sex (and on my to-review list). I've had it before, I'll have it again...it's good.

Rather than waxing on about Flanders Reds, I'm going to link to this solid article: Flanders Red and Brown. In short, the Flanders Red Ale originated has roots in Belgium and England, where old and young beer were blended together to compensate for any sourness/acidity in aged beer. The sourness/acidity came from aging beer in wooden casks, where the beer picked up tannins and flavor from the wood, and was also liable to wild organisms (Brettanomyces, Acetobacter, etc.). 

Nowadays, fermentation is a bit more controlled, as breweries like Rodenbach intentionally introduce organisms and control the stages/duration of fermentation. This style of beer is often aged for anywhere from 18 months to 3 years, and is often blended with part old and part young beer. These beers feature complex aromas, and have intense fruit, sour, and acidic characters. With that said, I digress. About New Belgium:

New Belgium is based out of Fort Collins, and opened in 1991 when founder Jeff Lebesch took his home-brewing into the commercial world. For reference, New Belgium is the thrid-largest craft brewery in the United States. You can read more about New Belgium if you check out their website.

As I mentioned, La Folie is kind of a big deal. This beer dates back to 2004, and was conceived with Peter Bouckaert from the Rodenbach brewery. The La Folie is wood-conditioned, aged in French Oak barrels, and is then blended to perfection. At one point in time, La Folie was corked with live bugs and all (I think 2009 was the last year). As it currently stands, the beer is now pasteurized, bottle-conditioned with house yeast, and capped on a bottling line. A lot of people have complained about this, but Lauren Salazar does a great Q&A explaining why this was done HERE. The long story short is that pasteurizing the beer "locks in" the ideal blend, and capping the beer has allowed New Belgium to increase production for this beer. The La Folie clocks in at 6.0%, packs 18 IBUs, and is brewed with Target hops, and Pale, Munich, Carpils, C-80, and Chocolate malts. Let's glass this up and see how the 2013 La Folie stacks up.

La Folie 2013

This one pours a hazy, cola-brown color, with a finger's worth of rapidly dissolving brown head. When held to bright light, the beer takes on an amazing reddish-brown/auburn color, with a ring of head clinging to the side of the glass. There is visible carbonation in this, and it looks quite effervescent.

Let's talk about the aroma on this. There's a lot of stuff going on here, and it's all fantastic. Up front I'm getting big malty cherries, cherry cola, wood, and vanilla. Behind the soda shop goodness is some serious watermelon, red apple vinegar, apples, fruit skin, and some citrus. There's some must as well, with elusive chocolate and spice. Finally, the soda shop goodness you get up front, mixed with the must, kicks your nose: I'm getting Brett funk, horse blanket, band-aid, and butcher shop. It all comes and goes, and you could just smell this all day.

I'm starting off a bit cooler, and will see how this fares as it warms. Even on the cool side, this is very sour up front, with sour watermelon, Black Cherry Warheads, apple cider vinegar, a hint of acetone, granny smith apples, and tons of citrus. There's wood on the back, and elusive chocolate/vanilla abound in the aftertaste. As I walked away from this, I was getting big raspberry and jam on the aftertaste. As this warms up, you get more apple vinegar, and more wood. I'm also picking up mild Brett funk.

This beer is as described: mouth puckering. I don't know if it's thirst quenching. This is dry as hell on the finish. You get nice acidity up front, immediately followed by sourness. The sourness maintains until the dry finish. The mouthfeel is medium-full, with light carbonation that is obviously hindered by the sour. Palate depth is great for the style...complexity is high, but you feel like it could go even higher. Sour-acid up front with citrus, lemon, watermelon, Black Cherry Warheads; mid-palate rolls into more sour citrus, apple, wood, vanilla, hints of malt; the back is fading sour, lingering citrus, wood, dry. 

Rating: Divine Brew 

I gotta go with a Light Divine Brew on this. As I feel this destroying my teeth, I can only help but think this is a winner. This is sour, bold, complex, and yada yada yada. You now have herpes. The only downside is a bomber of this is between 15-17 dollars, which is expensive. At least compared to Rodenbach's Grand Cru. This is maybe the best New Belgium beer, and certainly a shining example of mainstream American Sours. Food pairings: aggressive cheeses, meats, and chocolate. Or, just drink solo. This is worth checking out, especially if you're looking for a solid beer that kicks up the sour. The sour is strong, and the flavors follow close behind.

Random Thought: Evidently "La Folie" translates to this is madness or some shit. Cool story, 300.