Pipeworks Brief Relief Blood Orange Red Ale

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #426/427) bought at Binny's in IL; 2014 (bottled 06.12.2014)

Style/ABV: American Amber / Red Ale, 9.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

Tonight's Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™ requires a little more explaining than usual, I think. Pipeworks has quite the lineup of weirdly named beers, but nothing tops tonight's beer and its bottle art. This "collaboration" with Harebrained Design was brewed for the Period Panties Launch Party. What are Period Panties? "Fun underwear that high-fives you for having ovaries and serves as a friendly reminder to others!" You can read more about the launch on Reddit's ChicagoBeer thread regarding the subject. About Pipeworks:

Pipeworks has humble roots. The brewery was founded in Chicago in 2011 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis. The duo were both homebrewers that met while while working at West Lakeview Liquors. In 2011, they began to raise money for their brewery using the online Internet site, Kickstarter. Olson and Lewis were both educated at De Struise Brewery in Oostvleteren, Belgium. With that knowledge, and the money from their kickstarter, Olson and Lewis created a unique brewery that is smaller in size, and intended to brew smaller batches of beer. The company's motto is "small batches, big beers." And indeed, since the brewery has been around, they've been releasing a lot of one-offs and small batch releases. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

The back of the bottle of Brief Relief reads:

"What's better than not wearing pants? Not wearing pants while enjoying a beer! So as a nod to drinking pants-less and to celebrate the insane success of period Panties by Chicago's Harebrained Design, we present to you BRIEF RELIEF.

Brief Relief is a Blood Orange Red Ale, filled with citrusy hops, designed to give some much-needed brief relief from whatever is currently cramping your style. Much like Period Panties, this beer gives ovary owners a well-deserved high five!

Check out Period Panties: www.harebraineddesign.com"

Pipeworks Brief Relief 

I had something for this...I'm drawing a blank. Anyway, this beer pours into a dark, blood-orange caramel color, kicking up two to three fingers of caramel-tinted head. This looks like an Imperial Red or an Imperial IPA, with sheets of lacing coating the glass and sticky head retention. When held to a bright light, this beer takes on a murky blood-orange color, with tiny dots of carbonation working their way up the glass. It doesn't remind me of periods or liberating underwear, but beer is the solution to all problems.

The aroma here is moderately assertive. Right up front I'm getting big hop notes, maybe Citra or Simcoe? I dunno, it's hard to say. There's big citrus on the nose, grapefruit, and dank tobacco/hemp that veers into dank citrus notes. Along with the hops is assertive citrus sweetness, including orange and grapefruit. There is also some bready and rye spice on the aroma, with big suggestive malts lurking in the back.

Aye, this is another banger from Pipeworks, and one of their better Imperial Red Ale-style brews. This is just a fun beer...and I say that in a nice way. I'm getting a lot of citrus sweetness in here, with splashes of citrus juice, sweet blood orange, sweet grapefruit juice, mimosas, grapefruit soda, and big citrus hops underpinning the whole thing. The hops are slightly dank, with big orange and grapefruit. There's some piney bitterness to play contrast to the sweeter citrus juice. Behind it all are some bready malts, with some rye spice and bread providing a nice backbone. This finishes with bread and caramel. Nice.

This is medium-bodied, well-carbonated, and juicy. I'm not getting any of the 9.0% ABV, and this is very drinkable. This reminds me a bit of something from the Lagunitas wheelhouse, only with that blood orange Pipeworks' twist. I really like this...and while it isn't the most complex or bold Imperial Red, it's really well made. Palate depth is on spot. Up front: sweet citrus juice, blood orange, grapefruit soda; the mids roll into the hops, with dank citrus, hemp, tobacco, and some bitter pine/guava towards the back; the back end trails off with hops and citrus and then drops some massive bread, caramel, and rye spice on your mouth. The finish is malty with lingering citrus...slight warming. Noice. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. This is one of the better attempts at an Imperial Red from Pipeworks. Actually...this might be their best attempt at the style. This is just an insanely drinkable and fun beer, with tons of sweet citrus popping, and nice balance from the hops and malts. This beer actually feels intentionally cohesive and thoughtful. It's just good. If you see this one on shelves or in the fridge, grab it now while it is still fresh. Food pairings here? It's hard to say, with this style. The sweet malt notes and rye notes seem like they would pair well with a pastrami sandwich on rye, deli food (anything from a Polish or Jewish deli), and maybe even German or Swedish cuisine. I'm thinking sausage and sauerkraut, or maybe some Swedish Meatballs. This beer maybe isn't hoppy enough to pair with overly spicy American food...but it might also work with sweet barbecue sauce, and maybe some sweet pork tacos. So yeah, you have a wide potential in terms of food pairings here. Slaw and BBQ? Yes.

Random Thought: I have to admit, the Period Panties are pretty awesome. And it seems like they have lots of support. Beer + Period Panties = good times. Although I don't menstruate, I can raise a glass and say "cheers" to that. 

[Cellar Review] Pipeworks Santa vs. Unicorn (American Barleywine Style Ale) (Vintage 2013)

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #79) bought at Binny's in IL; 2013 (bottled 01.22.2013)

Style/ABV: Imperial Red Ale/American Barleywine, 10.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

It is hard to believe that it has been over one year since I began reviewing Pipeworks' beers. Back in the January of 2013, I reviewed the Pipeworks Santa vs. Unicorn. I found the beer to be superbly underwhelming. For fun, I thought, "why the hell not, I'll age a bottle."

So I bought another bottle. If you are a keen reader/observer, you'll note that the beer I am reviewing tonight is from the Batch #79 release. The beer I reviewed back in January 2013 was from Batch #64. The two batches were brewed close enough together that I doubt it matters much, plush this shitty blog is far and away from a perfect science. You've been warned.

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.

I have some serious reservations about aging Pipeworks' beers, especially their early batches. BUT, to the credit of Pipeworks, the beers I have held on to for extended periods of time did hold up well. Specifically the Raspberry Truffle Abduction, which was a delight half a year later. 

Tonight's beer was brewed for the Winter, but has made several appearances with possible recipe tweaks and slightly different names. A much improved version of this beer was released in July of 2013; the Sam Vs Unicorn found Pipeworks channeling their inner Lagunitas. The Sam Vs Unicorn was a fantastically hoppy, spicy, malty, Imperial Red...the type of shit that I salivate over. I do love my Imperial Reds. Imperial Reds flirt with American Barleywines, but are so much better. I'm really curious to see how this one has held up to age. 

Without further ado. And if you care what is on the back of this bottle, go read my review for Batch #64. The print is identical. 

Pipeworks Santa vs. Unicorn (Vintage 2013)

As I kind of anticipated, this one gushed on the pour. That's what happens when you age a conditioned beer for a year and then open it up on the warmer side of cellar temps. This one pours into an absolutely swampy orange-red-brown haze. This one is practically opaque, with big juicy brown/orange tones in bright light. It's like a Ween album, weirdly appealing and off-putting at the same time. This one also kicked up a finger of caramel-tinted head that is sustaining quite nicely with a centimeter coating. There's some lacing as well.

How about that aroma though! Wow, this thing has improved with age. At least per my previous tasting notes. I'm getting huge cakey malts, pine sap, maple syrup, waffle house, pine, and pine tar. There is some big hop resin lurking beneath, with resinous grapefruit and lemon making an appearance on the nose. There's good sweetness on the aroma, with caramel, brown sugar, and balanced treacle goodness ala a well-crafted, aged, American Barleywine. 

The taste fails to live up to the awesome aroma, but it's a big improvement over the beer that I reviewed back in 2013 and said "meh" to. This one has a nice body, especially for the style. American Barleywines can be quite heavy-handed, but this has lots of carbonation, with a full-bodied thinness, and just a touch of oxidation. The balance here has shifted from hop-forward into deep caramel sugars, but there are still plenty of hops present. I'm getting big pine, pine sap, maple syrup, treacle sweetness, nuttiness, pine nuts, brown sugars, burnt caramel, more burnt caramel, even more burnt caramel...serious up-thumbs for the dark sugars in here, it's almost Belgian-esque and that is fucking awesome. I don't even know how or why, but I like it. There's some resinous and sappy lemon and citrus hanging around in the taste, but this one mostly dials in that pine-maple-caramel trifecta.

To reiterate, this is full-bodied but on the thinner and more drinkable side, especially for the style. I think this beer toes the line of a true American Barleywine, where the Sam Vs Unicorn is more of an Imperial Red. Palate depth here is good, and this one has good duration. Complexity is low to average, or maybe not. I'm not a huge fan of American Barleywines, but I'm digging this. You don't pick up any of the 10%. There's a lotta pine sap, maple syrup, and caramel sugars up front; that rolls into nuttiness, pine nuts, more pine sap, resinous lemon, bitterness, burnt caramel; the back end continues to layer the dark sugars and burnt caramel, and the finish is surprisingly bitter and piney. Picture the Canadian woods: cabins, brown bears, stalking sorority chicks. That's this beer.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average...I'll toss this a bone for just being a fun experiment. This isn't quite as refined or complex as a Sierra Nevada Bigfoot or whatever classic Barleywine comes to your mind, but at the same time it's not really far behind. I found this beer to be really disappointing fresh, but what I have here now is drinking really good. I'd pay $10.99 to age one of these again. Food pairings here: anything with pine nuts, including stuffed mushrooms, risotto, nutty desserts, and maybe even chicken and waffles. 

Random Thought: I don't understand American Barleywines. I have such a love/hate relationship with the style. 

Pipeworks Reaper vs Unicorn Ryewine

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #221/222/223) bought at Binny's in IL; 2013 (bottled 10.[7/8/9].13)

Style/ABV: Ryewine/Barleywine, 10.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

In this week's Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™ we are looking at the Reaper vs. the Unicorn. I'm not sure who to root for this time around, but my hunch is the unicorn. 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 Reaper vs Unicorn is a Ryewine/Barleywine thing. The bottle reads:

"The unicorn may have finally met its match in Death Incarnate. But hold your horned horses, because the unicorn lives to rye another day! What a sickle joke! But, we aren't tricking you, this barleywine is a real treat, with a rich malt skeleton and a more than paranormal amount of hops. If you're going to harvest soul-y one beer this season, don't fear the Reaper..."

Pipeworks Reaper vs Unicorn Ryewine

The beer pours like an Imperial Red Ale, which makes a lot of sense if you've had the Sam vs Unicorn or Santa vs Unicorn. Barleywine? More like an Imperial Red. In lower light, this beer's body is a dark red/muddy brown color, and kicks up two to three fingers of super dense, bready, caramel-amber head. The beer dons a juicy, murky, reddish-orange body in bright light. The head is all caramel/amber, with hints of orange. It's an Imperial Red! There's tons of sticky lacing on this, and some glossy legs.

I'm getting big resinous pine, resinous citrus, and woody resin. There's a lot of rye spice on the aroma as well, with some bready rye, rye bread, and lots of peppery rye. There's some caramel as well. The nose is super hoppy, but it's resinous hops...resinous grapefruit, citrus, and orange.

This reminds me more of the Santa vs Unicorn than the Sam vs Unicorn. For whatever reason, this one doesn't have any assertive carbonation helping things along (which is weird because the beer still has a big, lively head and lacing). The malt is blunted here, and there's a lot of it. You get big rye, caramel, and sweet malt sugars (brown sugar?). There's a lot of rye spice in the mix, and lots of resinous hops. I'm getting resinous/woody pine, citrus, grapefruit rind, and tangerines. There's some peppery-rye-booze on the finish.

The lack of carbonation doesn't hurt the drinkability here, even at 10.0%. But I find myself pining for it a bit. This is a medium-full to full-bodied beer, with lots of sweet malt body and tons of resinous hops. Palate depth is okay, and complexity is also okay. You get lots of sweet, rye-forward malt up front; that rolls into big resinous/woody hops; the back end features peppery spice and some booze. 

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Average here. I don't know if this beer was intentionally supposed to feature this little carbonation, or if it didn't attenuate far enough, or the conditioning didn't go right. Who knows. Either way, this isn't a bad libation. You get lots of the Rye and malt sweetness. It drinks like an Imperial Red Ale. I would pair this beer with a burger, wings, or other aggressive American foods. You could pair this with anything spicy as well. This one was okay, the Sam vs Unicorn was much better.

Random Thought: TGIF, bitches! 

Pipeworks Sam vs Unicorn

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #161 [or 151???]) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Imperial Red Ale, 9.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

Nothing says America like random shelf-grabs. I wasn't planning on buying this beer, as I was never overly smitten with the Santa vs. Unicorn, but you know how these things go. So on this Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™, we celebrate July 4th, part II. 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. At one point - and maybe still - the goal was the release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

Tonight's beer is a big ol' Imperial Amber/Red Ale. The bottle talks abut American hops, and the ABV is dialed up to 9.0%. I'm expecting malts and hops in the Laguintas ballpark. I can dream, right? The back of the bottle states:

"When the weather warms and minds turn to summer's delights, true Americans celebrate our great nation's birth the best way we know how...drinkin' beers and blowin' stuff up. In honor of this most hallowed of traditions we present Sam vs Unicorn, an Imperial Red Ale brewed exclusively with American grown hops. We're sure you'll find to be the perfect pairing for Life, Liberty and the pursuit of semi-controlled explosions."

The beer pours into a hazy, reddish-brown body, and kicks up a finger of caramel-tinted head. The head is sticky, leaving lacing and alcohol legs, and a nice cauldron effect is forming on top of the beer. In bright light the beer is a murky red-orange, with the head picking up some nice amber/orange tones. The bottle art is pretty cool, and definitely has an, "America, fuck yeah!" vibe. 

Pipeworks Sam vs Unicorn

The aroma features bright, spicy hops. I'm getting huge resin, resinous hop punch, some wood, pine, orange, tangerine...and there's some underlying spice like tingly brown sugar or rye or something. There's also some hints of non-specific malt sweetness, hinting at caramel or bread. 

Woah-hey. The taste is surprisingly big and bold. As I recall, this is an immediate improvement from the Santa vs. Unicorn. This really does remind me of something Lagunitas would brew...there's tons of bready/caramel malt sweetness in this, with big blasts of brown sugar and rye-like spice. Between the malt and spice is fat resinous citrus (grapefruit, tangerine, orange, marmalade), some dank hops, resin/sap, and hints of wood and rind. There's big sweetness on the finish, and you feel the weight of the 9.0% ABV with light booze on the end (with some berry?).

My expectations were low, but I'm pleasantly surprised. This beer is doing everything right, and delivers what I want in an Imperial Red Ale. You have a big malty base, lots of brown sugar/rye-esque spice, and tons of resinous hops. Palate depth is outstanding, and complexity is aight. This is medium-full to full-bodied, with perfect carbonation. This is kind of boozy, as you'd expect for 9.0%. But the booze is masked, with just a hint popping up on the back (and the inevitable warming). You get citrus and bready/caramel malts up front; that rolls into brown sugar, rye-esque spice, and more hops; the back is lingering spice/hops, with a flash of malt sweetness. The finish is slightly woody and slightly dry. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Strong Above-Average. Imperial Reds are one of my favorite styles of beer, IF they have that huge malt body and accompanying brown sugar spice. This beer nails the style, with a huge body to support all the hop/malt/spice trimmings. I would definitely recommend grabbing a bottle of this if you see it in the Chicago-land area. I also hope Pipeworks continues to brew this beer or similar versions. The Santa vs. Unicorn was average at best, but this beer is bangin'. I like to pair these malty/spicy Red Ales with spicy Mexican food. You could also pair this beer with pizza, a burger, wings, etc. But spicy Mexican food will really hit the spot. Get some pork or fish tacos...mmm.

Random Thought: So I guess today was the release for Lost Abbey's Duck Duck Gooze, and apparently it was a complete clusterfuck. You'd think they would know by know what with Dark Lord day and all.