Deschutes Chainbreaker White IPA

Brewed By: Deschutes Brewing Company in Bend, Oregon

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

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

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

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

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

Deschutes Chainbreaker White IPA

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

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

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

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

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

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

Random Thought: Shelf turds ftw. 

Penrose Desirous

Brewed By: Penrose Brewing Company in Geneva, IL  

Purchased: 64oz Growler bought at Penrose in Geneva, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: White IPA, 6.2%

Reported IBUs: 60

Penrose is the latest brewery in the ever-increasing landscape of Illinois breweries. And that's okay with me. Illinois is a big place, home to many big towns. Penrose is situated in the quaint town of Geneva, about 60 to 90 minutes outside of Chicago depending on if you drive, take the train, or get caught in traffic (who am I kidding; if you hit Chicago rush hour, it could take you three hours to get to Penrose from downtown). 

Penrose opened its door to the public about two months ago, and I have been hearing noise about the brewery from various social media sources, as well as from this great write-up in the Chicago Reader. There was also a good article in The Chicagoist, as well as one in the Chicago Tribune. 

Penrose: dat logo

I guess the real question is: what sets Penrose apart from all the other new breweries in Illinois? Founder/owner Eric Hobbs and Brewmaster Tom Korder have an interesting perspective, so that's a good start. The duo want to focus on making high-quality, Belgian-inspired beers. Their ace-in-the-hole: an emphasis on beers with alcohol content bordering between sessionable and medium-strength. I found this to be a refreshing change of pace as I quaffed their Devoir, a bright and refreshing table Saison clocking in at 4.3%. The duo bring tons of experience to the table. Founder Eric Hobbs worked for years with Goose Island on the sales side. Tom Korder worked as Goose Island's brewery operations manager AND headed up their barrel program. That's nothing to scoff at. 

I'll try to sandwich some of my thoughts about my trip to Penrose within this review. Because I'm a thoughtful guy like that. Oh, and the tl;dr -- about Penrose:

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

The Penrose Desirous is a limited-release (for now) White IPA described as having floral hops, orange zest aromas, and citrusy hop goodness and coriander bitterness throughout. This one features Pilsner malts; Columbus, Cascade, and Amarillo hops; and Forbidden Fruit yeast.  

Penrose Desirous

This one pours into a cloudy/hazy yellow body, kicking up a finger of white, Belgian-esque head. This is a juicy beer in appearance, with good carbonation. There is some lacing, and the beer retains a hazy coating of head as the beer settles in. Even from the growler, this holds up in presentation.

The aromas here are bright, vibrant, and refreshing. Fresh. Right up front, especially when the beer is fresh on the pour, you get big citrus. Namely sliced pineapple, resinous orange and tangerine, and hints of tropical fruit. If you camp on the nose, you start to get some Belgian funk, bubblegum, and banana. There's a lot of banana, bubblegum, and clove on the nose. There's also a really nice bready/creamy heaviness that I can't quit finger...just blissful malt integration. Some coriander and white pepper show up for good measure too.

Penrose offers flights and full-glass pours. Of the beers they had available -- and I tried them all -- the White IPA was definitely towards the higher end of the ABV spectrum. But even at 6.2%, this beer goes down with refreshing smoothness. There's a touch of crisp, watery refreshness, hoppy spice and pepper, crisp cracker and biscuit, and big floral hops on the finish. If you want to get into specifics, I'm getting a lot of sliced pineapple in here. It's a delicious, sweet pineapple note. There's also some resinous citrus in here, ala orange and tangerine and grapefruit. This is spicy with citrus zest, coriander, and white pepper. I'm also getting mild bubblegum and clove.

In terms of mouthfeel, this is medium-light, carbonated, and refreshing. The 6.2% is nowhere to be seen, and you can definitely clear a growler of this stuff in a day or two. Palate depth is spot on, and the complexity is pretty good. The whole White IPA style is kind of meh. Don't we have American Wheat Ales and Belgian IPAs? I guess this kind of blurs the line between the two, so update your style guidelines. Up front: an explosion of citrus and gentle Belgian funk, stone fruits, pineapple; the mids roll into more pineapple, some resin, peppery citrus spice, growing bitterness; the back end drops a little cracker and biscuit, with trailing pineapple and orange. Just refreshing and clean and drinkable. It begs for a 6-pack format.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. Per my notes at the bar, this is how I rated it then and this is how I'm going to rate it now. It's just a very well-executed beer without any particular bells and whistles that elevate it to some sort of national must-have status. Having said that, this is elegant and drinkable and quite tasty. I really hope they get this into cans or bottles for consumption, I would buy this again for the warmer months. Food pairings here have to include fruit salads, ceviche, sushi, and anything slanting towards the warmer weather. Pineapple upside down cake would be my dessert pairing.

Random Thought: Penrose itself is somewhat small, and I suspect they will fill up during busy hours. Fortunately, I have already seen their beer on tap at various watering holes in Chicago. Geneva is a cute little town with tons of food stops and scenery to check out. So your best bet is to get some food in your tummy, go get a few beers at Penrose, and then top it off with one of the many nearby restaurants. When I make the trip back up to Penrose, I will probably do so by Metra.