Spiteful IPA

Brewed By: Spiteful Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 12oz can from a 6-pack bought at Capone's Liquor & Food in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: India Pale Ale, 6.2%
Reported IBUs: ?

DAE like it in the can? About Spiteful: 

Spiteful Brewing was founded in January 2010 by Brad Shaffer and Jason Klein. Like many brewers, the duo started out homebrewing. As of today, the brewery houses a 2.5 BBL Brewhouse and 5 BBL Fermenters. Currently, as a nanobrewery, Spiteful Brewing is hand delivering to stores and bars. For more info, check out Spiteful's website, or their Facebook or Twitter. 

The Spiteful IPA is "a delightful India Pale Ale brewed with El Dorado hops." El Dorado hops supposedly have big tropical fruit flavors...can you say "yum." Let's see what we got here.  

Spiteful IPA

Much like the Alley Time Pale Ale, this one pours into a hazy yellow body, and kicks up two fingers of dense, soapy, white/off-white head. The head has them golden tones, and is leaving tons of tight lacing. The duration is good too. There's fat, mid-to-large sized carbonation bubbles popping upwards. It looks like a Pale or India Pale Ale.

The aroma is kind of subdued, missing those bold biscuit/bready notes from the not-present Pilsner malts. You do get some hints of caramel sugars, but the aroma mostly features pine, nondescript citrus, and nondescript tropical fruits. There's maybe some peach on the nose as well.

The taste is pretty much your standard IPA fare...I'm getting a lot of tangerine and orange, citrus, some pine, mild resin and dank qualities, a little soapy, and some light bread/biscuit/caramel malt in the back. The tangerine is pretty big, with some hints of peach and pineapple and nondescript tropical fruit and hop candy. The beer does sort of lean towards sweeter than earthy or aggressively bitter...and I like that.

This isn't bad, but I'm not being blown away or anything. This is medium-bodied with good carbonation, plenty of soapy bitterness, and a creamy head to help things along. Palate depth is good, complexity is par the course, and the hints of bready malts are what you'd expect in a hop-forward style of beer. The 6.2% is well hidden, and this isn't too bitter. You get some pine and resinous citrus up front; that opens up into bouquets of orange, lemon, peaches, tropical fruits, and pine; the back end features some bread/biscuit/caramel malt, and lingering hops. The finish is hoppy and drier. Not bad.

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Average on this beer. If you like IPAs, this is an IPA. If you are looking for an IPA that is going to blow you away, this is not that beer. However, it's cheap, local, and in a can. I can't complain. Food pairings include your typical American bar foods, pizza, Mexican food, and maybe even some grilled foods or steak. I have no beef with this beer, and I would buy it again (especially in the can), but there are hundreds of IPAs out there. 

Random Thought: This is most likely the last review I am going to hammer out until the Super Bowl. With that said, I should probably make my picks. I think that Seattle and their defense are probably at an advantage....I'm very concerned about Russel Wilson and the young/inexperience Seattle roster. With that said, I kind of like Seattle and their defense in this game. I think it will be close, and I really want to see Manning get that second ring. So I'll be cheering for Manning, but yeah. And fuck the Broncos fans. What an annoying group of people. Despite the fact that I want to see Manning win, I really dislike the Broncos' fan base. 

Spiteful Alley Time Pale Ale

Brewed By: Spiteful Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 12oz can from a 6-pack bought at Capone's Liquor & Food in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: Pale Ale, 6.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

More beer from the can? Yuuuup. About Spiteful: 

Spiteful Brewing was founded in January 2010 by Brad Shaffer and Jason Klein. Like many brewers, the duo started out homebrewing. As of today, the brewery houses a 2.5 BBL Brewhouse and 5 BBL Fermenters. Currently, as a nanobrewery, Spiteful Brewing is hand delivering to stores and bars. For more info, check out Spiteful's website, or their Facebook or Twitter. 

This sexy American Pale Ale doesn't have much info, but the back of the can states:

"A Chicago bike messenger's favorite part of the day, "Alley Time" is a reward for life on the streets. This beer is brewed with Pilsen Malt and a single addition of Simcoe hops. Perfect for sharing those expletive-heavy stories with a cold one in hand. Alley time can be any time, but it can only be one place. And whether you're a corporate lemming or an interpretive dancer, find an alley and make it yours."

Spiteful Alley Time Pale Ale

This one pours into a hazy, golden-yellow body, with some nice streams of mid-sized carbonation rising upwards. The beer produces a SUPER DENSE, white/off-white head. The head has some golden hues, and is bready, soapy, thick, and leaving some super tight lacing. This is just an awesome looking beer.

The beer smells even better than it looks...insane Simcoe is popping with catty notes, pine, soapy hops, some dank/resinous, guava and apricot, agave, kumquat/orange, and some big bready Pilsner malts. Lots of bread and biscuit are popping in the aroma.

The taste is very good, it's your typical American Pale Ale with a nice wash of soapy hops, dank/resinous Simcoe, and plenty of Pilsner malt and biscuit kick. I'm getting hints of lemon and citrus zest, big apricot funk, soapy pine, some dankness, and biscuit/Pilsner malt. Good stuff. It tastes like a draft beer, I love you <3 can.

How and why is this 6.0%? The alcohol is well-hidden, but high enough that this insanely drinkable beer just might not be crushable. I dunno. Palate depth here is very good, and the complexity is okay. This is a light to medium-bodied beer, with a creamy head, good carbonation, and plenty of soapy and dank hops to dry things out and keep you reaching for more. You get soapy citrus and lemon zest and apricot funk up front; that rolls into pine and dank notes in the middle, picking up some biscuit; the back end trails into soapy and bitter and dank, with lingering Pilsner malts. The finish is clean, soapy, and dry. It tastes like draft.

Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this beer. The ABV is just a little too high to make this sessionable, but this is a really solid and enjoyable beer. The Pilsner malt really stands out, and you could drink two or three of these with a meal. Food pairings: chicken pot pie, pizza, buffalo wings, fried chicken. At around $10 for a 6-pack...this is a good deal. I will buy this again. 

Random Thought: If you are wondering, all the canned beer was bought for #SuperBowlSunday

Revolution Eugene Porter

Brewed By: Revolution Brewing Company (Revolution Beer LLC) in Chicago, IL

Purchased: 12oz CAN from a 6-pack bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottle on can is 01/21/2014) 

Style/ABV: Robust Porter, 6.8%

Reported IBUs: 28

DAE lazy Saturdays? Fuck yeah! About Revolution:

Revolution Brewing is a brewery and brewpub based in Chicago. Revolution's roots are tied to founder Josh Deth, a homebrewer who began working at Golden Prairie Brewing. A few years later, while working at Goose Island, Josh dreamt up the idea for Revolution Brewing. In 2003, Josh and his wife opened Handlebar, while Josh worked as an Executive Director of Logan Square Chamber of Commerce. While working for the Chamber of Commerce, Josh found an old building on Milwaukee Avenue, and the wheels began to spin to open up a brewery. After three years of raising funds, Revolution Brewing opened its doors on February 2010. In July of 2011, Revolution added a 2nd floor Brewers' Lounge. And in 2012, the company opened a new production brewery and tap room. The brewpub is located in Logan Squre on 2323 N. Milwaukee Ave; the brewery is located on Kedzie Avenue at 3340 N. Kedzie Ave. For more information on Revolution, check out their history page here! 

The Eugene Porter is a Robust Porter brewed with chocolate and Belgian specialty malts. This beer was named after Eugene V. Debs, "an American union leader and activist who led the Pullman Railroad strike in 1894." I dunno. You can like google it or whatever. Anyway, punching in at 6.8% and 28 IBUs, this is a reasonably large beer.

Revolution Eugene Porter...static potato pictures FTW

The date on the bottom of the can says 01/21/2014. I can't tell if that is a best-by date or a canning date. Either way...the beer pours into a dark brown, ruby-red, cola body. The beer kicks up three to four fingers of thick, bready, tan/brown head. Head retention is nice, and there is some really nice lacing on the glass. 

The aroma is your typical Porter fare...mild, grassy hops, and big sweet caramel, toast, and mild chocolate malt. There's a hint of nutty and coffee in the aroma as well, but it's mostly all about those grassy, mild hops, and that big sweet caramel and toast.

The taste is really good, better than the aroma. There's a really dense and expansive wave of chocolate malts, sweet caramel, toast, bready malt goodness, and some hints of nuttiness and coffee. Hidden behind all the malty goodness is some very mild hop character, with some floral and grassy UK-like hops. 

The mouthfeel is medium-light, and supported by carbonation. The palate depth is really good, and the beer finishes strong (which Porters don't always do). Complexity is good but nothing mind-blowing. And the 6.8% is completely hidden. After a blast of floral and grassy hops up front, you get hit with caramel and malt sweetness; mid-palate dials up the caramel and chocolate, and then lays on some toast, roasted malt, a little earthy coffee, and more caramel; the back end has lingering toast and roast, and hints at nutty sweetness. The finish is strong and full, slightly sweet, and then dry. Very refined and balanced, and the beer sticks out the finish.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

This is a very Light Above-Average thanks to the strong finish and solid palate duration. This beer really delivers a full experience from front to back, and that elevates it into an above-average beer. The flavors are what you want from a porter too: hints of roast and coffee and nuttiness, lots of caramel malt sweetness, toasty notes, and it's very drinkable. This is my go-to local Porter, especially if I want something canned. This beer pairs well with steak, barbecue, burgers, braised pork, chocolate desserts, ice cream, and even lighter foods. The fact that this beer comes in a can is an added bonus. You can go portable with this beer, or pour it into a glass. I highly recommend this beer for Chicago locals, but otherwise this is just a slightly above-average Porter.

Random Thought: Now add some coffee to this and then you're talking.